Barack Obama’s team
奥巴马团队
So far, so very good
目前状态极佳
Nov 27th 2008
From The Economist print edition
The president-elect is proceeding with all deliberate speed
当选总统正以审慎的速度前行
IN THE absence of any real detail about what he plans to do, it is Barack Obama’s staff choices that provide the best indications as to what sort of president he will turn out to be. And so far the signs are encouraging, both in terms of the process and the results. Mr Obama is moving much faster and more smoothly than most incoming presidents manage-without rancour, hiccups or (unplanned) leaks. And his choices are reassuring, especially for those who feared a shift to the left.
虽然目前没有任何施政计划的明细，不过奥巴马对于行政团队成员的选择已经充分的暗示出新总统的行事风格。到目前为止，从过程到结果所表现出的全部迹象都令人鼓舞。与绝大部分继任总统相比，奥巴马先生行动更为迅速、更为流畅；因为没有出现障碍，没有引发憎恨，也没有出现计划外的疏漏。奥巴马做出了让人安心的选择，特别是对于那些担心他会出现政治左倾趋势的人来说。
On the economic side, by giving the two main jobs to pragmatic centrists-Tim Geithner for treasury secretary and Larry Summers to chair the National Economic Council, the White House body that co-ordinates economic policymaking-Mr Obama has shown that he values experience over ideology, and competence over personal loyalty (see article). Some of those who worked hardest to get him elected have had only meagre reward for it, whereas Mr Geithner is someone whom Mr Obama does not know well. The appointment of Peter Orszag, a noted critic of lax spending, to run the budget office is another good move: it hints that Mr Obama will be a spending hawk as well as a stimulator. On the security side, by keeping on George Bush’s first-rate defence secretary, Robert Gates, and (probably) by choosing a former general, Jim Jones, as his national security adviser, Mr Obama is showing that he will not let himself be tagged with the “Defeaticrat” label.
在经济管理人选上，两个非常重要的职务选择了务实中间派人物：蒂姆•盖纳出任财长；拉里•萨默斯出任国家经济委员会主席，该机构隶属白宫，负责协调经济政策的制定。奥巴马的选择表现出他更为看重管理经验与能力而不是意识形态和对某个人的忠诚。一些在奥巴马选战中付出巨大努力的人只得到了微乎其微的回报，被委以重任的盖纳对奥巴马先生来说反倒是个陌生人。确定彼得奥扎格掌管美国管理及预算办公室是另外一个漂亮的决策：此人是著名的批评家，矛头直指随意的支出行为；这个任命表明，奥巴马不仅将会是个支出方面的鹰派人物，同时也会扩大支出。安全防务任命方面，奥巴马保留了布什政府中的出色国防部长–盖茨；也许他还会选择前上将琼斯出任其国家安全顾问，如此人选表明，奥巴马绝不希望被冠以”素来软弱的民主党人”的标签。
There are, of course, a few potential pitfalls. For every rational businessperson reassured by the fact that Mr Obama has appointed economically literate free traders, there will be a union leader moaning that a bunch of Clintonian retreads will never deliver the change America needs. Mr Obama will need to manage the threat of disillusion among some of his more enthusiastic supporters with some care. As things look now, he should be able to deliver on the issue that many on the left care most strongly about, a phased withdrawal from Iraq (see article); and he is also likely to please them with the scale of his stimulus plans. Other sops to the left-notably the removal of secret ballots for union votes-look more dangerous.
当然，总会有隐忧存在。奥巴马对精通经济的自由贸易论者委以重任，让理性的生意人放下心来，但他们都将会遭遇一个工会领导如此抱怨–克林顿风格的政客永远不会推进美国所需要的改革。奥巴马需要认真对待其狂热支持者由于幻想破灭而可能产生的威胁。从目前的情形来看，他应该可以兑现从伊拉克分阶段撤军的承诺，很多左翼人士对此问题最为关注；他还有可能调整其财政刺激计划的规模来取悦他们。其他一些安抚领左翼势力的举措看起来则更为危险，最明显的就是取消工会的不记名投票制度。
The other worry concerns a couple of management issues. Many people had expected Mr Summers to return to his perch at the Treasury. It is not clear whether Mr Summers, brilliant but opinionated, is really the ideal man for the nominally junior role at the NEC, involving the forging of consensus.
另一个让人忧虑的则是一些管理方面的问题。很多人都希望萨默斯再次出任财长。萨默斯本人才华横溢，但过于坚持己见，而国家经济委员会需要达成共识，因此目前还不清楚萨默斯是否是国家经济委员会主席（名义上职位略低）的理想人选。
Worth a Hill of beans
值得尝试
Then there is Hillary Clinton. Many of Mr Obama’s advisers are horrified by the idea that she will become secretary of state, pointing out not just that Mrs Clinton is surrounded by people who loathe him, but also that she has a bad track record as a manager (her presidential campaign and attempts at health reform in the 1990s are two examples) and that scandal seems to dog the Clintons wherever they go. On the other hand, Mrs Clinton is intelligent and formidably hard-working and has undoubted star power. She has seen a lot of the world and takes a close interest in the Middle East. She also showed that she could be a team player in the Senate (a period when her husband stayed more firmly in the background).
还有希拉里•克林顿的问题。希拉里将要出任国务卿的消息震惊了多位奥巴马的顾问。他们指出希拉里身边的人对奥巴马充满恨意；同时她本人的行政管理记录也很糟糕（1990年医疗的改革尝试和今年她的选战就是两大例证），而且丑闻似乎一直伴随着克林顿夫妇。不过从另一个角度看，希拉里不仅聪颖，同时努力工作的态度也令人敬畏，而且无疑具有明星魅力。她见证了很多世界大事并且对中东问题有深入的兴趣。她也向世人表明，她可以在参院中体现出团队精神（这段时间克林顿会更坚定的站在幕后）。
On balance, this is a gamble just worth taking-not least because it puts the onus on Mrs Clinton to make it work. She will have to give up her Senate seat. If she lets those around her resort to their old tricks, she will suffer most. If she focuses her remarkable energy on the task at hand, she could achieve a lot.
平衡利弊，这是一场值得尝试的赌局–相当重要的原因是希拉里将承担责任。她不得不放弃她的参院席位。如果希拉里让支持者故技重施，那么她本人将会是最大的输家。如果她把其充沛精力集中在目前的工作上，她可能会成绩斐然。
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