美国国家公共电台 NPR Once A Clinton Nemesis During Whitewater, Now A Clinton Supporter

Once A Clinton Nemesis¹ During Whitewater, Now A Clinton Supporter 

play pause stop mute unmute max volume 00:0004:58repeat repeat off Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser² to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST: 

It's hard to imagine a less likely Hillary Clinton supporter than former Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff. In the '90s, he was the lead Republican counsel on the Senate investigation³ into the Clintons' land deal that came to be known as Whitewater, part of what Hillary Clinton would call a vast, right-wing conspiracy⁴. But times have changed. In August, Michael Chertoff signed a letter with dozens of other Republican national security veterans declaring that Donald Trump⁵ would be, quote, "a dangerous president who would put the nation's security at risk." Now he's gone even further, saying he will vote for Hillary Clinton. We reached Chertoff in Vermont.

Welcome to the program.

MICHAEL CHERTOFF: Good to be on the program.

MONTAGNE: What prompted you to take this step of publicly coming out in support of Hillary Clinton?

CHERTOFF: Well, the reality is, Renee, it's a binary⁷ choice. This is not, what is your best outcome in the world? It is you have two people, and which of the two would be better as president? And I think, presented in that way, it was pretty clear to me that I should publicly take the step of saying that I would be planning to vote for Hillary Clinton.

MONTAGNE: Was it reluctant support, though, on your part, as in it's much talked about, the Hillary Clinton being the lesser⁸ of two evils. Or do you actually believe that Hillary Clinton will do a good job protecting this country?

CHERTOFF: I think in terms of national security, I think she's going to do a good job. And there are going to be things that I'm sure I'll disagree with. But for me, the national security issue is the paramount⁹ issue. And I've had the opportunity to give her some advice during the last few weeks. And I've also worked with her when she was a senator and I was secretary of homeland security.

And I found her, in both instances, to be well-informed, to exhibit a good understanding of what the issues and challenges were, to be steady in terms of her approach and also interested in educating herself. And I generally found her to have good judgment¹⁰. And in the area of national security, those kind of temperament¹¹ issues and issues about being well-informed, I think, are critical tools for the next president at a period of time when I think our challenges to security are perhaps more acute than at any time since September 11.

MONTAGNE: Well, (unintelligible) turn now to make the point again to listeners of how remarkable¹² your support for Hillary Clinton is. And it sounds like your support is quite sincere and you view her quite warmly. You, more than anyone, are familiar with what critics call the Clinton sleaze. How do you square everything you know about the Clintons' past and even current issues, such as Hillary Clinton's handling of classified emails, with your decision to support her? Does that not - none of that count?

CHERTOFF: Of course - listen, I mean, when you evaluate a candidate or a situation, you have to take everything into account. And obviously, as I think she's acknowledged, I think her handling of the emails was a mistake, probably reflecting maybe a lack of real understanding of the technology. She's also reflecting a time when the technology was a little less advanced than it is now in terms of being able to keep your private and your official things separate on the same device. But in the end, I'll tell you, Renee, I go back to September 11, 2001.

When I was on duty - I was the head of the criminal division, and I was part of the immediate¹³ response to prevent that from happening again. In looking back on that, I realized that in the '90s, we spent an enormous amount of time pursuing issues involving the Clintons' association back in Arkansas in the '80s, Whitewater and other things. And we didn't spend nearly the same amount of time on what bin⁶ Laden¹⁴ was up to and the others were up to in the region. And it reminded me that, you know, the ability to spend an inordinate¹⁵ amount of time chasing small peccadilloes¹⁶ is a luxury we'll only have in a world at peace. In a world at war, you've got to focus on the top priority, which is protecting the United States and protecting our friends and allies.

MONTAGNE: Well, I just can't resist asking one last thing. Back in the '90s when Hillary Clinton was in your sights as the top Republican counsel, could you have ever imagined that you would publicly support her in the years ahead for president?

CHERTOFF: Probably not. But then I could never have imagined September 11, 2001, and everything that happened afterwards. And if I come back to that again and again, it's to make a point that, for me, as probably for many Americans, that was a transformative event. And it really had me refocus my sense of priorities about what our leaders ought to be doing. And I think that what we face today reinforces the importance of focusing on security and steadiness as the key elements of leading the United States and protecting our people.

MONTAGNE: Michael Chertoff is former secretary of homeland security.

Thank you very much for joining us.

CHERTOFF: My pleasure, Renee.

1 nemesis   

n.给以报应者，复仇者，难以对付的敌手

参考例句：

• Uncritical trust is my nemesis.盲目的相信一切害了我自己。
• Inward suffering is the worst of Nemesis.内心的痛苦是最厉害的惩罚。

2 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

3 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

4 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

5 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

6 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。

7 binary   

adj.二，双；二进制的；n.双(体)；联星

参考例句：

• Computers operate using binary numbers.计算机运行运用二进位制。
• Let us try converting the number itself to binary.我们试一试，把这个数本身变成二进制数。

8 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

9 paramount   

a.最重要的，最高权力的

参考例句：

• My paramount object is to save the Union and destroy slavery.我的最高目标是拯救美国，摧毁奴隶制度。
• Nitrogen is of paramount importance to life on earth.氮对地球上的生命至关重要。

10 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

11 temperament   

n.气质，性格，性情

参考例句：

• The analysis of what kind of temperament you possess is vital.分析一下你有什么样的气质是十分重要的。
• Success often depends on temperament.成功常常取决于一个人的性格。

12 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

13 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

14 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。

15 inordinate   

adj.无节制的；过度的

参考例句：

• The idea of this gave me inordinate pleasure.我想到这一点感到非常高兴。
• James hints that his heroine's demands on life are inordinate.詹姆斯暗示他的女主人公对于人生过于苛求。

16 peccadilloes   

n.轻罪，小过失( peccadillo的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His peccadilloes finally broke his marriage. 他的小过失最终毁灭了他的婚姻。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• People are prepared to be tolerant of extra-marital peccadilloes by public figures. 人们可以容忍公众人物婚外的不检点行为。 来自辞典例句