比爾·克林頓能當好第一先生嗎

PHILADELPHIA — If Hillary Clinton wins the presidency, Bill Clinton will not become a regular at Cabinet meetings, his wife’s advisers say. He will not be invited into the Situation Room. He will step away from his family’s foundation work and may not even have an office in the West Wing, given the undesirable optics of a former president and husband looking over the shoulder of the first female commander in chief.

費城——如果希拉里·克林頓(Hillary Clinton)贏得總統大選，比爾·克林頓(Bill Clinton)將不會成爲內閣會議的常客，他妻子的顧問如是說。他不會受邀進入局勢研究室。他會和家族基金會的工作保持距離，考慮到一個前總統兼丈夫在首位女性三軍統帥身後探頭探腦的畫面令人不快，他甚至可能在白宮西翼連個辦公室都沒有。

But the steps Clinton aides are planning to shape his new life do little to address a potentially thornier problem: Historically, when Bill Clinton does not have a job to do, he gets into trouble.

然而在克林頓的助手們爲他的新生活進行的規劃中，很少考慮一個可能更棘手的問題：回顧歷史可以看到，當比爾·克林頓無所事事的時候，他會惹麻煩。

It was during the government shutdown in 1995 that Bill Clinton began his affair with Monica Lewinsky. It was in the early years after he left the White House that his friendships with wealthy playboys became tabloid fodder. Sidelined by Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign, Bill Clinton went rogue and started lashing out at Barack Obama. More recently, his dinner with the businessman Mark Cuban and his tarmac encounter with Attorney General Loretta Lynch were reminders that when Bill Clinton has time on his hands, he can create dangerous distractions for his wife.

1995年政府停擺，比爾·克林頓開始了和莫妮卡·萊溫斯基(Monica Lewinsky)的婚外情。離開白宮的最初幾年，他和幾個身家不菲的花花公子的交情成了小報熱點。2008年希拉里·克林頓的總統競選把他擱置一邊，他就胡鬧起來，大肆攻擊貝拉克·奧巴馬(Barack Obama)。近日，他和商人馬克·庫班(Mark Cuban)吃飯，在機場和司法部長洛蕾塔·林奇(Loretta Lynch)見面，這些都提醒我們，比爾·克林頓一旦閒下來，會爲他妻子製造一些頗爲危險的煩心事。

“He loves getting involved in things — no one loves policy and politics more than Bill Clinton,” said Mickey Kantor, a longtime friend and secretary of commerce under Bill Clinton. “He loves, and needs, to have a purpose.”

“他喜歡參與——比爾·克林頓對政策和政治的愛是無人能比的，”比爾·克林頓的老朋友、曾在其政府擔任商務部長的米奇·坎多爾(Mickey Kantor)說。“他渴望，也需要有一個目標。”

Putting Bill Clinton to good use, while containing his less helpful impulses, would be a major test for Hillary Clinton as president, given the spotlight and pressure they would be under and her limited ability in the past to rein in his excesses. Hillary Clinton sees him as her most trusted confidant and sounding board on national security issue and the economy, advisers say; one recalled a recent golf outing where Bill Clinton received several phone calls and emails from Hillary Clinton before reaching the 14th hole.

鑑於屆時他們將面對的關注和壓力，以及此前她無力控制住他的肆意作風，如何用好比爾·克林頓，包括抑制他那些不太有幫助的衝動，將是作爲總統的希拉里·克林頓面臨的重大考驗。希拉里·克林頓的顧問說，她視他爲最可靠的知己，會在國家安全和經濟方面徵求他的意見；有人透露最近和比爾·克林頓一起打高爾夫，還沒打到第14洞，他就接到了許多希拉里·克林頓的電話和郵件。

Yet Hillary Clinton is still not sure if she would give a formal position to Bill Clinton or rely on him to help behind the scenes and keep a low profile, aides say. She clearly wants him busy: Appearing on “60 Minutes” on Sunday, Hillary Clinton said that it would be “an all-hands-on-deck time” if she wins the presidency and that she would rely on Bill Clinton — as well as President Barack Obama — and “put ‘em all to work.” At the same time she emphasized, that she and Bill Clinton would not be co-presidents, leaving open the question of how he would spend his days when he is so close to the levers of power that he knows well.

