Farewell message: Obama and Congress
In his final state-of-the-union address today, Barack Obama will trumpet his record and offer a sunny vision of America’s future. Both need talking up—so polarised, ill-tempered and pessimistic is the political environment in which the president’s two-term tenure is winding down. Castigating Mr Obama as a lily-livered socialist tyrant, contenders for the Republican presidential nomination vow to scrap his achievements in health-care reform and pollution control. Co-operation between Mr Obama and the Republican-controlled Congress is almost over; he will announce no big measure requiring congressional approval. He will instead cast his prognostications further forward, in divining the fairer, safer America he sees emerging under liberal stewardship. Indeed America is in much better shape than the president’s detractors pretend. Yet his likeliest Democratic successor, Hillary Clinton, will not thank him for predicting anything too specific: she wants to keep her distance from Mr Obama’s divisive record.
詞匯：
- record
- state-of-the-union address：國情咨文演講
- trumpet:喇叭拂酣；宣告
- polarized:極化的（兩極分化）
- ill-tempered
- pessimistic：悲觀的
- tenure 任期
- wind down:to diminish or cause to diminish gradually in energy, intensity, or scope.
- castigate:怒罵，斥責(zé)
- contender
- lily-livered:膽怯的
- nomination：提名
- prognostication：預(yù)言預(yù)測
- detractor:貶低者 詆毀者
- divisive
試翻譯：
告別詞：奧巴馬和國會
在今天最后一次的國情咨文演講中庆捺，奧巴馬將會宣傳他達(dá)成的成就和美國的光明未來爱榕。這兩者都需要對話實現(xiàn)缰盏，而奧巴馬的余下的任期將在兩極分化的、充滿火藥味的盅安、悲觀的政治環(huán)境中落下帷幕懒棉。共和黨總統(tǒng)候選人怒罵奧巴馬是個膽怯的社會主義暴君,并發(fā)誓要廢掉奧巴馬在醫(yī)改和控制環(huán)境污染上的成就。奧巴馬和共和黨控制的國會的合作已經(jīng)近乎結(jié)束该抒，凡是需要國會許可的重大措施他都沒法再宣布了慌洪。而奧巴馬會進(jìn)而預(yù)言說，在民主黨人的管理之下會有一個更公平更安全的美國柔逼。的確蒋譬，美國現(xiàn)在的樣子還是比總統(tǒng)先生的貶低者所宣稱的要好割岛。不過愉适，奧巴馬最有可能的繼任者——希拉里克林頓應(yīng)該不會對他任何具體的預(yù)言心存感激——她希望和奧巴馬有爭議的成就保持距離。
From The Economist Espresso: Farewell message: Obama and Congress
http://econ.st/1IZ0BvO
