经济学人156:奥巴马的表现,不如人意

 　　Lexington

　　来克星敦

　　An underperforming president

　　奥巴马总统的表现不如人意

　　How Barack Obama allowed the Republicans to rout¹ him over the debt ceiling.

　　在债务上限问题上，贝拉克?奥巴马是如何让共和党人彻底打败自己的

　　Aug 6th 2011 | from the print edition

　　AT THE very last moment, and just before his 50th birthday this week, Barack Obama got the deal that raised the debt ceiling by between $2.1 trillion and $2.4 trillion and so prevented the United States from going into default on his watch. But this does not mean that the roof is not still in danger of falling in on his presidency². The superstar of 2008, who once looked like a shoo-in for re-election, now appears extremely vulnerable. Despite talk that he will raise a record $1 billion war chest, Democrats³ in Congress have begun to whisper that Mr Obama’s fading chances of winning a second term are coming to depend on the absence—so far—of an exciting Republican challenger.

　　在最后一刻，就在本周奥巴马50岁生日之前，他获得了协议，将债务上限提高2.1-2.4万亿美元，从而避免了美国在他执政期间出现违约。但是这并不意味着，在他担任总统期间已经毫无危险。2008年的超级明星曾经看起来必定会连任，但是现在看起来似乎非常不堪一击。尽管他将融资创纪录的10亿美元，但是国会的民主党人已经开始窃窃私语，奥巴马先生连任的可能性越来越小，是否能连任将取决于是否缺少出众的共和党总统候选人，到目前为止还没有出众的共和党总统候选人。

　　Single events seldom determine the fate of a presidency. Those who said just over a year ago that the oil spill in the Gulf⁴ of Mexico would doom⁵ Mr Obama were as wrong as those who thought May’s killing⁶ of Osama bin⁷ Laden⁸ would make him unbeatable. The debt fight is in similar danger of being over-interpreted. Mr Obama’s fate depends more on two big bets he placed well before the Republican capture of the House in November’s mid-terms. The health-care reform that chewed up political capital in his first two years tanked with voters, and more than $800 billion of stimulus⁹ spending has so far failed to deliver the hoped-for growth in jobs. The outcome of the next election will depend more on unemployment than on Mr Obama’s handling of the past month’s comic opera on the debt ceiling.

　　单一的重大事件很少会决定总统宝座鹿死谁手。墨西哥湾石油泄漏事件刚刚过去一年多，当时有人说，奥巴马先生将因此连任无望，他们错了。5月，杀死了奥萨玛?本?拉登，有人因此认为他将不可战胜，他们同样错了。同理，债务之战也有被过多解读的危险。在中期选择中，共和党掌控了众议院。奥巴马的命运更多的是取决于早在此之前他下的两大赌注。医疗改革耗尽了执政前两年众望所归的政治资本，到目前为止，8000多亿美元的刺激计划并没有带来预期增多的工作机会。下一届选举的结果将更多地取决于失业率而不是奥巴马处理过去一个月有关债务上限问题喜歌剧的方式。

　　Mr Obama says that with the debt fight behind him he can now pivot¹⁰ back to jobs. But the comic opera has meanwhile crystallised doubts about the quality of his leadership. After all, the Republicans won this round, even if they did not win everything they wanted. For example, the debt ceiling has been raised by enough to see the country through the far side of the coming election, without another nail-biting stand-off in between. But on the core principle that Mr Obama chose to put at the centre of the fight—the need, for fairness’s sake, to tackle the deficit¹¹ with tax rises on the rich as well as spending cuts—it was he who gave way.