然而助手們說，希拉里·克林頓仍然沒有想好是給比爾·克林頓一個正式職位，還是讓他在幕後協助，保持低調。她顯然不想讓他閒下來：週日在“60分鐘”節目上，希拉里·克林頓說一旦贏得大選，將進入“一種全員上陣的狀態”，她需要倚仗比爾·克林頓——以及貝拉克·奧巴馬總統——“讓他們都忙起來。”與此同時她也強調，她和比爾·克林頓不會是聯席總統，但迴避了一個問題：當他所熟悉的權杖近在眼前時，他的時間都將用來幹什麼。

Given his insights and experience, Bill Clinton could be more capable than anyone else in ensuring the success of her presidency — or he could cast a long shadow over her.

以他的見地和經驗，比爾·克林頓將是最有希望助她成爲一個成功總統的人——但他也可能會給她的任期蒙上巨大陰影。

“Their relationship as a current president and a former president would be a very, very sensitive issue early on, and they’d need to carefully work out the rules of the road for the sake of both of them,” said David Gergen, who was a senior adviser to several presidents, including Bill Clinton.

“作爲前任和現任總統，兩人的關係將來會是一個非常、非常敏感的問題，他們要小心摸索出一套行事規則來，這對雙方都有好處，”戴維·格根(David Gergen)說，他曾任多位總統的高級顧問，包括比爾·克林頓。

“There’s some revisionist history underway about his presidency that clearly bothers him, for instance, and he may want to rewrite the story of his presidency partly by influencing Hillary’s policies as president,” Gergen added. “They both have to be very careful with that.”

“比如關於他的總統任期有一些被修正的歷史陳述，顯然對他是構成困擾的，一定程度上，他可能會通過影響希拉里任期內的政策，來改寫他自己的總統故事，”格根說。“這方面他們兩人都需要非常小心。”

Aides and allies of the Clintons were emphatic that his sole focus would be on helping his wife as president and doing what she asked of him. They played down any controversies over the last several years, pointing out that Bill Clinton had focused on the foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative during that time. But at the same time they acknowledged that Bill Clinton would not be content to sit idly by or speak only when spoken to.

克林頓夫婦的助手和盟友強調，他唯一關心的是幫助妻子成爲總統，完全聽從她的調遣。他們不認爲過去幾年的種種爭議事件會有太大影響，並指出比爾·克林頓在這段時間一直把心思放在基金會以及克林頓全球倡議組織(Clinton Global Initiative)的事務上。但同時他們也承認，比爾·克林頓不會安於無所事事地坐在一旁，或是隻能被動地回答問題。

At 69, even as age and health have somewhat slowed him, Bill Clinton still has a strong desire to be in the center of the action, friends say, and his intellectual interests and curiosity remain vast.

儘管年紀和身體狀況對他多少有了些妨礙，但朋友說，現年69歲的比爾·克林頓仍然渴盼能站在風口浪尖，他的思考興趣和好奇心仍然旺盛。

One aide says he now spends an extra hour every day reading about world economies, partly in anticipation of helping Hillary Clinton if she asks him to help with economic revitalization, as she has indicated. He enjoys working abroad — his popularity is sky-high in many foreign countries — and he likes calling up whomever he wants, whenever he wants, especially his wife. But if the Clintons return to the White House, his life will inevitably become more circumscribed, and he will be expected to show the self-discipline that most first spouses have demonstrated.

一名助手說，他現在每天都多花一小時時間閱讀世界經濟方面的資料，部分原因是：如果希拉里·克林頓真像其所表示的那樣，就經濟復甦議題求助於他，他希望可以助其一臂之力。他喜歡在海外工作——在其他很多國家裏都極受歡迎——他還喜歡在他覺得合適的任何時間打電話給他想要找的任何人，尤其是他妻子。但如果兩人重返白宮，他的生活無疑會變得更受限制，而且他將需要展現出大多數第一配偶身上的那種自律。

Friends of Bill Clinton say the smartest way to use him would involve a major but focused appointment, like leading a task force to fight climate change, global poverty, or the HIV/AIDS epidemic, which would be natural outgrowths of his foundation work. Others, including some who worked in Bill Clinton’s administration, like the idea of him as Middle East peace envoy, given his herculean efforts in the region during his presidency, or as a kind of jobs mastermind focused on rebuilding the most struggling regions of America.

