By any measure the outgoing 112th Congress is the most polarised in modern US history. Yet Republican and Democratic leaders are doing a surprisingly good job of seeming as though they might turn away from the fiscal cliff. Last week’s Oval Office meeting brought signs that Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate leader, is prepared to get along with Barack Obama. Even the diehards see a downside in being blamed for a self-inflicted recession.
美國(guó)第112屆國(guó)會(huì)即將任滿。無論從哪個(gè)角度來看，這屆國(guó)會(huì)都是美國(guó)現(xiàn)代史上兩黨分化最嚴(yán)重的一屆。不過，就眼下來說，共和黨和民主黨的領(lǐng)袖們居然干得有模有樣——看上去，他們似乎有可能將美國(guó)從財(cái)政懸崖上拉回來。上周在總統(tǒng)辦公室舉行了會(huì)議，會(huì)上有跡象顯示，參議院共和黨領(lǐng)袖米奇?麥康奈爾(Mitch McConnell)已準(zhǔn)備與巴拉克?奧巴馬(Barack Obama)合作。看來，就連死硬派也明白，假如因?yàn)閷?dǎo)致美國(guó)陷入一場(chǎng)“自找的”衰退而受到眾人指責(zé)，情況就不妙了。