　　奥巴马先生表示，债务之战已经结束，现在他又将专心工作。但是同时这场喜歌剧已经证明其领导能力有问题。毕竟，共和党人赢了这个回合，尽管他们也没有全部如愿以偿。比如，提高的债务上限足以让这个国家维持到下次选举之后，此间将不会再次出现令人焦虑的僵局。奥巴马挑选了核心的原则问题——公平地说，在削减开支的同时，必须还要对富人加税才能解决赤字问题——并将它推到了债务之战的风口浪尖，但是最终让步的也是他。

　　The president, it is true, did not lose the fight because he lost the argument. He lost because he was not willing to be as reckless as the Republicans. Increasing the debt ceiling is a routine operation that allows the government to pay the bills Congress has already run up. By refusing to raise it unless they got their spending cuts, the Republicans in effect pointed¹² a pistol at the economy and threatened to pull the trigger if they were denied. An alarming number of them sounded crazy enough to carry out this threat. Faced with the danger of a default, Mr Obama and his party had little choice but to surrender. And at least the terms of surrender include the creation of a new joint¹³ congressional committee that might, in theory, include tax increases as well as spending cuts when it produces the next slice of deficit reduction.

　　诚然，总统输掉了这场战争，但是这并不是因为他输了这场辩论。他输是因为他不愿意像共和人那样不负责任。提高债务上限是一次很寻常的操作，从而让政府支付国会已经累积的账单。除非削减开支，否则共和党人拒绝提高债务上限，实际上他们这是举着枪对准了经济，如果他们被拒绝，他们就要扣动扳机。大量共和党人似乎疯狂十足，真的这样做了，令人担忧。面对违约的危险，奥巴马先生及其所属党派别无选择，只能投降。不过投降的条件至少包括了成立新的联合国会委员会，在理论上，这可能包括在该委员会发布下一份赤字削减计划的时候，在削减开支的同时增加税收。

　　The troubling question is why Mr Obama fell into this trap in the first place. Could he not have made raising the debt ceiling a condition of extending the Bush-era tax cuts last December? And why did he take so long to show that he cared about putting America’s finances in order? He went to the trouble of creating a bipartisan deficit commission, which at the end of last year produced just the sort of “balanced” approach he says he favours. But he then declined either to endorse¹⁴ its findings or present a serious plan of his own. This gave the initiative to the Republicans, who now say, plausibly¹⁵, that without their brinkmanship there would still have been no start on bringing the debt under control.

　　令人困扰的问题在于奥巴马先生怎么会陷入这个陷阱。去年12月，他难道不能把提高债务上限当做延长布什时代减税政策的条件吗？为何他花这么多时间表明他致力于整顿美国的金融业？他费力成立了两党赤字委员会，去年底，该委员会提出了他说正好是自己支持的“平衡”做法。但是后来，他既没有支持该委员会的发现，自己也没有给出一份认真的计划。这样就将主动权交给了共和党人，他们现在说，要是他们没有采取边缘政策，现在还没有开始控制债务，这似乎颇有道理。

　　Critics in his own party say that the president then added a sin of commission to his sin of omission¹⁶. When the Republicans pointed that metaphorical¹⁷ pistol at the economy, Mr Obama could have made a bigger ruckus about this use of extortion. But he chose instead to plunge¹⁸ in, seduced¹⁹ by the chimera²⁰ of a “grand bargain” with John Boehner, the Republican speaker. In the end, Mr Boehner left the president waiting at the altar—but not before Mr Obama’s eagerness for the bargain had endowed the idea of haggling²¹ over the debt ceiling with a legitimacy²² it did not deserve.

　　总统所属党派的批评人士表示总统犯了疏忽罪后接着又犯了违法罪。当共和党人指着这把比喻性的枪对准经济的时候，奥巴马先生本可以掀起更大的波澜，讨论这种敲诈行为。但是他反而选择了陷入其中，受到了与共和党众议院议长约翰?博纳做成“大交易”这一不切实际的想法的引诱。最终，博纳先生让总统难堪不已——围绕债务上限问题争论不休的想法根本不合理，但是奥巴马先生对达成协议的渴望使这种想法变得合情合理，在此之前，博纳先生并没有让总统难堪。

　　A generous review of the story is that Mr Obama staved off default while positioning himself in the coveted²³ centre of politics from where elections are won. He did not get his way this time, but his calls for the rich to share more of the burden by paying higher taxes will resonate with voters when he seeks re-election.