比爾·克林頓的朋友們說，啓用他的最明智方式是把他安排到一個重要但卻單一的職位上，比如領導一個工作組，對抗氣候變化、全球貧困或HIV/AIDS疫情，他在克林頓基金會的工作本來就會涉及這些議題。另外一些人，包括曾在克林頓政府任職的人，則贊同讓他出任中東和平大使的主意，因爲他擔任總統期間在該地區付出了艱苦卓絕的努力；或者讓他以類似工作議題主腦的身份，專注於重建美國那些最困難的地區。

“In some ways the Middle East is the most natural job for him, because he’s so popular with all sides and he spent so much time on peacemaking,” said Martin S. Indyk, a U.S. ambassador to Israel during the Clinton administration and a longtime negotiator in peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

“在某種程度上，處理中東事務對他來說是最合適不過的工作，因爲他在方方面面都吃得開，而且他曾長期致力於促進該地區的和平，”曾在克林頓執政期間擔任美國駐以色列大使，長期參與巴以和談的馬丁·S·寅戴克(Martin S. Indyk)說。

Aides to Bill Clinton said Middle East peace envoy was not a job they had heard him express interest in.

比爾·克林頓的助手稱，他們從未聽他表達過對中東和平大使這一職位的興趣。

They also noted that for every possible job, there is a potential downside — that he would spark tensions with her secretary of state, Treasury secretary, or other cabinet officer; that he might upstage Hillary Clinton or box her in because she might have difficulty overruling him; or that he would become a political target of Republicans once again.

他們還指出，對每一個潛在的工作崗位而言，都存在潛在的不利因素——他和她的國務卿、財政部長或其他內閣成員之間的關係可能會很緊張；他沒準兒會搶走希拉里·克林頓的風頭或者令其處境尷尬，因爲希拉里或許難以否決他的決定；他還有可能再次成爲共和黨人的政治靶子。

Bill Clinton is excited to return to the White House because he thinks he can genuinely help Hillary Clinton, his advisers say, so relegating him to a narrow role — like being the head of a task force — might leave him wanting more.

比爾·克林頓的顧問說他滿懷興奮地想要重返白宮，因爲他認爲自己真的可以對希拉里·克林頓有所幫助，因此如果讓他退居一個職權有限的崗位——譬如擔任某個工作組的負責人——那他可能會感到不滿足。

“We’re never had a former president who, as a behind-the-scenes roving emissary, would have so much power to speak on behalf of a sitting president,” said Douglas Schoen, a former adviser and pollster to Bill Clinton. “He is uniquely qualified to be her consigliere, and I think it would thrill him because intellectually he is always restless and engaged. She just has to channel him the right way.”

“身爲幕後巡迴使者的前總統有如此大的代表在位總統發言的權力，是我們前所未見的，”曾擔任比爾·克林頓的顧問和民調工作人員的道格拉斯·舒恩(Douglas Schoen)說。“他絕對有資格當她的軍師，我認爲那會讓他感到興奮，因爲他在智識方面一直是一個永不滿足、全情投入的人。只是她必須以正確的方式引導他的能量。”

Advisers to Hillary Clinton, asked about specific roles that Bill Clinton may play, said she had not given the matter much thought.

當被問及比爾·克林頓可能會扮演的特定角色時，希拉里·克林頓的顧問說她還沒太考慮過這一問題。

“She would certainly seek his advice and counsel,” said Nick Merrill, a spokesman for Hillary Clinton. “Beyond that, it being July, it would be getting ahead of oneself to talk about any sort of formalized role for anyone in an administration.”

“她當然會聽取他的意見和建議，”希拉里·克林頓的發言人尼克·梅里爾(Nick Merrill)說。“除了這一點，才7月份便討論哪個人會被正式安排到哪個職位上之類的話題，有些操之過急。”