金融時報:副總統(tǒng)這個神奇的職位

副總統(tǒng)這個神奇的職位

本文作者為美國經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家、財政專家布魯斯·巴特利特(Bruce Bartlett)

測試中可能遇到的詞匯和知識：

oddity['?d?t?] n.奇異；古怪

US Senate 美國聯(lián)邦參議院

pro tempore（拉）當(dāng)時；暫時

nominate['n?m?ne?t] v.推薦；提名

temperament['temp(?)r?m(?)nt] n.氣質(zhì)，性情，性格

Hispanic[hi'spænik] adj.西班牙裔的

rubber-stamp 加蓋橡皮圖章，追認(rèn)

The peculiar case of the American vice-presidency (714 words)

Among the oddities of the US system of government is the vice president. The position was created by the Constitution, but the founding fathers neglected to give him anything to do. His only constitutional role is to preside over the US Senate and break ties; he can’t even speak except to deliver vote totals and make the occasional parliamentary ruling; and the vast majority of the time his function is fulfilled by random members of the majority party who serve as president pro tempore of the Senate.

Of course, the vice president becomes president in the event that the president should die in office or resign. Of the 43 men who have served as president, nine achieved the office this way. Additionally, the vice presidency is often a stepping stone to the presidency, with five vice presidents later being elected president in their own right. George H.W. Bush is the most recent to do so.

Therefore, a third of American presidents became president directly or indirectly through the vice presidency. It is a decision to which great thought should be given.

Unfortunately, this is often not the case. The vice president is often chosen to satisfy some political need within a party. For example, Ronald Reagan thought he needed Mr Bush to balance his ticket and soften his image as a hardline conservative.

Ideally, presidential nominees would like to find a vice president who can deliver a big state that he would not otherwise carry. The classic example is John F. Kennedy’s choice of Lyndon Johnson in 1960. He undoubtedly carried the state of Texas for him and helped throughout the South.

Since it is rare for there to be a potential vice president who can carry a key state, presidential nominees often look for vice presidents who appeal to certain interest groups. Mr Bush chose Dan Quayle in large part because he thought his youth would appeal to younger Americans.

The key constraint in terms of using the vice president for purely political purposes is that he or she really does have to be capable of becoming president. Nominating someone who is manifestly unqualified can drag a candidate down to defeat.

It is widely believed that John McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin as vice president in 2008 doomed him to defeat, as it became clear during the campaign that she had neither the minimum knowledge nor temperament to be president.

Consequently, much of the discussion about who Mitt Romney should name has centered on those considered safe choices—people clearly qualified to be president who won’t pull the ticket down.

Current speculation has centered on 5 men: Ohio Senator Rob Portman, former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, and South Dakota Senator John Thune. Last week there was also some speculation about former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Mr Rubio and Mr Jindal clearly are long shots because of their youth and relative inexperience. Some Republicans believe Rubio, who is of Cuban heritage, would help with the fast-growing Hispanic vote, although there is no evidence of this in polls. Mr Jindal, whose parents were born in India, would showcase the party’s inclusiveness.

Political professionals, however, think Mr Romney will probably pick one of the “boring old white men”: Mr Portman, Mr Pawlenty or Mr Thune. Each is qualified to be president and would be unlikely to cause controversy. But none would measurably strengthen the ticket except possibly Mr Portman, who may help Romney carry a state, Ohio, he needs to win.

Some scholars have long been troubled by the common practice of allowing a party’s presidential nomination to have the sole say-so in naming his running mate. Although the party’s convention nominally names the vice president, in practice it merely rubber-stamps the presidential nominee’s choice.

I think it would be a good idea to give parties a bigger role in choosing the vice president. Perhaps nominees could provide the party convention with a slate of acceptable choices and let them sell themselves to party delegates. At least it would add some excitement to an event that is otherwise almost entirely devoid of substance in an era when presidential nominees are chosen by state primaries long in advance of party conventions.

請根據(jù)你所讀到的文章內(nèi)容，完成以下自測題目：

1.According to the passage, one of the following is a constitutional role of the vice-president, which one?

A. To bring the vote of a big state for his party's presidential candidate.

B. To alter the parliamentery vote result when necessary.

C. To break ties.

D. To preside over the Senate.

答案(1)

2.Which of the following is correct?

A. There has been no case that a vice-president later becomes president in his own right.

B. There has been no case that a vice president becomes president after the president dies in office.

C. There has been no case that a vice-presidential candidate has helped his presidential candidate to loose.

D. Many presidents won their elections through their vice-presidential candidate partner.

答案(2)

3.There are 6 possible republican vice-president candidates mentioned in the article. But Mr Romney will probably pick one of the “boring old white men”.

What does the author imply?

A. They can bring a good image.

B. They have minority connections that can bring votes.

C. Each of them is qualified to be the president.

D. Each of them can bring Romney the votes of a big state.

答案(3)

4.What are the writer's opinion towards the nomination process of vice-presidential candidates?

A. It is running quite well.

B. The party’s convention nominally names the vice president.

C. It should be seperated from nominating the presidential candidate.

D. A party's presidential nomination should not have the sole say in naming his campaign mate.

答案(4)

* * *

(1) 答案：D.To preside over the Senate.

解釋：主持參議院是副總統(tǒng)的憲法職能。A項是黨派對其副總統(tǒng)候選人的期望。B項是只有最高院才有的職能。C項是作者的玩笑話，用來說明副總統(tǒng)無太多實權(quán)。

(2) 答案：D.Many presidents won their elections through their vice-presidential candidate partner.

解釋：A項是錯誤的，原文第二段中說歷史上共有5位這樣的副總統(tǒng)，老布什就是最近的一例。事實上，美國第二、第三任總統(tǒng)亞當(dāng)斯和杰弗遜也是如此。 B項是錯誤的，歷史上共有9位這樣的副總統(tǒng)。C項也是錯誤的，2008年麥凱恩選擇的副手薩拉·佩林就被廣泛認(rèn)為是拖了麥凱恩的后腿。

(3) 答案：C.Each of them is qualified to be the president.

解釋：一些政治觀察家認(rèn)為，這幾位既不年輕也沒有少數(shù)族裔身份的男性政治家的優(yōu)勢是穩(wěn)健而經(jīng)驗豐富，不大可能會引發(fā)爭議，所以羅姆尼可能會從他們之中選擇一位搭檔。A選項在文中并未提及。B項是錯誤的，他們都是美國社會主流的盎格魯撒克遜人。D項也是錯誤的，這三人中只有Portman來自大州俄亥俄州。

(4) 答案：D.A party's presidential nomination should not have the sole say in naming his campaign mate.

解釋：A項與作者的觀點恰好相反。B項是對事實的描述而不是觀點。C項不是作者提出的觀點。D項是正確的

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