pbs高端访谈:乔·利伯曼反思24年的参议员生涯

 　　JUDY WOODRUFF:Now we return to issues here at home and to our interview with retiring Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent who was the Democratic vice² presidential nominee³ in 2004.

　　It's the first of several conversations we will have in the coming weeks with members of Congress who are leaving Washington.

　　I sat down with Lieberman in his hideaway office at the Capitol this morning to talk about the tragedy in his state and more.

　　Sen. Joseph Lieberman, thank you for talking with us.

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　　SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN,I-Conn.: Judy, good to be with you. Thank you.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:At the very moment you are set to retire from the Senate, your state of Connecticut is the site of one of the worst mass shootings in American history, the worst in terms of the age of the victims.

　　JOSEPH LIEBERMAN:Right.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:One of the residents of Newtown said on the NewsHour last night, she said the politicians have failed to protect our children.

　　Is she right?

　　JOSEPH LIEBERMAN:Well, I would say that there is reason for people to be angry, skeptical⁴, and cynical⁵ about the willingness or capacity of Congress to act to stop mass violence in our country, particularly the part of it that is caused by guns.

　　Because, look, even after there was the attempted assassination⁶ on President Reagan, and his press secretary, Jim Brady, was hit, it was seven years until the Brady Act was adopted.

　　And that and the assault ban that was adopted around that same time, 1993-'94, are the last real gun control measures that have been adopted. After every previous act of mass violence, shooting, Columbine right through the mall in Oregon last week, really, nothing has been done.

　　And I don't blame people for being angry. And I hope and I believe I see the beginning of a different reaction here in Washington.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:Well, you have called for a national commission. The president today is organizing, announcing a task force.

　　Is that what you have in mind? And, in fact, as you say, that, again, the residents of Newtown on our program last night were saying, it's—you know, every time there's been a shooting in the past, they said something was going to be done.

　　JOSEPH LIEBERMAN:Right.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:It wasn't done.

　　JOSEPH LIEBERMAN:Yes.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:And they said, we want something done now.

　　JOSEPH LIEBERMAN:Yes, I don't blame them.

　　Look, my feeling is that the president, by executive action, Congress, as soon as it can, should do whatever it can do quickly to make it less likely that something like the shootings in Newtown will happen again.

　　Obviously, I'm talking now about additional gun control laws. I would vote today to restore the assault weapon bans. These are military weapons. There's no need for them in hunting or target practice. I would close the so-called gun show loophole. If you buy a gun at a licensed⁷ federal firearms dealer⁸, you have got to go through a background check.

　　If you buy it at a gun show, you don't. That's ridiculous. The reason I'm proposing a commission is that there are other elements of this that are going to take more time and ought to be part of a national conversation.

　　For instance, what do you do with a troubled person before they become a killer⁹? What about the impact of violence in the entertainment culture? What should our schools and mental health system be doing to try to find potential murderers before they become murderers?

　　Those are serious questions that you can't solve overnight. But, in terms of additional gun control legislation, that ought to be done as soon as possible.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:Let me ask you about another dilemma¹⁰, problem facing the Capitol right now, and that's the fiscal¹¹ cliff.

　　JOSEPH LIEBERMAN:Yes.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:Do you believe it is going to be resolved before Jan. 1, and do you believe that next year there will be a longer-term solution found to deal with spending and taxes?

　　JOSEPH LIEBERMAN:Right.

　　I think that what's possible before the end of the year is that we have a substantial down payment on debt reduction. And I'm saying something over a trillion dollars, with a combination of spending reductions, including some reforms to entitlements, and tax increases, particularly on wealthier Americans. That would be a significant accomplishment¹².

　　But, frankly¹³, Judy, there are groups in both parties that are pulling at the president and the speaker to keep them from making an agreement. And I hope they will both have the leadership and the courage to make sure that doesn't happen.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:Well, speaking of that pulling in both directions, a lot of people today look at this Capitol, this Congress, and they say it's dysfunctional.

　　Do you believe that dysfunction is just a permanent feature of Congress, or do you think something can be done about it?

　　JOSEPH LIEBERMAN:No, I think something can be done. I also do want to say, though, I have to say, first, that, of my 24 years here, the last two have been the least productive, because they have been the most uncompromising and most partisan¹⁴.

　　But, along the way, in the 22 previous years, we got a lot of things done.

　　It wasn't a straight line. Sometimes, you would have times of worse partisanship¹⁵, sometimes less. But I have been privileged to be part of major steps forward on environmental protection, national security, civil rights, human rights, education reform. And every one of those things was bipartisan, particularly in the Senate.

