参考译文：
塔夫脱当选总统 推进罗斯福的改革
在十九世纪，美国在国际上并没有担当什么重要的角色，然而，当历史车轮刚进入二十世纪时，美国就将它的触角伸向了全世界，当时的美国总统坚定地支持美国向海外扩张势力，他就是西奥多.罗斯福，他是未来美国总统富兰克林.罗斯福的远亲，他又被人亲切地称之为特迪（Teddy）。本周，我们就向你讲完这位美国第二十六任总统的故事。
1901年，当威廉.麦金利总统遇刺后，西奥多.罗斯福接任总统，他完成了麦金利余下的三年总统任期，后来，他靠自己的能力当选总统，这此后的四年就是他的第二个任期。在他第二个总统任期中，他在外交方面取得了巨大的成功，他成功地调停了日俄战争。后来，他又应请邀协调另一起国际争端，这是一个关于摩洛哥的争端。
1904年，法国和英国就北非问题签署了一项协议，该协议同意英国控制埃及，而法国则负责摩洛哥的安全和改革事务。德国反对英法的这项协议，德国感受到英法联盟所带来的威胁，而且德国担心法国会封锁德国与摩洛哥之间的贸易往来。德国要求在摩洛哥实行“门户开放”政策，所有国家在摩洛哥都能够自由地开展贸易。德国建议召开国际会议来解决它与英法之间关于摩洛哥的争端，但英法则反对召开这样的国际会议。当时的德国统治者是威廉二世，他警告说，德国与英法之间的这项争端将会导致战争。威廉二世邀请西奥多.罗斯福干预此事。
罗斯福总统同意提供帮助。有些美国的立法议员则批评他，他们说，美国从来就没有干涉欧洲争端的惯例。但罗斯福认为和平远高于这种惯例。他在西班牙的阿尔赫西拉斯（Algeciras）召开了一个国际会议，有12个欧洲国家和美国参加此次国际会议。会议同意在摩洛哥实行“门户开放”政策，会议还成立一家国际银行来掌管摩洛哥的财政，会议还授权法国和西班牙共同维护摩洛哥各城市的社会治安。
西奥多.罗斯福已经是一位强有力的国际领导人，然而，在国内，他正在失去其权力。一个原因是美国的经济衰退。企业界人士将经济衰退归咎于他，他们说正是由于他让政府干涉经济才导致经济衰退的。另一个原因则是罗斯福自己造成的。在当时，美国并没有立法限制一个人可以连任几届总统，只是美国第一任总统乔治.华盛顿创立了只当两届总统的惯例。当西奥多.罗斯福在1904年赢得总统大选后，他宣布他将不再参加1908年的总统选举。他完成了麦金利的一个总统任期，他又完成了他自己的总统任期，这就足够了。后来他说：“如果我可以收回当时的声明，我宁愿将我自己的手砍掉。”
在他的总统任期最后一年，罗斯福已经成为一个“跛脚鸭”的总统，任何人都知道他不会再回到白宫了，因此也就没有什么人因为政治原因而支持他了。
他感受到来自国会和本党的越来越大的反对声。他任期内最后一次向国会发表的国情咨文非常激烈。罗斯福总统指责国会和法院系统只为有钱的美国人服务。他要求开征所得税，他要求立法让劳动者能够分享国家财富。众议院投票否决了他的国情咨文，众议院说，罗斯福对政府的立法机构缺乏应有的尊重。
罗斯福拒绝放弃他认为美国所必须的政策，他自己是不可能再为这些政策而努力了，但他要找一个能够为这些政策而努力的总统候选人，他相信人民是会投票支持他的选择的。他的选择是他的亲密朋友，战争部长威廉.霍华德.塔夫脱（William Howard Taft）。
塔夫脱一生的绝大多数时间都在政府部门工作，他曾先后任州法院和联邦法院的法官，他曾是司法部的一名律师，他还曾经是菲律宾的执政官。
然而，问题是，塔夫脱自己并不想当总统，他想当的是首席大法官，但联邦最高法院并不能马上就产生首席大法官。同时，他的妻子、他的兄弟，还有他的好朋友西奥多.罗斯福都敦促他参加总统竞选。所以，他同意接受共和党提名他为1908年总统大选的候选人。当他获得共和党提名后，他说：“
这次总统大选并不怎么激动人心。威廉.霍华德.塔夫脱不喜欢竞选活动，他很胖，他不愿意旅行。罗斯福敦促他以更大的激情参加竞选，“勇猛点，老伙计，”罗斯福对他说：“让人们看到一个真实的你，让他们知道你所拥有的绅士风范和你的友善，这个社会从来不会存在一旦需要就是一名良好的斗士的人。”在罗斯福的帮助和大力支持下，塔夫脱在选举日那天获得了巨大的胜利。
在塔夫脱宣誓就任总统后几周，罗斯福出国开始了长达一年的海外旅行，他大部分时间都在非洲打猎。塔夫脱总统给他写信，向他的好朋友告别，他承诺要尽全力当好总统，但他也承认他不可能做得像罗斯福那样好。事实上，塔夫脱说，当人们称他为“总统先生”时，他都感到很惊讶，每当出现这种情况时，他都会回头看看罗斯福是否在旁边。
毫无疑问，塔夫脱治理国家和罗斯福是有很大不同的。塔夫脱认为，总统不应该对国会的行为干涉太多，他信奉法律是最高权威，哪怕法律本身还不完善。一些支持罗斯福的国会议员反对塔夫脱，他们说，塔夫脱对保守派太过友好了，他们还说他向一些特殊利益集团投降了。就其自身而言，塔夫脱的确不喜欢激进派，他认为这些人太过于情绪化和容易走极端。
不过，塔夫脱积极努力，要把罗斯福的一些激进政策变成法律，他在好几个方面取得了成功。
例如，在他的政府中，一个独立的劳工部成立了。两项宪法修正案获得国会通过，并送各州批准。其中一项是规定联邦政府开征所得税。另一项修正案是面向公众直接选举参议员。同时，塔夫脱甚至比罗斯福还积极，要将阻碍企业之间竞争的大型企业（托拉斯）分拆。
与此同时，塔夫脱却在好几个方面失败了。他签署了降低进口关税的法案，而这项法案无论是工商界还是激进的共和党人都不喜欢。他与加拿大商谈签署了一项有关自由贸易的协定，但加拿大议会却否决了。他认为应该保护美国的野生动植物，然而，他却认为现行的法律并没有授权他关闭公共土地不让私人开发。所以，他又被人看作是保守派的敌人。塔夫脱的这些斗争和失败，使得他在担任总统的四年成为他一生中最不幸福的时期。
