双语新闻：布什在白宫的最后一年(图)

　　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

　　相比威尔逊，乔治·布什可能有更好的一年(对于61岁的人来说，他的身体特别棒)，但是相对于大多数其他美国总统来说，他可能会有更糟糕的一年。

　　2008年，布什先生将是无所作为的。三个美国人中只有一人认为他工作得好。他最亲近的政治顾问几乎都离他而去了。国会已决心进行报复，并将阻止所有他提交的法案。而事实上他能折腾的时间已不到一年了。国会在8月份将放暑假(因此它能做的只不过通过拨款案)。如果共和党在接下来的几个月里选出一位总统候选人，某种程度上，布什将放弃对他的党的领导权；如果像大多数人现在猜想的那样不能选出一位候选人，这个国家将热切期待着这个党召开一次争夺候选人提名的大会。布什先生最后一次全国性亮相的机会可能就是1月28日的《国情咨文》讲话。

　　随着权力的削弱，他将面临成堆的国内、外交问题。经济正在软化。一股丧失抵押品赎回权的浪潮正在使消费者减少消费并扩散愤怒情绪。民粹主义的火焰越烧越旺。人们广泛地呼吁采取一整套刺激性措施来振兴经济。

　　与多数总统相比，布什先生将更加受困于他无法控制的外交事务。巴基斯坦时局就是大中东地区局势不稳定的又一次警钟。