经济学人下载:共和党党内提名,表演正当时

If she does run, she will hurt Michele Bachmann, a congresswoman from Minnesota who is also a darling of the tea-party movement but one who has been less coy about her plan to join the race. Sometimes dismissed as Palin Lite, Mrs Bachmann is in fact a former tax lawyer, devout evangelical and a serious-minded politician capable of flashes of stirring oratory. In public she insists that Mrs Palin is a friend and kindred spirit, but Ed Rollins, her newly hired campaign consultant, grumbled this week that “Sarah has not been serious over the last couple of years.”

如果佩林女士决定参选，那么她将伤害有着"茶党女王"之称的美国明尼苏达州国会议员巴赫曼。巴赫曼女士从不羞于表达她参选的意图。巴赫曼有时候因为“佩林第二”这一称号而遭遇挫折。事实上这位前税法律师是一位虔诚的福音派神学教徒，一位心思严谨的政客，并且具有高超的演讲才能。在公开场合她坚称与佩林是志趣相投的好朋友。“萨拉在过去几年里从来没有认真地做过什么事情。”巴赫曼新雇佣的选举顾问阿德??罗林本周愤恨不平的说道。

Another candidate with excellent name-recognition (71%) is Ron Paul. The elderly libertarian now making his third run for the White House (on one attempt he represented the Libertarian Party) argues that the nation is at last latching on to his small-government philosophy. Students in particular admire his professorial radicalism. But most voters are dubious about returning to the gold standard and dismantling America’s overseas bases. With no real prospect of victory, he may soon have to pass the torch to his son, Rand, now sitting in the Senate for Kentucky.

罗恩??保罗也是一位知名度很高的候选人，这位年长的自由意志主义支持者决定第三次参与总统之位的角逐（曾有一次代表自由党参加大选），他在参加辩论时说这个国家终于对他的小政府理念有所了解。学生们尤为追捧他这种教授似的激进主义观点。对于他所提出的重新实行金本位货币制度以及撤销美国海外基地的想法，大部分投票者持怀疑态度。由于获胜机会渺茫，他可能很快会让其子兰德??保罗接替他。兰德??保罗现任塔基州参议员。

Newt Gingrich entered the race with brighter prospects. He has money, and a name as the author of the 1994 “revolution” that captured the House of Representatives for the Republicans for the first time in 40 years. Better still, the Republican majority in the House is once again on the former speaker’s small-government wavelength—or was, until he called its plan for a radical overhaul of Medicare “right-wing social engineering”. A grovelling apology may not have rescued his campaign from this disastrous start. Nor does a history of extramarital affairs, one conducted while he was trying to impeach Mr Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky affair, endear him to the average voter. Nearly two out of three who told Pew they had heard of Mr Gingrich said there was no chance they would vote for him. Though still in the fray, he has just taken time out for a cruise of the Greek islands with Callista, his (third) wife.

纽特??金里奇的参选前景则光明的多。他本人富有多金，又是1994年“共和党革命”的发起者，当时共和党人时隔40年重掌众议院。作为众议院多数党的共和党与这位前议长在所谓的小政府理念上持相同政见，且十分认同他号召进行的“右派社会工程”医疗改革方案。这两点使得金里奇的参选前景更加光明。低声下气的道歉对于如此糟糕的选战开局已经于事无补。在克林顿和莫尼卡??莱温斯基的性丑闻东窗事发之时，纽特??金里奇曾试图弹劾克林顿，即便如此，他也没能得到普通选民的支持。据皮尤研究中心调查结果显示，将近三分之二知道金里奇其人的美国人表示他们不会投票给他。尽管选情不容乐观，他依然有时间和他的（第三任）妻子佳丽斯塔去希腊群岛巡游。