President-elect Barack Obama is getting generally positive reviews for choosing former rival Hillary Clinton as his secretary of state. But political experts say Clinton's appointment carries the potential of both risk and reward.
美国当选总统奥巴马挑选前政治对手希拉里.克林顿为国务卿的决定总的来说获得了好评。不过，政治专家们说，任命克林顿可能会带来好处，但同时也会有风险。
In announcing his national security team, Mr. Obama said he chose people who share what he called "a core vision," but who would not shy away from debate.
奥巴马在公布其国家安全小组成员人选时说，他挑选的官员在核心问题上和他有“相同的观点”，同时，他们还敢于同他进行辩论。
But the president-elect also made it clear that when it comes to foreign policy, his voice will carry the day.
不过，奥巴马也清楚地表示，在外交政策方面，他将作最后的决定。
"I am a strong believer in strong personalities and strong opinions," he said. "I think that is how the best decisions are made. But understand, I will be setting policy as president. I will be responsible for the vision that this team carries out and I expect them to implement that vision once decisions are made. So as [former President] Harry Truman said, 'The buck will stop with me.'"
他说：“我非常相信要有坚强的个性和坚定的观点。我认为这是作出最好决定的条件。不过，你们要明白，作为总统，最终的政策由我来定。我负责这个团队要达到的目标，一旦作出决定，我期待我的团队成员们去实现这些目标。正如前总统杜鲁门说的，‘我负一切责任。’”
Hillary Clinton said the decision to give up her seat in the U.S. Senate to accept the post of secretary of state was not easy. But in the end, Clinton decided that she wanted a new challenge.
希拉里.克林顿说，放弃参议员的工作去接受国务卿任命是一个艰难的决定。不过她最终决定接受这个新挑战。
"President Kennedy once said that engaging the world to meet the threats we face was the greatest adventure of our century," she said. "Well Mr. President-elect, I am proud to join you on what will be a difficult and exciting adventure in this new century."
她说：“肯尼迪总统曾说，我们这个世纪最大胆的行动就是发动全世界去面对我们所面临的威胁。当选总统奥巴马先生，我很自豪能和你一起在这个新世纪里从事艰难和激动人心的壮举。”
Most experts see advantages for Mr. Obama in having Clinton as his secretary of state.
大部分专家认为，奥巴马邀请克林顿担任国务卿会给他带来优势。
"Having a secretary of state who can speak for the president, but who also has enormous international stature, is a critical element," said Norman Ornstein, a political scholar at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute. "Hillary Rodham Clinton brings that to the table."
华盛顿智库美国企业研究所的政治学家奥恩斯泰因说：“作为国务卿，最重要的是能够代表总统发言，同时拥有巨大的国际声望。希拉里.克林顿正是具备这种能力的人。”
Others see at least the potential for friction between two former rivals who waged a long and sometimes bitter primary battle for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination this year.
另外一些人则认为，由于奥巴马和希拉里曾经在今年的初选中为争夺民主党总统提名而进行了持久而激烈的斗争，这两个前政敌之间可能会出现摩擦。
"The pros are her abilities and her background. She has traveled all over the world. She has had extensive experience," said James Pfiffner, an expert on the presidency at George Mason University in Virginia. "Also, she has a very positive image around the world. The potential downside, I suppose, is that she is a very independent politician with her own base of support because of her presidential run and, theoretically, there could be conflict."
菲夫纳是维吉尼亚州乔治梅森大学研究美国各届总统的专家。他说：“任命希拉里为国务卿的好处是希拉里所具备的能力和背景。她到过世界许多国家，有丰富的经验。同时，她在全世界有非常正面的形象。但是，我认为任命她的一个潜在缺点是，她是一个非常独立的政治人物，她在竞选总统的过程中获得了自己的支持者，从理论上讲，她和奥巴马之间可能会发生冲突。”
University of Texas scholar Bruce Buchanan sees the Clinton appointment as a bold but risky move by President-elect Obama.
美国德克萨斯州大学的学者布坎南认为，任命希拉里为国务卿是奥巴马的一个大胆而有风险的决定。
"It is potentially a brilliant move if it works, but the degree of difficulty is high enough to make us necessarily cautious in predicting success," he said.
他说：“如果一切顺利，那这可能就是一个相当英明的决定。不过，要保证不发生问题是很难的，所以我们必须谨慎，不能妄加预测这一任命一定会成功。”
Professor Buchanan questions whether Senator Clinton will be willing "to subordinate herself" to the new president.
布坎南怀疑希拉里.克林顿是否会愿意“屈从”于新总统之下。
But Buchanan also says the Clinton appointment could have a unifying effect on the incoming administration.
不过，他也说，任命希拉里.克林顿可能会起到团结新一届政府班子的作用。
"Should this work, even though the prospects are uncertain, should this work, what Obama will have done is not only bring to his side a great talent with a high profile who will, for the most part, be well accepted around the world, but will also unify the Democratic Party in a way that you really can't fully do without taking the Clinton's into account in some significant way," he added.
他说：“虽然现在不好说这一任命最终是否会成功，不过如果成功的话，那么奥巴马所做的就不仅仅是把一个很有才能、声望显赫并在世界许多地方受欢迎的人招纳在自己身边，他还将团结整个民主党。从某些重要的方面考虑到克林顿的作用，要团结民主党还真的不能没有她的参与。”
In the past, some presidents have forged close bonds with their secretary of state. Notable examples include President Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger, and President George H. W. Bush and his longtime friend, James Baker.
在过去，曾经有几位总统和国务卿建立了十分密切的关系。尼克松总统和国务卿基辛格，以及老布什总统和他的老朋友、国务卿贝克之间的关系就是很好的例子。
Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have had a contentious relationship as political rivals. But Rutgers University expert Ross Baker says that could change.
作为前政敌，奥巴马和希拉里以前的关系是对立的。不过，罗格斯大学的专家贝克说，这种关系可能会改变。
"I think that she is a very adaptable person," he noted. "And I think that she realizes that there is one boss and that is the president of the United States, and that whatever she does as secretary of state has to be in conformity with what President Obama wants her to do."
他说：“我认为，希拉里.克林顿是一个非常能适应环境的人。她明白只有一个人说了算，那就是美国总统，而她作为国务卿所做的一切都必须和奥巴马总统要她做的相一致。”
The appointment of presidential rivals as secretary of state is rare, but not unprecedented, in U.S. history.
任命总统竞选中的对手出任国务卿是罕见的，不过在美国历史上并不是第一次。
Presidents John Quincy Adams, Abraham Lincoln and Benjamin Harrison all appointed former rivals to the post of secretary of state during their terms of office.
美国前总统亚当斯、林肯和哈里森都曾在任期内任命自己的前对手担任国务卿。 |