经济学人下载:共和党党内提名,表演正当时

That said, Mr Romney is the clear front-runner (see Lexington). The others have a lot of ground to make up before they can match his combination of name recognition and financial resources.

据称罗姆尼的领先优势十分明显。其他人要想与他的知名度与财富相匹及，恐怕还有许多方面尚需完善。

Consider Tim Pawlenty, the former governor of Minnesota. An evangelical Christian who balanced his state’s budget has obvious appeal both to the party’s social conservatives and its fiscal hawks. And yet his mild public manner makes his policies seem less threatening than those of other conservatives to voters in the middle. In theory, this is the ideal place to start. The trick for any candidate is going to be winning the nomination of a party that the tea-party movement has driven sharply to the right without alienating too many of the voters in the centre on whom final victory will depend.

我们来看看前明尼苏达州州长蒂姆??普兰提。这位虔诚的福音派神学基督教徒将明尼苏达州治理的井井有条，预算平衡，使得党内的社会保守派人士以及财政鹰派人士都对他青睐有加。此外，此人气质温和，这也使得中间选民觉得他的执政策略要比其他保守派人士的威胁性要少一些。理论上讲，他获得了一个理想的开局。所有候选人手段用尽的最终目的都是为了赢得党内提名，茶党运动把党内提名选举推向了极端右翼趋势，但此举没有失去可以左右最终结果的中间派选民的支持。

As a wolf in sheep’s clothing, Mr Pawlenty has become a favourite among political insiders. But according to the Pew survey, less than half (48%) of America has ever heard of him. After announcing his candidacy from Iowa at the end of May, Mr Pawlenty has now embarked on the long slog of making his name more widely known. At a speech this week at the University of Chicago he set out his economic stall firmly on the right, promising to slash the size of government and boost growth by simplifying income taxes, cutting corporate taxes and eliminating taxes on capital gains, dividends and inheritance. Critics dismissed his plans as fantasy.

普兰提可谓一只披着羊皮的狼，颇受政界人士欢迎。不过根据皮尤研究中心所做的调查，只有不到一半（48%）的美国人知道此人。五月底，普兰提在爱荷华州宣布参选。此后，为了提高知名度，他进行了一连串的造势活动，本周他在芝加哥大学进行了一场演讲，宣布要坚定的实行右翼倾向的经济政策，承诺大幅度缩减政府规模，降低所得税和公司税，取消资本收益税、股息和遗产税，以此来促进经济发展。然而批评家则认为他的计划不过是不切实际的空中楼阁罢了。

One other former governor, Gary Johnson of New Mexico, has joined the race and a second, Jon Huntsman of Utah, is on the point of formally doing so. Mr Johnson is a rank outsider, but Mr Huntsman is exciting interest as a more charismatic version of the front-runner.

前新墨西哥州州长加里??约翰逊以及犹他州州长洪博培都宣布参与党内提名选举，约翰逊属于冷门候选人，然而洪博培却野心勃勃，希望成为魅力超凡的领先者。

Like Mr Romney, he has good looks and a successful record in business. He was popular for presiding over Utah’s biggest-ever tax cut. But like Mr Romney he is a Mormon, still a handicap in presidential races. And he too carries some baggage that will alienate the Republican base.

和罗姆尼一样，洪博培相貌英俊，从商成绩斐然。因领导犹他州实施有史以来最大的减税案而备受欢迎。然而他和罗姆尼一样都是摩门教徒，这一点成为了他赢得总统竞选的一大障碍。而且他本人所持的某些理念也造成了他和共和党之间存在着摩擦。