德國眼裏不揉沙子 調侃奧巴馬不再值得信任

What did the president know, and when did he know it? Such was demanded of Richard Nixon, who resigned 40 years ago next month. In no sense can President Barack Obama be morally compared with the man who brought us Watergate. He is neither a crook nor a liar.

總統知道什麼？他什麼時候知道的？這些都是於1974年8月辭職的美國前總統理查德•尼克松(Richard Nixon)被要求回答的問題。從道德方面來說，美國總統巴拉克•奧巴馬(Barack Obama)絕對不能與爲我們帶來“水門事件”的尼克松相提並論。奧巴馬既不是騙子，也不是說謊者。

But Mr Obama shares one problem that could cripple what remains of his presidency – most people no longer trust him. The sentiment spans foreign allies as well as domestic critics. When trust goes, respect is seldom far behind.

但與尼克松一樣，奧巴馬面臨一個可能讓其剩餘任期陷入癱瘓的問題：大多數人不再信任他，這其中既包括外國盟友，也包括國內的批評人士。當失去信任的時候，尊重也就無從談起。

The most surprising example is Germany. It was in Berlin in 2008 that then Senator Obama unveiled his global promise – an America that could once again be trusted. Germans no longer believe it. In the wake of the “friendly spying” ring allegations, less than 40 per cent of Germans consider the US a trustworthy partner, according to one survey.

最令人意外的例子是德國。2008年在柏林，當時還是美國參議員的奧巴馬披露了其全球承諾：讓美國重獲信任。如今德國人不再相信這話了。一項調查顯示，在“友好間諜活動”系列醜聞曝光後，還認爲美國是值得信賴的合作伙伴的德國人比例不足40%。

Senior German figures cannot agree whether Mr Obama was unaware of Washington’s double agents, or dissembling. Either way, when Mr Obama spoke to Angela Merkel the day before the initial revelations he did not raise it. It was enough to make you want to cry said Wolfgang Schäuble, the finance minister. Never before has a close US ally expelled a CIA station chief.

奧巴馬是真不知道華盛頓的雙面間諜，還是在故意掩飾？德國高層看法不一。無論是哪一種情況，奧巴馬在事件曝光前一天與德國總理安格拉•默克爾(Angela Merkel)交談時，他並沒有提起這事。德國財長沃爾夫岡•朔伊布勒(Wolfgang Schäuble)表示，這足以讓你想哭。此前從未發生過美國親密盟友驅逐美國中央情報局(CIA)站長的事情。

Mistrust is a nebulous concept. In the case of Mr Nixon, people rightly suspected he was crooked. In the case of Mr Obama, it is based on the perception that he is ineffectual. His words are so rarely joined to deeds. The net result is not radically different. When Mr Obama promises something will happen – say a tightening of data surveillance safeguards, or a drive to overhaul US immigration policy – people are no longer inclined to take him at his word. They may believe he means what he says. But they do not trust his ability to deliver.

不信任是一個模糊的概念。就尼克松來說，人們正確地懷疑他不老實。對奧巴馬的不信任建立在人們認爲他無效的基礎之上。他很少兌現承諾。最終結果沒有什麼根本性的不同。當奧巴馬承諾將會發生某事時——比如收緊數據監視防護措施，或者推動改革美國移民政策——人們不再當回事。他們可能相信他說的是真心話，但不相信他有執行能力。

There are Republicans who will swallow any number of preposterous stories about Mr Obama – that he has used the Internal Revenue Service to hound conservatives, or has plans to liquidate old people in order to control healthcare costs. But the conspiracy theorists have been around since the day he took office. What has changed is the mindset of ordinary people. Most Americans say they no longer personally trust Mr Obama. And fewer than 30 per cent express trust in the office of the presidency.

有些共和黨人會全盤接受所有關於奧巴馬的荒謬故事：他利用美國國稅局(IRS)來侵擾保守派人士，或者計劃消滅老年人以控制醫療成本。但自奧巴馬上臺那天起，陰謀論者就一直沒閒着。真正改變的是普通人的想法。大多數美國人表示，他們在個人層面不再信任奧巴馬。只有不到30%的美國人表示信任奧巴馬政府。

Mr Obama’s instinct has been to march away from the sound of gunfire. On the one hand, he has made it known that he hates being in Washington. From now on Mr Obama will take every opportunity to get out into the real world, say aides. On the other, he blames the messenger for his predicament. Mr Obama says he enjoys interacting with ordinary people, as opposed to the “cynics” who live in Washington, including the US media. The word now crops up in nearly every speech. “It’s easy to be cynical, in fact these days it’s kind of trendy,” he said. “Cynicism is a choice, and hope is a better choice.”

