2018年经济学人 美国总统特朗普可以凌驾于法律之上吗?(3)

 

This means the only solution to any clash that Mr Trump¹ sets up between the courts and the voters is a political one.

这就意味着要解决特朗普在法庭和选民冲突的唯一办法是政治性的。

Ultimately the decision to remove a president is a matter of politics, not law.

最终，罢免总统的决定是一个政治问题，而不是法律问题。

It could hardly be otherwise, as America’s Founding Fathers foresaw.

否则是不可能的，这正和美国开国元勋们所预见的一样。

In “Federalist 65”, Alexander Hamilton explained why it was the Senate, rather than the Supreme² Court, that should sit in judgment³ on the president,

在《联邦党人文集》第65章中，亚历山大·汉密尔顿解释了审判总统的为什么是参议院，而不是最高法院。

for “who can so properly be the inquisitors for the nation as the representatives themselves?”

因为“谁能像代表们自己一样，恰当地成为国家的检察官呢？”

No other body, he thought, would have the necessary “confidence in its situation” to do so.

汉密尔顿认为，其他人恐没有必不可少的“对现状的信心”。

Alas⁴, that confidence has gone missing, leaving American democracy in a strange place.

遗憾的是，这种信心已经丧失，将美国民主置于一种奇怪的境地。

Thus far Republicans in Congress have stood by the president.

因此到目前为止，国会的共和党人一直是站在总统这边的。

The only thing likely to change that is a performance in the mid-terms so bad that enough of them come to see the president as an electoral liability.

除非特朗普在即将到来的中期选举中表现糟糕，让自己变成共和党人眼中的竞选包袱。

Although Democrats⁵ may well win a majority in the House, a two-thirds majority in the Senate—the threshold required to remove a president—looks unachievable.

虽然民主党很可能赢得众议院的多数席位，但要想获得参议院三分之二的席位，即罢免总统的门槛，看起来是不可能实现的。

Mr Cohen’s plea has made the president of the United States an unindicted co-conspirator in a pair of federal crimes.

科恩的认罪使得美国总统成为两起联邦罪行中未被起诉的同谋者。

That makes this a sad week for America.

这对美国来说是悲伤的一周。

But it is a shameful⁶ one for the Republican Party, whose members remain more dedicated⁷ to minimising Mr Trump’s malfeasance than to the ideal that nobody, not even the president, is above the law.

但对于共和党来说是耻辱的一周，共和党成员仍然更加致力于最小化特朗普总统的渎职行为，而不是去维护法律至高无上，即使总统也不能凌驾于法律之上的信念。

1 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。

2 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

3 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。

4 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

5 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》

6 shameful   

adj.可耻的，不道德的

参考例句：

• It is very shameful of him to show off.他向人炫耀自己，真不害臊。
• We must expose this shameful activity to the newspapers.我们一定要向报社揭露这一无耻行径。

7 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。