文艺；书评；比尔·克林顿的忠告；是的，我们能做到；

　　Back to Work: Why We Need Smart Government for a Strong Economy. By Bill Clinton.

　　《重返工作：聪明的政府有糖吃》。比尔·克林顿著。

　　Recently the American public's growing criticism of Barack Obama has been accompanied by warmer feelings for the Clintons. More and more Democrats now wonder if they should have chosen Hillary in his place, and it is increasingly common for the president's lacklustre handling of the economy to be contrasted with the surer leadership and much happier economic times when Bill ruled the White House. Mr Clinton has now written a book full of ideas about how to revive the economy and get America's unemployed millions back to work—advice that, by drawing further attention to their contrasting styles, Mr Obama may find less helpful than Mr Clinton intends.

　　最近，一面是美国公众对巴拉克·奥巴马 (Barack Obama) 日渐增多的批评声不绝于耳；另一面是对克林顿夫妇更加温馨的情感绵绵于心。越来越多的民主党人现在怀疑是否他们当初应该选择希拉里 (Hillary) 取代奥巴马，而且奥巴马处理经济的乏善可陈与比尔入主白宫时更加自信的领导力以及更加幸福的经济时期之间的对比也愈发普遍。克林顿刚写完的一本书里满是关于如何复苏美国经济以及如何使得美国成百上千万失业人员重返工作岗位的点子。比起克林顿的主观意图而言，奥巴马可能觉得这些忠告起不了多大用处，因为它们促使人们进一步注意到两人对比鲜明的风格。

　　Mr Clinton says he was prompted to write by the success in the 2010 mid-term elections of what he calls the “antigovernment” movement, which has prevented much of the action that is necessary to tackle joblessness. He bemoans the end of an era when Republicans and Democrats in Washington, DC, could disagree on policies but essentially share a common set of facts and the view that, one way or another, government was there to help.

　　克林顿称促使他写作这本书的动机是他称之为“反政府”运动在 2010 年中期选举中获得成功，而“反政府”运动阻碍了许多解决失业问题的必要行动。他惋惜一个时代的终结。在这个时代里，华盛顿的共和党人和民主党人会在政策上有分歧，但在本质上对一系列事实以及无论如何政府都应出手相助的看法仍享有共通之处。

　　Still, he can't resist mentioning his joke on the campaign trail that “my feelings were hurt because I wasn't the Tea Party's favourite politician”—a roundabout way of tooting his own horn, having left office with a budget surplus, higher employment, fewer people on welfare, lower taxes for much of the population and having scrapped lots of government red tape.

　　然而，克林顿还是情不自禁地提及竞选活动时的笑话，“我的感情受到了伤害，因为我不是茶党所钟爱的政治家”——迂回曲折地炫耀下自己的政绩：离任时预算盈余、就业率高企、吃福利的人不多、多数人口税负较低、废除了很多政府繁文缛节。

　　The book has two main strengths that Mr Obama would do well to emulate. First, while arguing, rightly, that in the short run the American economy urgently needs a boost from government spending, it spells out in simple terms why Uncle Sam also needs a credible strategy for sorting out the country's long-term fiscal problems. Mr Clinton shows far more enthusiasm for the report of the Simpson-Bowles deficit-reduction commission than has so far been mustered by its creator, Mr Obama.

　　这本书有两个优点奥巴马应该努力效仿。第一，在正确地论述短期内美国经济迫切需要政府支出助推的同时，这本书也以简明扼要的词语阐释了为什么山姆大叔需要一个值得信赖的策略来解决美国长期的财政问题。辛普森·鲍勒斯赤字削减委员会由奥巴马组建。但比起那些到目前为止召集起来的委员们，克林顿对该委员会的报告表现出更为强烈的热情。

　　Second, Mr Clinton is at his famously wonkish best in scouring America and the world (Singapore and Germany, in particular) to find practical ideas for getting people back to work. Many of these require “smart government”, which more often than not means partnering with private businesses and non-profit organisations. Some ideas are even borrowed from the Republicans, including at least one from his old foe, Newt Gingrich. Mr Clinton is especially keen on the idea of modernising America's infrastructure and creating environmentally friendly “green jobs”, but he also sees merit in more trade liberalisation, immigration and getting at the country's huge reserves of cheap natural gas through fracking.

　　其次，克林顿以其出了名的孜孜不倦的努力搜寻着美国和世界（尤其是新加坡和德国），以找到使得人们重返工作岗位的务实方法。其中的许多方法需要“聪明的政府”，这通常意味着与私人企业以及非盈利组织合作。某些点子甚至从共和党人那里借鉴而来，其中至少有一条来自他的老对手纽特·金里奇 (Newt Gingrich)。克林顿尤其热衷于促进美国基础设施现代化及创造环保“绿色工作”的思想，但是他也看到了加强贸易自由化、增加移民以及通过水力压裂法抽取美国巨大的廉价天然气储备的优点。

　　Some of the former president's suggestions are not as convincing as others. Yet, through the sheer number and range of his ideas, Mr Clinton manages to convey a badly needed sense of hope. With an optimism that is currently in short supply among his countrymen, he concludes by predicting that America will rise yet again; after all, “for more than 200 years, everyone who's bet against the United States has lost.” In other words, as Mr Obama once put it, “Yes, we can.”

　　这位前总统的建议，有的令人信服，有的则不尽然。然而，透过主意数量之多、范围之广，克林顿成功地传达了一种急切需要的希望感。在当下美国乐观主义缺乏之际，克林顿以预测美国必将再次崛起收尾；毕竟，“过去两百多年里，所有赌美国衰落的人都输了”。换言之，正如奥巴马曾言，“是的，我们能够做到。”