Until the day she died, Barbara Bush kept a clock next to her bed that counted the days until Donald Trump was gone. The former first lady’s timekeeping was upbeat: she assumed a one-term presidency. Most of the world is in the late Mrs Bush’s camp. To judge by the absence of diplomatic initiatives, the west is also marking the calendar until Mr Trump leaves office. The same goes for non-Trumpian America. As Joe Biden, the Democratic frontrunner, keeps saying, Mr Trump is an “aberration” — as though time has briefly gone astray. All we need is to wait out the clock then reset it.
直到去世那天，芭芭拉•布什(Barbara Bush)的床头柜上一直放着一个钟，用来倒数离唐纳德•特朗普(Donald Trump)任期结束还有多少天。这位前第一夫人的倒计时很乐观：她只设定了一届总统任期。世界上大多数人都跟已故的芭芭拉•布什一样。没有外交倡议被提上日程，从这一点判断，西方国家也在翻着日历，坐等特朗普卸任。非特朗普阵营的美国选民亦是如此。正如民主党参选人阵营领跑者乔•拜登(Joe Biden)不停念叨的，特朗普是一种“反常现象”(aberration)——就像时钟短暂地走错了方向。我们所需要做的就是等待时钟走完一圈，然后重置它。