赏析版2011年7-12月经济学人文章(英汉双语对照)汇(3)

[2011.12.31] Ron Paul’s big moment 罗恩·保罗的大日子 The obstetrician, numismatist and hater of the Fed and the UN who just might win in Iowa这位仇视美联储和联合国的产科医生兼货币学家可能拿下爱荷华

Dec 31st 2011 | from the print edition

PEOPLE who say that politicians are all the same may be in for a surprise next week. Heading the polls in Iowa, whose caucuses on January 3rd mark the true start of the Republican race for a presidential candidate, is a 76-year-old libertarian from Texas with a worldview so wacky and a programme so radical that he was recently discounted as a no-hoper. Even if he wins in quirky Iowa, Ron Paul will never be America‘s president. But his coming this far tells you something about the mood of Republican voters. A substantial number like a man who wants to abolish the Federal Reserve, introduce a new currency to compete with the dollar, eliminate five departments of the federal government within a year, pull out of the United Nations and close all America‘s foreign bases, which he likens to ―an empire‖.

那些认为天下政客一般样的人们下周可能会大吃一惊。爱荷华州的初选定在1月3日举行，标志了共和党总统候选人竞选的真正开始。而此刻在爱荷华州民意调查榜首的是一位来自得克萨斯州，76岁的自由主义者。由于他的世界观太过古怪，竞选政纲太过极端，直到最近人们都认为他无望获胜而因此忽视他。就算罗恩·保罗成功拿下了怪异的爱荷华州，他永远也不可能被选为美国总统。但是他能走到这一步很大程度上透露了当前共和党选民的心情。有很多选民喜欢这个竞选人，尽管他想要废除美联储，引入一种新货币和美元竞争，上任一年以内取消五个联邦政府部门，让美国退出联合国，关闭美国所有在海外，被他喻为―一个帝国‖的军事基地。

How did such a man rise to the top of the polls? One thing to note is that his support has a ceiling: in no state do more than about a third of Republican voters favour him, though in Iowa‘s crowded race that could be all he needs. Also, liking the man does not require liking his policies. During the candidates‘ debates of 2011, Mr Paul won plaudits for integrity. Where slicker rivals chop, change and pander, the rumpled Mr Paul hews to his principles even when they are unpopular. Unlike Newt Gingrich, who seldom misses a chance to play on fears of Islam, Mr Paul insists on the rule of law and civil liberties and due process for all—including suspected terrorists. Unlike Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum, who adore Israel and can sound impatient to bomb Iran, Mr Paul has no great love for the Jewish state, even though this hurts him with the evangelical voters of Iowa. He opposed the Iraq war from the start and wants America to shun expensive foreign entanglements that make the rest of the world resent it.

这样一个人是怎么上升到民调榜首的呢？值得注意的是他的支持是有上限的，没有一个州支持保罗的共和党选民超过三分之一，不过在爱荷华人满为患的初选中这点支持率可能就足够让他拿下该州了。同样，喜欢一个竞选人并不代表要喜欢他的政策。在2011年的竞选人辩论中，保罗因为其刚直不阿而赢得赞扬。当他的那些更圆滑的对手在见风转舵，逢迎讨好时，满年皱纹的保罗坚守其原则，即使这些原则不受选民欢迎时依然如故。和从不放过任何机会来利用人们对伊斯兰教的恐惧大做文章的纽特·金里奇不同，保罗坚持捍卫法制，公民自由以及所有人，包括恐怖分子疑犯都应经历正当的法律程序。和宠爱以色列，听上去急不可耐要轰炸伊朗的米歇尔·巴克曼以及里克·桑托勒姆不同，保罗对于这个犹太国并没有特别的好感，即使这种态度会影响爱荷华州福音选民对他的支持也还是一样。他从一开始就反对伊拉克战争，想让美国避开那些砸了大钱却又让世界其它国家憎恶的国际纠纷。

These, however, are sideshows compared to the central belief that animates Mr Paul‘s politics. Born in