奧巴馬本能地想要遠離指責。一方面，他透露出自己討厭呆在華盛頓。奧巴馬的助手稱，從現在開始，奧巴馬將利用一切機會投入真實的世界。另一方面，他將自己的困境歸咎於信使。奧巴馬錶示，他喜歡與普通人、而不是華盛頓的“犬儒主義者”（包括美國媒體）來往。現在奧巴馬幾乎在每場演講中都會用到“犬儒主義”這個詞。他說：“犬儒主義是容易的，實際上如今這已成爲某種潮流。犬儒主義是一種選擇，而希望是一種更好的選擇。”

Journalism has more than its fair share of cynics. But most reporters are better described as sceptical. A cynic believes there is nothing new under the sun. A sceptic resists gullibility. On the basis of the latter, Mr Obama does not appear to relish being chief executive.

新聞界當然不乏犬儒主義者，但將大多數記者稱爲懷疑者更好一些。犬儒主義者相信陽光底下沒有一樣東西是新的，懷疑者則是不肯輕信。按後者的觀點來看，奧巴馬似乎不是特別想在總統位置上坐下去。

According to Mark Knoller, who chronicles the habits of US presidents, Mr Obama has now played golf 179 times – considerably more than George W Bush, his golf-loving predecessor. Mr Obama dislikes spending time with fellow politicians. But he seems happy to attend endless fundraisers. He has now clocked up 393 fundraising events since becoming president, almost double that of Mr Bush.

記錄美國總統習慣的馬克•諾勒(Mark Knoller)表示，奧巴馬打了179場高爾夫，遠遠超過以熱衷於高爾夫球出名的前總統喬治·W·布什(George W Bush)。奧巴馬不喜歡與政客同僚消磨時間。但他似乎喜歡參加沒完沒了的籌款會。自擔任總統以來，他總共參加了393場籌款會，幾乎是布什的兩倍。

If Mr Obama put half as much effort into co-opting or wrongfooting his opponents as he does raising cash from the wealthy, people might be less sceptical. It is not only journalists who remember Mr Obama’s promise in 2008 to limit his spending to public funding on condition that his Republican opponent agreed to do the same. Sure enough, his opponent (John McCain) accepted the deal. By then Mr Obama had discovered his great flair for raising money. He dropped the offer.

如果奧巴馬拿出籌款精力的一半來拉攏或者擾亂對手，或許會減少人們對他的不信任。包括記者在內的許多人記得，奧巴馬曾在2008年承諾限制公共籌款活動，只要共和黨對手同意做同樣的事情。當然，他的對手約翰•麥凱恩(John McCain)同意了。那時奧巴馬已經發現自己在籌款方面的巨大天賦。他食言了。

Mr Nixon’s aides were caught laundering illegal campaign funds and imprisoned for it. Mr Obama’s methods are legal and transparent. They are like night and day. But nobody expected better from “Tricky Dicky”. Mr Obama, on the other hand, made large ethical claims – that he would change the tone in Washington, that he would restore America’s moral authority in the world and that he would drive big money out of politics.

尼克松的助理由於爲非法競選資金洗錢而被捕入獄。奧巴馬的籌款方法是合法而透明的。兩者有天壤之別。但沒有人對“狡猾的迪克”（Tricky Dicky，指尼克松——譯者注）有更高的期望。另一方面，奧巴馬當初在道德方面口氣很大，承諾要改變華盛頓的風氣，恢復美國在世界上的道德權威，並且把“大錢”驅逐出政壇。

If you seek an explanation for why Mr Obama riles so many voters – and not just Tea Party conservatives – the perception of double standards is at the root of the problem. leaders who make grand moral promises set themselves up for a fall. If they cannot live up to them, the backlash is all the greater.

如果你希望爲奧巴馬激怒如此多選民（不僅僅是茶黨保守派）尋找一個解釋，那麼人們得到的雙重標準印象是問題的根源。做出重大道德承諾的領導人很容易摔倒。如果他們不能兌現承諾，就會招致更大的反彈。

That is why Mr Obama is so often compared to Jimmy Carter. For all his turpitude, Nixon was good at working the machinery of state to get things done, some of them very impressive. Even when they disagree, people want action from their leaders, rather than explanations for inaction. Nixon’s actions were sometimes heinous. Obama’s are often innocuous.

正因爲此，人們往往會將奧巴馬與吉米•卡特(Jimmy Carter)相提並論。尼克松儘管品行不端，但他擅長動用國家機器來做事，其中一些事情還令人印象深刻。人們即便不贊同某事，也仍希望領導人有所作爲，而不是爲無爲找藉口。尼克松的所作所爲有時是可恥的，奧巴馬的作爲往往無關痛癢。

“When the president does it, that means that it is not illegal,” Nixon told David Frost. “If I do something, it is moral,” Mr Obama appears to believe. Except when it isn’t moral, which brings on greater disillusion. Call it Mr Obama’s Germany syndrome.

尼克松曾在接受採訪時向戴維•弗羅斯特(David Frost)表示：“當總統這麼做的時候，就意味着這件事並非不合法。”奧巴馬似乎相信“如果我做某事，它就是道德的”。可有時候它就是不道德的，於是它更讓人感到失望。可以將這稱爲奧巴馬的德國綜合症。