对塔夫脱最后一次打击来自他一直努力要减少众议院议长的权力方面。众议院议长是一位保守的共和党人，因此，激进的共和党人反对他。共和党在这个问题的分歧导致党内分裂。西奥多.罗斯福远在海外，他得知这一情况后，许诺他将置身于政治之外，然而，他党内每一个对立团体都寻求他的支持。
欲知后事如何，请看下回分解。
简评：
人走茶凉，看来远不仅仅是中国人的风俗，世界各地，无一不是如此。
西奥多.罗斯福是一位非常强硬的领导人，也非常能干，获得了党内外和广大民众的支持。然而，当他的总统任期只剩下最后一年的时候，由于他之前早已声明不再参加下一届总统选举，因此那些追求政治的人，已经不再他罗斯福当成一个重要人物了，因此，他们对罗斯福在任时的工作也就不再支持了，从而导致了罗斯福在最后一次发表国情咨文时，大发雷霆，也从而导致了他的最后一次国情咨文被国会无情地否决了。
面对如此现状，绝大多数人都会千方百计地想尽一切办法将权力紧紧地握在手中。无怪乎罗斯福会说，“如果我可以收回当时的声明（指不再参加下一届总统竞选），我宁愿将自己的手砍掉。”看得出，罗斯福是多么的后悔。
在人的本性中，都有一种渴望权力的本能，因为在这个社会中，只有有权的人，才能更好地实现自己的理想，无论是为自己还是为了民众。因此，指望一个人能够自动地放弃权力，那是不可能的。然而，一旦一个人长期地拥有权力，那么就根本不可能确保他不会将权力用于他处。因此，权力的定期移交，是确保权力正当使用的前提。在此基础上，再对权力的使用进行有效的监督，从而才能确保在任何时候，有权的人都不会滥用权力。
Taft Wins Presidency Promising Continued Reform
William Howard Taft, center, speaking from the back of a rail car during the presidential campaign of 1908 1908年总统大选期间，威廉.霍华德.塔夫脱（中）站在火车尾部向广大选民发表讲话
The United States did not play a very large part in world events during the eighteen hundreds. At the beginning of the nineteen hundreds, however, it expanded its interests throughout the world. America's president at that time strongly supported the expansion. He was Theodore Roosevelt, a distantly related cousin of the future president Franklin Roosevelt. This week in our series, we complete the story of America's twenty-sixth president, who was also known as Teddy.
Theodore Roosevelt became president in nineteen-oh-one after the assassination of President William McKinley. He completed the last three years of McKinley's term. Then he was elected in his own right. Those four years are spoken of as Roosevelt's second term. It was during this second term that Roosevelt gained his most important foreign policy success. He negotiated an end to a war between Russia and Japan. Later, he was asked to settle another international dispute. At issue was Morocco.
A cartoon from Harper's Magazine shows President Roosevelt carrying his "big stick" while trying to end a dispute of European powers over Morocco 这幅《哈珀》杂志上的卡通画表现的是罗斯福总统手拿大棒去解决欧洲各国围绕摩洛哥的争端
