The Republican's visit to three key allies is all about domestic, not foreign, politics.
共和党人访问盟国的三个关键词是民主、开放和政治。
TO HEAR Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential candidate, describe the world, Barack Obama's approach to foreign policy is a failure in two halves. Towards America's enemies and rivals, the charge goes, Mr Obama has proved weak, naive and apologetic. When dealing with friends and allies, the president is accused of being chilly and unreliable. This week the presumptive nominee embarked on a foreign trip designed to drive home that argument, involving three carefully chosen allies; Britain, Poland and Israel.
据闻共和党的总统候选人米特·罗姆尼将责任总统巴拉克·奥巴马对外政策两个部分都说成是失败。在对待美国的敌人和竞争对手时美国已经失去掌控权，这证明奥巴马为人软弱、幼稚、谦卑。在对待美国的朋友和盟友时，总统显得麻木、不可靠。本周这位假定的总统候选提名人开始了一次旨在拉开辩论大幕的对外访问，他将造访三个精心选择的国家：英国、波兰和以色列。
Bowing to the importance of generating favourable images back home, Mr Romney intended to use his swing through Britain to meet American competitors at the London Olympics and attend the opening ceremony on July 27th, where Michelle Obama, the first lady, will also be present. He will see David Cameron and other senior ministers, as well as the leader of the opposition. Bowing to the tradition that American politicians do not pursue domestic squabbles when overseas, Mr Romney made sure to attack his Democratic rival just before he left. He used a speech to ex-servicemen in Nevada to charge Mr Obama with such failings as coddling Russia at the expense of NATO allies such as Poland, blinking in the face of unfair Chinese trade practices, playing politics with troop numbers in Afghanistan and above all lecturing and undermining Israel's leaders to the delight of its enemies.
罗姆尼很清楚给国内选民制造一个好的映象重要性，他打算在访英期间会晤美国奥运会代表团的成员，还要参加7月27日的奥运会开幕式；而现任第一夫人米歇尔·奥巴马也会参加形式。他将会见大卫·卡梅伦和其他内阁成员，也将会见反对党领袖。遵循美国政治家在对外访问期间不在国内问题上起口角的传统，罗姆尼确信奥巴马会在他离开期间对自己展开攻势。他在内华达州曾对退伍军人发表了一个演讲，其中例数了奥巴马的种种败绩：新近俄罗斯而冷落了波兰这些北约盟国，对中国不公平贸易行为视而不见，在对阿富汗政策和驻军问题上朝三暮四，通过演讲损害以色列的领导人并取悦它的敌人。
In June Mr Romney told an evangelical[1] Christian group that his approach to Israel would be “by and large…the opposite” of Mr Obama's. On the eve of the candidate's trip, leading Romney supporters declared it a disgrace that Mr Obama had not been to Israel in his almost four years as president. A Florida congresswoman, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, noted that the president had found time to visit other countries in the Middle East, suggesting darkly that Americans could “only speculate” as to what lay behind this choice. Irked, the Obama campaign retorted that if reelected, Mr Obama had promised to visit Israel in his second term, and that Ronald Reagan never once made it there as president.
6月时，罗姆尼对一个福音派基督教团体说，他在对待以色列的政策上将会“大体上与奥巴马的政策相反”。在这位选人出访的前夕，罗姆尼的主要支持者们发表讲话说，奥巴马任职四年来竟然没有访问过以色列，这可真丢人。佛罗里达州的女议员雷婷恩·罗丝-莱赫蒂宁指出，总统只有访问中东的时间，即暗示美国人仅能通过“推测”得知这背后的意义。奥巴马竞选阵营被激怒了反驳说，如果奥巴马再次当选，在其第二任期内必要访问以色列的；他们还说罗纳德·里根任总统8年里就没有访问过以色列。
Senior figures in such friendly countries as Britain and Poland do not really recognise the first half of Mr Romney's complaint, that Mr Obama is a notable pushover on national security. Besides, when it comes to the details that concern allies, such as the timing of troop withdrawals from Afghanistan or the scope of sanctions to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions, Mr Romney has not committed himself publicly to more hawkish plans than Mr Obama. Security and intelligence co-operation between America and Israel is as deep as it has ever been.