　　整个事件可大致总结为奥巴马先生消除了违约问题，同时还让自己从选举获胜的地方出来进入了人人虎视眈眈的政治中心。这次他无法随心所欲，但是他呼吁富人多交税收，分担更多的负担，这一呼吁在他寻求连任时将得到选民的响应。

　　Maybe. But the public in America, and the wider watching world, saw only a mess. Meanwhile plenty of Democrats on the left grumble²⁴ privately²⁵ that the president’s handling of the crisis has been inept²⁶, spineless—and all too typical. Having failed to take evasive action, he showed no bottom line once lured²⁷ into negotiation²⁸. In the health-care negotiation, likewise, he had wasted precious time hoping for Republican support that never came. It all fits into a pattern, they say, of a leader who shies away from necessary conflict, refuses to understand the intransigence²⁹ of his enemies, would rather split differences than make a firm stand and lacks the courage of his own convictions. Foreigners—from Vladimir Putin (who this week called America a “parasite”) to the Taliban—are in danger of drawing the same conclusion.

　　或许吧。但是美国的公众以及世界各国更广泛的观察人士只看到了一片混乱。与此同时，许多左翼的民主党人私下里抱怨总统处理危机的方式既笨拙又软弱，毫无新意。逃避行动失败后，一旦受到引诱进入谈判，他就没了底线。同样，在医疗改革的谈判中，他浪费了宝贵的时间希望共和党人支持，但是共和党人就是没有支持。这与他们所说的如下模式一模一样：领导人不愿作必要的斗争，不愿去了解对手的不妥协性，情愿选择折中方案，而不是坚定立场，没有勇气做自己认为对的事。外国人——从弗拉基米尔?普京（本周，他将美国称为了“寄生虫”）到塔利班——有得出相同的结论之虞。

　　Any assessment³⁰ of Mr Obama needs to acknowledge that when he was elected he inherited the in-box from hell: a financial collapse³¹, a prostrated³² economy, two wars. Now he faces the opposition³³ from hell: a reckless, populist Republican Party whose moderate voices have been silenced by ideologues and which has made throwing him out of office its foremost priority. For these tribulations³⁴ he deserves a degree of sympathy. But Americans want their presidents to be winners, not victims. If he expects another term, Mr Obama is going to have to raise his game—especially if the Republicans find that candidate.

　　对奥巴马先生的任何评价都必须承认，当他当选的时候，他继承的是一个烂摊子：金融危机、萎靡不振的经济和两场战争。现在他面对的是另一种困境：不计后果、民粹主义的共和党。空想家的声音已经掩盖了该党中温和派的声音，该党还把他赶出白宫作为重中之重。经历了这么多苦难，他值得一些同情。但是美国人希望他们的总统成为胜者，而不是受害者。如果奥巴马想连任，必须要励精图治——要是共和党人找到了候选人尤其应该如此。

1 rout   

n.溃退，溃败；v.击溃，打垮

参考例句：

• The enemy was put to rout all along the line.敌人已全线崩溃。
• The people's army put all to rout wherever they went.人民军队所向披靡。

2 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

3 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

5 doom   

n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定

参考例句：

• The report on our economic situation is full of doom and gloom.这份关于我们经济状况的报告充满了令人绝望和沮丧的调子。
• The dictator met his doom after ten years of rule.独裁者统治了十年终于完蛋了。

6 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

7 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

8 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

9 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

10 pivot   

v.在枢轴上转动；装枢轴，枢轴；adj.枢轴的

参考例句：

• She is the central pivot of creation and represents the feminine aspect in all things.她是创造的中心枢轴，表现出万物的女性面貌。
• If a spring is present,the hand wheel will pivot on the spring.如果有弹簧，手轮的枢轴会装在弹簧上。