　　You can't get anything done on a partisan basis in the Senate, because you need 60 votes here to break a filibuster¹⁶. So, it can and must get better. But, right now, it's at the bottom. It's at the pits, really, and I don't blame people in the country for being angry.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:You—when you were recently asked by The New York Times to name, I guess, the three senators you felt the closest to in the Senate, it was three Republicans that you named.

　　JOSEPH LIEBERMAN:Yes.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:So, I—I want to ask you, there's a lot of conversation right now about what does the Republican Party need to do after the terrible losses it suffered in the polls this year.

　　JOSEPH LIEBERMAN:Right. Right.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:Do you have a thought about that?

　　JOSEPH LIEBERMAN:Well, they need to come back to where the public is. I mean, frankly, they lost touch with that large plurality in the middle of independents.

　　To me, one of the most fascinating, instructive numbers on the exit polls was that, among self-described moderates, President Obama got 15 percent more votes than Gov. Romney.

　　So, a lot of people in this country think President Obama is center-left or even far left. But, for self-described moderates, it became a choice between Obama the Democrat¹, and Romney the Republican. And 15 percent more of them thought that Romney the Republican was too far over to, I would say, the right side.

　　So I think the Republicans have to come back to where the people are, and they can do it with -- they're particularly out of touch on what I would call social issues.

　　You might say libertarian issues, personal liberties, and also on matters like immigration.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:A word of advice for President Obama for the next four years?

　　JOSEPH LIEBERMAN:Well, I think President Obama should feel very good about the election, and really should work hard, as I think he's doing now with John Boehner, work persistently¹⁷ and not let himself get discouraged if the Republicans seem to be pushing him off for partisan reasons, because there is so much that he can do, but he will not do it unless he engages some critical mass of Republicans.

　　And, of course, they have got to be willing to set aside rigid¹⁸ partisanship and ideological¹⁹ purity and come to the middle and compromise with the president to deal with big problems like the debt, like the economy, like cyber-security, like climate change, for instance.

　　So I hope that will happen. The president, most of all, has the mandate²⁰ to be a leader. And I will tell you that I think he's off to a good start of leadership since the election. And I felt it the other night in Newtown.

　　He brought not only comfort to Newtown, Conn. He brought resolve that we're not going to tolerate these kinds of tragedies anymore.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:Sen. Joe Lieberman...

　　JOSEPH LIEBERMAN:Thanks, Judy.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:... leaving the Senate after 24 years...

　　JOSEPH LIEBERMAN:Yes, ma'am.

　　JUDY WOODRUFF:... thank you.

　　GWEN IFILL: Joe Lieberman also weighed in on two of his Senate colleagues who may or may not be tapped for the president's Cabinet, endorsing²¹ one, but not the other. You can watch the full interview on our website.

1 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

2 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

3 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

4 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

5 cynical   

adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的

参考例句：

• The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
• He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。

6 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

7 licensed   

adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
• Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗？

8 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

9 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

10 dilemma   

n.困境，进退两难的局面

参考例句：

• I am on the horns of a dilemma about the matter.这件事使我进退两难。
• He was thrown into a dilemma.他陷入困境。

11 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

12 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。

13 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

14 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。

15 Partisanship   

n. 党派性, 党派偏见

参考例句：

• Her violent partisanship was fighting Soames's battle. 她的激烈偏袒等于替索米斯卖气力。
• There was a link of understanding between them, more important than affection or partisanship. ' 比起人间的感情，比起相同的政见，这一点都来得格外重要。 来自英汉文学

16 filibuster   

n.妨碍议事，阻挠；v.阻挠

参考例句：

• A senator dragged the subject in as a filibuster.一个参议员硬把这个题目拉扯进来，作为一种阻碍议事的手法。
• The democrats organized a filibuster in the senate.民主党党员在参议院上组织了阻挠议事。

17 persistently   

ad.坚持地；固执地

参考例句：

• He persistently asserted his right to a share in the heritage. 他始终声称他有分享那笔遗产的权利。
• She persistently asserted her opinions. 她果断地说出了自己的意见。

18 rigid   

adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的

参考例句：

• She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

19 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

20 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

21 endorsing   

v.赞同( endorse的现在分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• Yet Communist leaders are also publicly endorsing religion in an unprecedented way. 不过，共产党领导层对宗教信仰的公开认可也是以前不曾有过的。 来自互联网
• Connecticut Independent Senator Joseph Lieberman is endorsing Republican Senator John McCain. 康涅狄格州独立派参议员约瑟夫。列波曼将会票选共和议员约翰。麦凯恩。 来自互联网