英国和波兰等友邦的资深政治家并不真地认可罗姆尼的前一半抱怨，他们认为奥巴马在推进国家安全上很有成效。此外，在例如从阿富汗撤军的时机和压制伊朗对核武器的野心等涉及到有关盟国的结节问题上，罗姆尼尚未公开表现出如奥巴马那样的鹰派立场。美以间安全和情报合作的深入程度并未被动摇。
But the second half of Mr Romney's charge resonates much more; that Mr Obama has been a chilly ally, seeming to set little store by personal relations with fellow leaders or displays of affection for friendly countries. In the case of Britain, sources say, Mr Obama's relative recent warmth towards Mr Cameron is in part an acknowledgment that his predecessor, Gordon Brown, was mishandled, as the president dismissed British demands for reassurance and access. The traditionally Atlanticist Poles felt sidelined not just by the policy implications of Mr Obama's “reset” of relations with Russia, but by the brusque way in which they were told to play along. Above all, Israeli nerves, as well as those of the Jewish community in America, were jangled by Mr Obama's perceived coolness towards Israel, exemplified by his early attempts to reach out to Arab and Muslim public opinion.
罗姆尼的后一半抱怨却引起了较多地的共鸣。奥巴马对盟友有点冷淡，似乎不太重视与其他盟国领导人的私人关系，也没有对友邦表现出友善。消息人士说，在对英关系上，奥巴马最近对卡梅伦比较热情，这部分地说明他承认在对待英国前首相戈登•布朗上确有不妥，即拒绝了英国对于安慰和访问的要求。波兰人是传统的大西洋主义者。不仅在奥巴马的“重置”和对俄罗斯关系上保持观望，而且在对粗暴地要求他们参与其中上也保持观望。最重要的是，奥巴马对待以色列的冷淡态度牵动了以色列以及美国犹太人的祖业，例如他在竞选初期便触及阿拉伯和穆斯林公众等舆论。
The world has moved on since the time, four years ago, when Mr Obama was able to draw acrowd of around 200,000 to a speech in Berlin as a mere candidate. Yet even allowing for that, Mr Romney is not likely to generate much excitement. Even in Israel, where relations between Mr Obama and the prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, remain wary, Mr Netanyahu will not offer Mr Romney anything resembling an endorsement during his visit. It is a core tenet[2] of Israeli policy to maintain bipartisan support in America.
世界发生了许多变化，4年前奥巴马在作为总统候选人在柏林发表演讲时能够吸引20万人到场。罗姆尼对此也赞许有加，但自己却不能再造这样一个激动人心的情景。在以色列方面，奥巴马与以色列总理本雅明·内搭尼亚胡的关系仍然令人担心：内搭尼亚胡不会在罗姆尼访问期间对其表示支持。维持美国两大政党对自己的支持是以色列的核心原则。
In short, Mr Romney's argument about Mr Obama's diplomatic stance is only half fair. But then it is an argument intended for domestic consumption, as part of a broader charge that Mr Obama is aloof and out of touch with the country he leads. As always when presidential candidates travel abroad, Mr Romney's trip is about votes, not diplomacy. If the Republican looks and sounds like an American statesman abroad, and, most important, avoids any obvious gaffes, his tour will have served its purpose.
简而言之，罗姆尼关于奥巴马外交立场的言论只有一半是公正的。指责奥巴马置美国于不顾只是要引起国内舆论的关注。正如以往的总统候选人出国访问一样，罗姆尼这次的旅程只是为了赚取选票而并非真的外交工作。如果这位共和党人看起来和听起来都像是一个出访的美国政治家，而且最重要的是，他能避免任何明显的失误，那么他的巡演已经达到了初衷。