11 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

12 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

13 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

14 endorse   

vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意

参考例句：

• No one is foolish enough to endorse it.没有哪个人会傻得赞成它。
• I fully endorse your opinions on this subject.我完全拥护你对此课题的主张。

15 plausibly   

似真地

参考例句：

• The case was presented very plausibly. 案情的申述似很可信。
• He argued very plausibly for its acceptance. 他为使之认可辩解得头头是道。

16 omission   

n.省略，删节；遗漏或省略的事物，冗长

参考例句：

• The omission of the girls was unfair.把女孩排除在外是不公平的。
• The omission of this chapter from the third edition was a gross oversight.第三版漏印这一章是个大疏忽。

17 metaphorical   

a.隐喻的，比喻的

参考例句：

• Here, then, we have a metaphorical substitution on a metonymic axis. 这样，我们在换喻（者翻译为转喻，一种以部分代替整体的修辞方法）上就有了一个隐喻的替代。
• So, in a metaphorical sense, entropy is arrow of time. 所以说，我们可以这样作个比喻：熵像是时间之矢。

18 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

19 seduced   

诱奸( seduce的过去式和过去分词 )； 勾引； 诱使堕落； 使入迷

参考例句：

• The promise of huge profits seduced him into parting with his money. 高额利润的许诺诱使他把钱出了手。
• His doctrines have seduced many into error. 他的学说把许多人诱入歧途。

20 chimera   

n.神话怪物；梦幻

参考例句：

• Religious unity remained as much a chimera as ever.宗教统一仍然和从前一样，不过是个妄想。
• I am fighting against my chimera.我在与狂想抗争。

21 haggling   

v.讨价还价( haggle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I left him in the market haggling over the price of a shirt. 我扔下他自己在市场上就一件衬衫讨价还价。
• Some were haggling loudly with traders as they hawked their wares. 有些人正在大声同兜售货物的商贩讲价钱。 来自辞典例句

22 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

23 coveted   

adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图

参考例句：

• He had long coveted the chance to work with a famous musician. 他一直渴望有机会与著名音乐家一起工作。
• Ther other boys coveted his new bat. 其他的男孩都想得到他的新球棒。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 grumble   

vi.抱怨；咕哝；n.抱怨，牢骚；咕哝，隆隆声

参考例句：

• I don't want to hear another grumble from you.我不愿再听到你的抱怨。
• He could do nothing but grumble over the situation.他除了埋怨局势之外别无他法。

25 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

26 inept   

adj.不恰当的，荒谬的，拙劣的

参考例句：

• Whan an inept remark to make on such a formal occasion.在如此正式的场合，怎么说这样不恰当的话。
• He's quite inept at tennis.他打网球太笨。

27 lured   

吸引，引诱（lure的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The child was lured into a car but managed to escape. 那小孩被诱骗上了车，但又设法逃掉了。
• Lured by the lust of gold,the pioneers pushed onward. 开拓者在黄金的诱惑下，继续奋力向前。

28 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

29 intransigence   

n.妥协的态度；强硬

参考例句：

• He often appeared angry and frustrated by the intransigence of both sides.他似乎常常为双方各不相让而生气沮丧。
• Yet for North Korea,intransigence is the norm.不过对朝鲜来说，决不妥协是其一贯作风。

30 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

31 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

32 prostrated   

v.使俯伏，使拜倒( prostrate的过去式和过去分词 )；（指疾病、天气等）使某人无能为力

参考例句：

• He was prostrated by the loss of his wife. 他因丧妻而忧郁。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They prostrated themselves before the emperor. 他们拜倒在皇帝的面前。 来自《简明英汉词典》

33 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

34 tribulations   

n.苦难( tribulation的名词复数 )；艰难；苦难的缘由；痛苦

参考例句：

• the tribulations of modern life 现代生活的苦恼
• The film is about the trials and tribulations of adolescence. 这部电影讲述了青春期的麻烦和苦恼。 来自《简明英汉词典》