2015年经济学人 希拉里·克林顿出版新回忆录《艰难的抉择》

Lexington

Hillary Clinton's bad book

Her stodgy¹ memoir² is best understood as a briefing book for surrogates and “influencers”

HILLARY CLINTON is a big fan of briefing books.

As Barack Obama's envoy³ to the world she devoured⁴ great, thick binders⁵ on every subject imaginable,

she writes in “Hard Choices”, a new memoir published on June 10th.

As she worked tirelessly to prepare for summits and official trips to 112 countries, she admired the expertise⁷ of her diplomats⁹.

Only one thing bothered her.

A few months into the job she asked the State Department to be more creative with graphics¹⁰,

after envying the flashier briefings carried by Pentagon brass¹¹. Soon, she beams: “there were plenty of coloured maps and charts to go around.”

Mrs Clinton's 600-page doorstopper is full of this stuff: micro-revelations which are earnest, dull and self-serving, all at the same time.

“Hard Choices” is a frustrating¹² read. The memoir has the cautious, polished, poll-tested feel of a campaign speech.

A million copies have been printed. A multi-city speaking tour has begun.

A first-day book-signing in Manhattan drew lines around the block and hundreds of reporters.

A large campaign-style bus idled outside.

It was sent by “Ready for Hillary”, a ginger¹³ group that wants the former secretary of state,

first lady, senator and presidential contender to run again for the White House in 2016.

A press strategy was even crafted to handle a single chapter of the book,

addressing the low point of Mrs Clinton's time as secretary: the 2012 killings¹⁴ of four Americans by militants¹⁵ in the Libyan city of Benghazi,

including America's ambassador. The chapter was leaked early and Democratic officials and “surrogates”

(campaign jargon¹⁶ for folk who can speak for a candidate) briefed on Benghazi talking-points by a former Obama spokesman,

Tommy Vietor, and Mrs Clinton's press guru Philippe Reines.

Still Mrs Clinton says she has not yet decided¹⁷ whether to run.

She did not write the book for followers¹⁸ of Washington's political soap opera, she says severely¹⁹.

Rather, it is for Americans keen to learn more about diplomacy²⁰ in the Obama era,

and the exercise of American power in the 21st century, she insists.

Such pieties²¹ are not wholly convincing. For starters, much of the book smells of raw politics, rather than diplomatic history.

Mrs Clinton stepped down as chief diplomat⁸ in 2013 with high public approval ratings

(in part because her job lofted²² her above the partisan²³ mire⁶ for four years), but a list of vulnerabilities too.

“Hard Choices” doggedly²⁴ works its way down that list.

In the Benghazi chapter Mrs Clinton accuses conservative critics of mounting a “political slugfest on the backs of dead Americans”.

She has a point. But in turn she constructs a political straw man,

accusing critics of suggesting that diplomats stage an un-American “retreat” from the world.

She leaves unanswered the more relevant question of whether the West's intervention²⁵ in Libya, which she championed, left the country better off.

After Ukraine lost Crimea to Russia, many Republicans accused Barack Obama and Mrs Clinton of having emboldened²⁶ Russia with their 2009 bid to “reset” relations.

Mrs Clinton retorts that Russia rolled into Georgia when George W. Bush was still in office, calls the “reset” a worthy²⁷ attempt to work on areas of agreement while setting tough issues to one side, and blames its failure on Vladimir Putin,

one of the world's “hard men”.

Strikingly, other chapters involve veiled swipes at Mr Obama and his team.

Mrs Clinton revisits painful disputes from the 2008 Democratic primary,

when she felt subjected to sexist attack by Obama allies.

She confirms a much-reported dispute from 2012, when she

(in alliance with the then CIA chief, David Petraeus, and the then defence secretary, Leon Panetta)

wanted to train and arm non-extremist Syrian rebels.

Mr Obama decided the risks outweighed²⁸ possible gains—a scepticism shared by White House aides.

In the book she links this to a remarkably²⁹ reductive account of Mr Obama's 2008 victory,

writing: “After all, the President had been elected in large part because of his opposition³⁰ to the war in Iraq and his promise to bring the troops home.”

Hawkishly³¹, Mrs Clinton questions Mr Obama's decision to announce a fixed³² exit date for American troops in Afghanistan.

She suggests that callow young Obama aides were wrong to urge a swift end to Hosni Mubarak's rule in Egypt.

Finally, she addresses those who say she accomplished³³ little.

This is a popular attack: a recent conservative video shows young Hillary fans struggling to name her greatest accomplishment³⁴.

She retorts with a long list of mid-sized successes, from democracy promotion³⁵ in Burma to a 2012 ceasefire in Gaza,

or projects to advance women's rights.

If some chapters are too nakedly political for a work of foreign-policy analysis, then others are too worthy for many general readers.

At times it feels as if none of those 112 countries is going to be missed out.

Mrs Clinton offers accounts of African trade flows, a coup³⁶ in Honduras, climate talks in Denmark,

the fine work that Barbados has done with solar water heaters and her opinion of Canada

(“our northern neighbour is an indispensable partner”). Those hoping for gossip will be disappointed.

Few insiderish nuggets leaven³⁷ the mix—though Mrs Clinton does explain why the secret service dislikes VIPs visiting Buddhist³⁸ temples

(they feel unready for emergencies without their shoes).

To solve the mystery of what “Hard Choices” is for, think back to those Democratic surrogates being schooled on Benghazi talking-points.

This is a briefing book for surrogates, and—beyond them—for the legions of “influencers” so prized by modern political campaigns:

the amateur opinion-formers whose friends, colleagues and relatives listen to their political views, or follow them online.

