[精读TIME]The Democrats’Lieberman Problem
John McCain speaks with Sen. Joe Lieberman during a campaign appearance at Sacred He- art University in Fairfield, Connecticut. 图系约翰麦凯恩在位于费尔菲尔德的圣心大学举行的活动期间与圣•约瑟夫•李勃曼进行谈话。
MARIO TAMA / GETTY
Joe Lieberman is having a not-so-secret affair on his political spouse of the past four decades. The Connecticut Senator — now an Independent, but until 2006 a staunch Democrat, mar-ried to the party — is not just campaigning for presumptive Republican nominee John McCain; he is, to even the most objective eye, in a deep state of rapture.
1． Connecticut n. （美国）康涅狄格
2． a staunch Democrat 坚定忠诚的民主党人
3． in a deep state of rapture 直译：处于深度狂喜的状态。 翻译时可以说成他非常兴奋。
You'd think hell hath no fury like a party scorned, but Democrats aren't kicking Lieberman out of the party — yet. Lieberman has a decent claim of abandonment: after a 2006 Democratic primary challenge over his unyielding support for the war in Iraq, Lieberman won his fourth Senate term as an Independent who caucuses with Democrats. Without his good will there would be no Democratic majority in the Senate, no control of the legislative calendar, no subpoenas and investigations and no committee chairmanships. (Lieberman himself chairs the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.) Harry Reid owes his title to Joe Lieberman. Dumping him is not an option.
1． fury n. 愤怒,狂暴,狂怒的人
2． party scorned 蔑视组织的
3． unyielding support 坚决支持（名词可以译为动词哦）
4． subpoena n.传票。
Sitting in his Hart Senate Offices, just next door to Obama's suite, Lieberman claims that being forced to run as an Independent in 2006 revolutionized his political outlook. "Let's face it," he says, "the fact that I was elected an Independent liberated me.'" Liberation first manifested itself on legislative issues, like setting a time line to withdraw troops from Iraq and allowing the Bush Administration to wiretap without warrants, where he flexed the fact that he was beholden to no party. It became unmistakable as the 2008 race for the White House took shape and Lieberman openly endorsed McCain, his best friend in the Senate. "I'm going to do everything in my ability to do what I feel is right, or sensible and I'm not going to calculate what the political impact is. I must say I feel very," and here Lieberman paused, looked up and spread his hands, "free."
1． Hart Senate Offices 参议院哈特办公大楼
2． an Independent ：（from Wiki）not affiliated with any political party
3． revolutionize his political outlook 彻底改变了他的政治前景
4． wiretap without warrants 没有正当理由/没有警方授权就在电话上搭线窃听
5． flex the fact 歪曲事实 后面的he was beholden to no party其实就是刚才对“Independent” 的一种paraphrase 他不曾对任何一个党派负责，他不欠任何一个党派人情。
6． unmistakable adj.显而易见的
7． openly endorse 公开支持
Still, every time the former vice presidential nominee praises John McCain and criticizes Barack Obama, steam rises from his colleagues. "I'm not going to pull my punches or hold back," says Lieberman. "To me I'm doing just what they do, maybe something less than some of them are doing because I think they've attacked John McCain in ways that I don't appreciate. I'm just doing what they're doing for their candidate; it happens that I'm supporting a Republican."
1.not pull any punches （批评时）毫不留情 hold back 隐瞒 Lieberman说他不会留情面（应该是指对Obama，同时他也借此表明自己不会包庇麦凯恩）并且也不会隐瞒（Mccain的缺点或者对他不利的因素）
As long as Democrats need him to hold on to power, Lieberman realizes that comments like these make him untouchable. "Without him we would not be in the majority," says Dick Durbin, the second highest-ranking Democrat in the Senate. "He votes with us on virtually every issue except for the war and, of course, his support for Senator McCain. There is disappointment, for sure, and many people have expressed concern about his role, but he's going to have to make that decision."
Back in December 2007, when Lieberman endorsed McCain, the Arizona Senator seemed like a long shot for the nomination. "My wife teased me," says Lieberman. "She said, 'There you go getting yourself into trouble again, but I guess the reassuring thing is the McCain campaign is going to be over soon so you won't have to carry on.'" Now Lieberman is raising money and campaigning for the presumptive nominee, and has said he would even speak at the Republican National Convention if asked. (He would not, however, accept a vice presidential nomination or a cabinet position.) "I've made a full-hearted decision here — with my heart and my head," Lieberman says. "I really believe in McCain."
If that belief remained tacit, Democrats wouldn't quite be so peeved. But in March, Lieberman told ABC's This Week that the Democratic Party has "been effectively taken over by a small group on the left of the party that is protectionist, isolationist and hyper-partisan." And earlier this month Lieberman participated in a G.O.P.-sponsored conference call criticizing Obama's speech before the American Israel Political Affairs Committee, a leading Jewish Organization.
1.tacit adj.心照不宣的，默认的
2.peeved adj.恼怒的 和annoyed同义
3.hyper-partisan 很难用简洁的中文说明，下面是网上找到的一段话，帮助理解hyper-partisan的意义。
I heard a phrase on Bill Orielly's radio show earlier where he used the phrase "Hyper partisan". From what I understand this is when someone will not give up their position and are entrenched within it.
Lieberman insists he's simply highlighting differences between the two candidates' records, and he would never make personal attacks. Still, he didn't exactly demur when asked to compare McCain and Obama's records in reaching across the aisle. "If you compare McCain's record to Senator Obama's, it's not just that Senator Obama has only been in the Senate for only three and a half years and McCain's been here 21 years," Lieberman huffed. "Senator Obama has done very little of that in his time here, very little bipartisan work."
1. demur v.对……表示怀疑或反对（这里就表明Lieberman就是支持McCain的）英文解释：to take exception;object(from Webster)
2. aisle 通道 这里就是他们一路走来的印记/历史/记录
3. huff v.恼怒（为McCain不平吧）
What Lieberman considers drawing distinctions, his peers consider unseemly. "I think people see a difference between supporting someone who's your colleague and friend and attacking the nominee of the other party," says Senator Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat. "I hope Senator Lieberman will focus on the former and say what he wants to about Senator McCain and why he's for him as opposed to attacking our nominee." Casey was one of a few Democratic Senators even willing to discuss Lieberman. Of the dozen polled one afternoon last week after the caucus met with top Obama strategist David Axelrod — a meeting Lieberman discreetly skipped — many simply declined comment. California's Diane Feinstein bit out, "It obviously hurts, there's no question about that and that's all I have to say."
1. unseemly adj. 不得体的，不合适的
2. discreetly adv.小心谨慎地
3. bit out 就是bite out的过去式 表示反击（这个不是一个固定短语）
It's a fine line Lieberman's walking, and one that could have serious consequences. The Democrats are well positioned to pick up several Senate seats in November, and if he's no longer the 51st vote, Lieberman may find himself facing open calls to throw him out of the caucus. No one likes to play the cuckold for long; sooner or later they ask for a divorce.
1. throw him out of the caucus 把Lieberman从核心小组/政党地方委员会开除
2. cuckold n.有不贞妻子的男人