In nineteen-oh-four, France and Britain signed an agreement on North Africa. The agreement gave Britain control over Egypt. It gave France responsibility for security and reforms in Morocco. Germany opposed the agreement. It felt threatened by any French-British alliance. And it feared France would block German trade ties with Morocco. Germany demanded an "open door" policy that would permit all countries to trade freely in Morocco. It proposed an international conference to settle the dispute. France and Britain rejected the idea. The ruler of Germany, Kaiser Wilhelm the Second, warned that the dispute could lead to war. The Kaiser asked Theodore Roosevelt to intervene.
President Roosevelt agreed to help. Some American lawmakers criticized him. They said it was an American tradition not to get involved in European disputes. But Roosevelt believed peace was more important than tradition. He set up the conference in the Spanish seaport of Algeciras. Twelve European nations and the United States attended. The conference agreed to an open door trade policy in Morocco. It organized an international bank to control Morocco's finances. And it gave France and Spain almost complete control over police forces in Morocco's port cities.
Theodore Roosevelt had become a powerful world leader. At home, however, he was losing power. One reason was an economic depression. Business leaders blamed it on Roosevelt. They said it was the result of his efforts to gain government control over industry. The other reason was one he had created himself. At that time, there was no law limiting a president's term in office. But America's first president, George Washington, had established a tradition of only two terms. When Theodore Roosevelt won the election of nineteen-oh-four, he announced he would not be a candidate in nineteen-oh-eight. He had completed the term of President McKinley. He would serve a full term of his own. That was enough. Later, he said: "I would be willing to cut off my hand if I could call back that statement."
During his last year in office, Roosevelt was a "lame duck" president. Everyone knew he would not be back. There was little political reason to support him.
He faced increased opposition from Congress and from his own Republican Party. His final message to Congress was extremely bitter. President Roosevelt accused Congress and the court system of working only to help rich Americans. He called for a tax on earnings. He called for legislation to give workers a greater share of the nation's wealth. The House of Representatives voted to reject the message. It said Roosevelt had failed to show respect for the legislative branch of government.
