叫我「行政長官」 - 古德明
A man came upon Lincoln blacking his boots in the basement of the White House. Astonished that the president of the United States should be at such a menial task, he exclaimed, "What! Mr President, are you blacking your own boots?" "Whose else should I be blacking? " came Lincoln's laconic reply.
Lincoln was free from the usual official vanity, and shrank from the title of Mr President, generally referring to his office as "this place," "since I have been in this place, " or "since I came here. " Referring at one time to the apartment reserved in the Capitol for the president, he called it "the room, you know, that they call the president's room. " Once he pleaded with some old friends who addressed him as Mr President : "Now call me Lincoln, and I'll promise not to tell of the breach of etiquette."
有人嘗見林肯在白宮地下室擦皮靴，奇怪美國總統竟然做這麼卑下的工作，愕然說：「啊，總統先生，你給自己擦皮靴？」林肯簡簡單單回答說：「還有誰的皮靴要我擦呢？」
林肯沒有一般高官的虛榮心，有意規避「總統先生」這個稱呼，提到總統辦事處，常說「這兒」、「我來到這裏之後」、「自從我來了這裏」等。有一次，談到國會大廈總統專用的套房，他說：「那間房，我是說，他們稱為總統套房的那間房。」又有一次，林肯跟叫他做「總統先生」的老朋友說：「叫我林肯好了，我不會跟人說各位違背禮儀。」
*「叫我『行政長官』」為香港高級幹部梁振英名言，雖與本文內容不符，用作題目，讀者未必不有會意焉。
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