Understood as a briefing book, the memoir's oddities make more sense.

It exists to offer talking points to each possible element of a future Clinton coalition—

from folk worried about climate change to women who voted for Mitt³⁹ Romney, who could imagine voting for Hillary,

but whose husbands are obsessed⁴⁰ with Benghazi. It never needed to be a good read.

1 stodgy   

adj.易饱的；笨重的；滞涩的；古板的

参考例句：

• It wasn't easy to lose puppy fat when Mum fed her on stodgy home cooking.母亲给她吃易饱的家常菜，她想减掉婴儿肥可是很难。
• The gateman was a stodgy fellow of 60.看门人是个六十岁的矮胖子。

2 memoir   

n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录

参考例句：

• He has just published a memoir in honour of his captain.他刚刚出了一本传记来纪念他的队长。
• In her memoir,the actress wrote about the bittersweet memories of her first love.在那个女演员的自传中，她写到了自己苦乐掺半的初恋。

3 envoy   

n.使节，使者，代表，公使

参考例句：

• Their envoy showed no sign of responding to our proposals.他们的代表对我方的提议毫无回应的迹象。
• The government has not yet appointed an envoy to the area.政府尚未向这一地区派过外交官。

4 devoured   

吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光

参考例句：

• She devoured everything she could lay her hands on: books, magazines and newspapers. 无论是书、杂志，还是报纸，只要能弄得到，她都看得津津有味。
• The lions devoured a zebra in a short time. 狮子一会儿就吃掉了一匹斑马。

5 binders   

n.（司机行话）刹车器；（书籍的）装订机( binder的名词复数 )；（购买不动产时包括预付订金在内的）保证书；割捆机；活页封面

参考例句：

• Propellant binders based on these materials have excellent mechanical properties and good performance. 用这些材料制成的推进粘结剂的工作性能很好，而机械性能则更为突出。 来自辞典例句
• The and inferior binders fabrication process has become much more important. 黏合剂制作工艺优劣显得更加重要。 来自互联网

6 mire   

n.泥沼，泥泞；v.使...陷于泥泞，使...陷入困境

参考例句：

• I don't want my son's good name dragged through the mire.我不想使我儿子的名誉扫地。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

7 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

8 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

9 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 graphics   

n.制图法，制图学；图形显示

参考例句：

• You've leveraged your graphics experience into the video area.你们把图形设计业务的经验运用到录像业务中去。
• Improved graphics took computer games into a new era.经改进的制图技术将电脑游戏带进了一个新时代。

11 brass   

n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器

参考例句：

• Many of the workers play in the factory's brass band.许多工人都在工厂铜管乐队中演奏。
• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc.黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。

12 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 ginger   

n.姜，精力，淡赤黄色；adj.淡赤黄色的；vt.使活泼，使有生气

参考例句：

• There is no ginger in the young man.这个年轻人没有精神。
• Ginger shall be hot in the mouth.生姜吃到嘴里总是辣的。

14 killings   

谋杀( killing的名词复数 )； 突然发大财，暴发

参考例句：

• His statement was seen as an allusion to the recent drug-related killings. 他的声明被视为暗指最近与毒品有关的多起凶杀案。
• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。

15 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

16 jargon   

n.术语，行话

参考例句：

• They will not hear critics with their horrible jargon.他们不愿意听到评论家们那些可怕的行话。
• It is important not to be overawed by the mathematical jargon.要紧的是不要被数学的术语所吓倒.

17 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

18 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

19 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

20 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

21 pieties   

虔诚，虔敬( piety的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Once again, the scientists have caught us mouthing pieties while acting just the contrary. 你会说以貌取人不是美国人的做法，这不公平，令人难以置信然而，科学家们又一次证明我们言行不一。

22 lofted   

击、踢、掷高弧球( loft的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was lofted to a new job. 他升迁到新职位。
• They measured and lofted the remainder of the crop. 他们把剩下的庄稼过了秤并贮藏在阁楼顶层。

23 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

24 doggedly   

adv.顽强地，固执地

参考例句：

• He was still doggedly pursuing his studies.他仍然顽强地进行着自己的研究。
• He trudged doggedly on until he reached the flat.他顽强地、步履艰难地走着，一直走回了公寓。

25 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

26 emboldened   

v.鼓励，使有胆量( embolden的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Emboldened by the wine, he went over to introduce himself to her. 他借酒壮胆，走上前去向她作自我介绍。
• His success emboldened him to expand his business. 他有了成就因而激发他进一步扩展业务。 来自《简明英汉词典》

27 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

28 outweighed   

v.在重量上超过( outweigh的过去式和过去分词 )；在重要性或价值方面超过

参考例句：

• This boxer outweighed by his opponent 20 pounds. 这个拳击选手体重比他的对手重20磅。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She outweighed me by ten pounds, and sometimes she knocked me down. 她的体重超过我十磅，有时竟把我撞倒。 来自百科语句

29 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

30 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。

31 hawkishly   

鹰派的，强硬派的

参考例句：

• My staff's advice that first day was amazingly hawkish. 在第一天，我的僚属们的意见是令人吃惊的鹰派意见。
• Antiwar groups fear Barack Obama may create hawkish Cabinet. 反战团体担心巴拉克·奥巴马可以创建强硬派内阁。

32 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

33 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

34 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

35 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

36 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

37 leaven   

v.使发酵；n.酵母；影响

参考例句：

• These men have been the leaven in the lump of the race.如果说这个种族是块面团，这些人便是发酵剂。
• The leaven of reform was working.改革的影响力在起作用。

38 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

39 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

40 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。