Roosevelt refused to give up hope for the policies he believed America needed. He would not be able to fight for these policies himself. But he could find a presidential candidate who would. He was sure the people would vote for his choice. He decided on his close friend, Secretary of War William Howard Taft.
William Howard Taft
Taft had spent most of his life in government service. He had been a judge in both a state court and a federal court. He had been a lawyer in the justice department. And he had been governor of the Philippines.
There was one problem, however. Taft did not want to be president. He really wanted to be Chief Justice of the United States. But there were no immediate openings on the Supreme Court. Also, his wife, his brothers, and his good friend -- Theodore Roosevelt -- urged him to run. So, Taft agreed to be a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in nineteen-oh-eight. When he won the nomination, Taft said: "Mister Roosevelt led the way to reform. My job -- if elected -- will be to complete and perfect his programs." The Democratic Party nominated William Jennings Bryan. Bryan had been a candidate two times before, without success.
The presidential campaign was not especially exciting. William Howard Taft did not like being on the campaign trail. He was a big, heavy man. He did not like to travel. Roosevelt urged him to campaign with more energy. "Hit hard, old man," Roosevelt said. "Make the people see the truth. Let them know that for all your gentleness and kindliness, there never existed a man who was a better fighter when the need arose." Roosevelt's advice and strong support helped Taft win a big victory on election day.
William Howard Taft with Theodore Roosevelt
A few weeks after Taft was sworn-in as president, Roosevelt left on a year-long trip overseas. He spent most of the time hunting wild animals in Africa. President Taft wrote a warm goodbye letter to his friend. He promised to do his best as president. But he admitted he could not lead as Roosevelt had done. In fact, Taft said, he was still surprised when anyone called him "Mister President." Each time it happened, he turned around to see if Roosevelt was there.
There was no question that Taft's way of leading was much different from Roosevelt's. Taft believed a president should not interfere too deeply in the actions of Congress. He also believed a president should not claim special powers or rights. He believed in the supreme power of the law...even if the law did not work very well. The progressives who had supported Roosevelt did not support Taft. They said he was too friendly with conservatives. They said he had surrendered to special interest groups. Taft, for his part, did not like progressives. He thought they were too emotional and extreme.
Yet Taft worked hard to put into law many parts of Roosevelt's progressive programs. He was successful in several areas.
A cartoon in the magazine "Judge" urging President Taft to have his own policies and not follow those of President Roosevelt who served before him 一幅杂志中的卡通画表现的是一位法官敦促塔夫脱实行自己的政策，而不是只实行他的前途罗斯福总统的政策
During his administration, for example, a separate Department of Labor was established. Two Constitutional amendments won congressional approval and were sent to the states for ratification. One amendment provided for a federal tax on earnings. The other provided for direct, popular election of senators. Taft also worked even harder than Roosevelt to break up companies, or trusts, that blocked economic competition.
At the same time, Taft failed in several areas. He signed legislation that lowered import taxes. Neither businessmen nor progressive Republicans liked it. He negotiated a free trade agreement with Canada. The Canadian parliament rejected it. He believed in protecting America's wilderness areas. Yet he did not believe existing laws gave him the right to close public lands to private development. So he was seen as an enemy of conservation. These struggles and failures made Taft's four years as president the unhappiest of his life.
The final blow came in an effort to reduce the powers of the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The speaker was a conservative Republican. Progressive Republicans opposed him. The issue split the party. Theodore Roosevelt -- far from home -- read about the trouble. He had promised to stay out of politics. But each of the opposing groups in his party had asked for his support.
http://www.21voa.com/path.asp?url=/201009/se-nation-152-roosevelt-and-taft-part-one-02-sep-10.mp3
苍海一笑
翻译点东西，学习点英语，说点心里话，交个好朋友。
