George Bush is likely to have a better year than Wilson (he is remarkably fit for a 61-year-old), but a worse one than most other presidents.
Mr Bush has little going for him in 2008. Only one in three Americans thinks that he is doing a good job. Almost all of his closest political advisers have decamped. Congress is determined to get its revenge and block anything that he sends it. And in reality he has much less than a year to play with. Congress leaves for its summer break in August (thereafter it will do little but pass appropriations bills). If the Republican Party chooses a champion in the next couple of months, he will to some extent cede the leadership of his party; if it fails to choose a champion, as many people are now speculating, the country will be agog at the prospect of a party convention at which the nomination is still up for grabs. Mr Bush's last chance to command the national spotlight may come as soon as the state-of-the-union address on January 28th.
And, with his power ebbing, he faces a mountain of problems at home and abroad. The economy is softening. A wave of foreclosures is damping consumer spending and spreading anger. The fires of populism are burning ever more brightly. There are widespread calls for a stimulus package to revive the economy.
More than most presidents, Mr Bush is also a hostage to foreign events over which he has little control. The current implosion in Pakistan is just one more reminder of the instability of the greater Middle East
雙語新聞：布什在白宮的最后一年
相比威爾遜，喬治·布什可能有更好的一年(對于61歲的人來說，他的身體特別棒)，但是相對于大多數(shù)其他美國總統(tǒng)來說，他可能會有更糟糕的一年。
2008年，布什先生將是無所作為的。三個美國人中只有一人認(rèn)為他工作得好。他最親近的政治顧問幾乎都離他而去了。國會已決心進(jìn)行報復(fù)，并將阻止所有他提交的法案。而事實上他能折騰的時間已不到一年了。國會在8月份將放暑假(因此它能做的只不過通過撥款案)。如果共和黨在接下來的幾個月里選出一位總統(tǒng)候選人，某種程度上，布什將放棄對他的黨的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)權(quán)；如果像大多數(shù)人現(xiàn)在猜想的那樣不能選出一位候選人，這個國家將熱切期待著這個黨召開一次爭奪候選人提名的大會。布什先生最后一次全國性亮相的機(jī)會可能就是1月28日的《國情咨文》講話。
隨著權(quán)力的削弱，他將面臨成堆的國內(nèi)、外交問題。經(jīng)濟(jì)正在軟化。一股喪失抵押品贖回權(quán)的浪潮正在使消費者減少消費并擴(kuò)散憤怒情緒。民粹主義的火焰越燒越旺。人們廣泛地呼吁采取一整套刺激性措施來振興經(jīng)濟(jì)。
與多數(shù)總統(tǒng)相比，布什先生將更加受困于他無法控制的外交事務(wù)。巴基斯坦時局就是大中東地區(qū)局勢不穩(wěn)定的又一次警鐘。
Mr Bush has little going for him in 2008. Only one in three Americans thinks that he is doing a good job. Almost all of his closest political advisers have decamped. Congress is determined to get its revenge and block anything that he sends it. And in reality he has much less than a year to play with. Congress leaves for its summer break in August (thereafter it will do little but pass appropriations bills). If the Republican Party chooses a champion in the next couple of months, he will to some extent cede the leadership of his party; if it fails to choose a champion, as many people are now speculating, the country will be agog at the prospect of a party convention at which the nomination is still up for grabs. Mr Bush's last chance to command the national spotlight may come as soon as the state-of-the-union address on January 28th.
And, with his power ebbing, he faces a mountain of problems at home and abroad. The economy is softening. A wave of foreclosures is damping consumer spending and spreading anger. The fires of populism are burning ever more brightly. There are widespread calls for a stimulus package to revive the economy.
More than most presidents, Mr Bush is also a hostage to foreign events over which he has little control. The current implosion in Pakistan is just one more reminder of the instability of the greater Middle East
雙語新聞：布什在白宮的最后一年
相比威爾遜，喬治·布什可能有更好的一年(對于61歲的人來說，他的身體特別棒)，但是相對于大多數(shù)其他美國總統(tǒng)來說，他可能會有更糟糕的一年。
2008年，布什先生將是無所作為的。三個美國人中只有一人認(rèn)為他工作得好。他最親近的政治顧問幾乎都離他而去了。國會已決心進(jìn)行報復(fù)，并將阻止所有他提交的法案。而事實上他能折騰的時間已不到一年了。國會在8月份將放暑假(因此它能做的只不過通過撥款案)。如果共和黨在接下來的幾個月里選出一位總統(tǒng)候選人，某種程度上，布什將放棄對他的黨的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)權(quán)；如果像大多數(shù)人現(xiàn)在猜想的那樣不能選出一位候選人，這個國家將熱切期待著這個黨召開一次爭奪候選人提名的大會。布什先生最后一次全國性亮相的機(jī)會可能就是1月28日的《國情咨文》講話。
隨著權(quán)力的削弱，他將面臨成堆的國內(nèi)、外交問題。經(jīng)濟(jì)正在軟化。一股喪失抵押品贖回權(quán)的浪潮正在使消費者減少消費并擴(kuò)散憤怒情緒。民粹主義的火焰越燒越旺。人們廣泛地呼吁采取一整套刺激性措施來振興經(jīng)濟(jì)。
與多數(shù)總統(tǒng)相比，布什先生將更加受困于他無法控制的外交事務(wù)。巴基斯坦時局就是大中東地區(qū)局勢不穩(wěn)定的又一次警鐘。