美国政治史上最狡猾的演讲之一是1952年4月密西西比州一位名叫诺亚·S·小“湿漉漉”的年轻议员发表的“威士忌演讲”。

当斯沃特（后来是巡回法院法官和一名大学教授）决定展示他用嘴说话的能力时，众议院一直在辩论是否最终在禁令上打开软木塞。这是在杰克逊的老爱德**王酒店举行的宴会。

My friends, I had not intended to discuss this controversial subject at this particular time. However, I want you to know that I do not shun controversy. On the contrary, I will take a stand on any issue at any time, regardless of how fraught with controversy it might be. You have asked me how I feel about whiskey. All right, here is how I feel about whiskey. If when you say "whiskey" you mean the devil's brew, the poison scourge, the bloody monster, that defiles innocence, dethrones reason, destroys the home, creates misery and poverty, yea, literally takes the bread from the mouths of little children; if you mean the evil drink that topples the Christian man and woman from the pinnacle of righteous, gracious living into the bottomless pit of degradation and despair and shame and helplessness and hopelessness, then certainly I am against it. But if when you say "whiskey" you mean the oil of conversation, the philosophic wine, the ale that is consumed when good fellows get together, that puts a song in their hearts and laughter on their lips, and the warm glow of contentment in their eyes; if you mean Christmas cheer; if you mean the stimulating drink that puts the spring in the old gentleman's step on a frosty, crispy morning; if you mean the drink which enables a man to magnify his joy, and his happiness, and to forget, if only for a little while, life's great tragedies, and heartaches, and sorrows; if you mean that drink, the sale of which pours into our treasuries untold millions of dollars, which are used to provide tender care for our little crippled children, our blind, our deaf, our dumb, our pitiful aged and infirm, to build highways and hospitals and schools, then certainly I am for it. This is my stand. I will not retreat from it. I will not compromise.

尽管我们忍不住要把斯韦特的演讲称为讽刺，但这个词的词源（来自法语兰彭，“让我们喝酒”）可能会暴露出某种偏见。无论如何，这篇演讲都是对政治双关语的模仿，是巧妙地运用听众奉承的内涵。

演讲背后的经典形象是独特性：明确提及一个词的各种含义。（比尔·克林顿在告诉大陪审团时使用了同样的手段，“这取决于‘是’这个词的含义。”）但是，区别的习惯目的是消除歧义，斯威特的意图是利用歧义。

他最初对威士忌的描述是针对人群中的戒酒者的，采用了一系列的反常情绪——对魔鬼饮料的不愉快和令人厌恶的印象。在下一段中，他通过一系列更令人愉快的委婉语，将自己的吸引力转移到听众中的湿鬼身上。因此，他在问题的双方都采取了坚定的立场。

在这片旋转的土地上口是心非的日子里，我们举心举杯缅怀法官湿漉漉的汗水。

来源

• 奥利·胡德，《6月3日，索奇的演讲将变得生动起来》，《号角莱杰》（2003年5月25日）
• M.休斯，“斯威特法官和‘威士忌的原始演讲’，《法学家》（第一卷，第2期，1986年春）
• “如果是威士忌，”号角分类账（1996年2月24日）