新奥尔良: 阴影消散，活力重现

NEW ORLEANS is used to big weekends, but the last one stood out. On February 6th voters elected a new mayor, Mitch Landrieu, in a landslide more dramatic than any in memory. The next day the city’s beloved football team, the Saints—famous mostly for bumbling—won the Super Bowl for the first time in their 43-year existence.

每逢周末，新奥尔良总是很热闹，最近这个周末尤其热闹。2月6日这天，米奇·兰德鲁以压倒性优势被选为新任市长，如此戏剧性的结果在新奥尔良历史上还未曾有过。次日，该城备受宠爱的橄榄球队——“圣徒”——主要靠掉链子闻名于世——建队43年以来首次赢得了超级碗冠军。更多信息请访问：http://www.24en.com/

To those monumental happenings the annual bacchanal of Carnival, now in full swing, seemed an appropriate backdrop. The day after the big game New Orleanians walked around in a blissful haze, with schools, courts and workplaces operating at half-strength, and strangers greeting one another with hugs and the team’s signature chant: “Who dat!” All this has given the city a dose of optimism it sorely needs. A bit of the old swagger is back.

在这些具有纪念碑意义的事件发生的同时，一年一度的狂欢节正如火如荼地举行着，似乎是一道很合适的背景。球队问鼎的第二天，新奥尔良人走上了街头，街上充满喜悦的气氛，学校、法院以及其它工作场所此刻都是半歇工状态，陌生人遇见会拥抱，并且高唱代表球队的标记性口号：“Who dat!” 这些东西对于这座城市来说是一剂快乐良药，而快乐正是它迫切需要的东西。原来的那个神气活现的家伙又回来了。

It is hard to know how much to connect the Saints’ success to that of Mr Landrieu, the state’s lieutenant-governor, who snapped up 66% of the vote. But there is a common theme to both results: cross-racial unity in a city that was once staunchly segregationist, and which in more recent times has experienced an uneasy detente between wealthy whites who control most of the city’s economic affairs and powerful blacks who run its politics.

兰德鲁此次以路易斯安那州（首府是新奥尔良）副州长的身份参加竞选，斩获66%的选票。虽然很难搞清“圣徒”队的成功和兰德鲁获胜有多大关联，但是两个结果有一个共同的主题：跨种族融合。该城曾是支持种族隔离的顽固派，在更近的时期还经历了一次艰难的关系缓和：一方是控制城市大部分经济事务的富有白人，另一方是掌控政坛的强势黑人。

The election of Mr Landrieu, a scion of Louisiana’s most prominent political clan and a surprise late entry into the race, may signal a departure from all that. Mr Landrieu is white. But his family has always been popular across racial lines, in part because his father, Moon Landrieu, was the first mayor to put blacks in positions of real power at City Hall. (Moon Landrieu was also the city’s most recent white mayor; he left office in 1978. One of his daughters, Mary, is Louisiana’s senior senator.)

兰德鲁的当选可能意味着与此种状况的远离，他是路易斯安那州最有名的政治宗族里的一个分节点，而且最近才加入这场政治角逐，是一匹黑马。兰德鲁是白人，但是他的家族一直以来都是黑白通吃，部分原因是他的父亲穆恩·兰德鲁是第一个给予黑人在市政厅实权职位的市长（穆恩·兰德鲁还是该城最近一位白人市长；他于1978年离职。他的一个女儿——玛丽——是路易斯安那州的参议员。）

Still, the latest election was uncharted territory. Mr Landrieu won overwhelmingly among both blacks and whites; early analysis suggests he won 70% of the white vote and 63% of the black vote. It was a remarkably unanimous verdict considering that New Orleanians have historically voted along racial lines. Just over a year earlier, of course, Americans had elected a black president, a result that clearly shook up the old patterns.

此次选举仍然是不分黑白：兰德鲁在黑人和白人中间都获得了压倒性胜利；前期分析指出他获得了70%的白人选票和63%的黑人选票。鉴于该城有依据肤色不同而进行投票的传统，如此统一的意见可以说是不寻常的。当然，就在一年之前，美国刚刚选了一个黑人总统，该结果很明显动摇了旧有的模式。

It is hard not to read Saturday’s results as a rebuke to Ray Nagin. The outgoing mayor was barred from running by a term limit, but he was certainly on voters’ minds. Four years ago Mr Landrieu lost to Mr Nagin in a tight election after Mr Nagin made a naked appeal to black voters’ racial loyalties. In that election, Mr Landrieu managed to get only about one in five black votes.

很难不把周六的结果解读为对于雷·奈根的指责。这个即将离职的市长因为在任期上的限制而不能参选，但是他当然在选民的心中。奈根在四年前的竞选中通过赤裸裸地投合黑人选民的种族忠诚，以微弱优势打败兰德鲁，当上了市长。在那次选举中，兰德鲁仅仅得到了黑人选票中的两成。

Since then, however, blacks and whites alike have become increasingly dissatisfied with Mr Nagin. His approval rate was recently estimated at a dismal 20%. These low numbers have several causes. They stem partly from the city’s halting recovery after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. But they are also a result of Mr Nagin’s habit of dividing his constituents. He tends to suggest that any criticism of him is racially motivated; he mutters darkly about a “shadow government” and a conspiracy to install whites in offices once held by blacks. Last weekend, New Orleanians of all colours and walks of life seemed to say: let’s move on. That is reason for celebration.

但自那以后，黑人和白人都对奈根越来越不满。他最近的支持率估计只有可怜的20%。有几个原因：部分是由于2005年卡特里娜飓风过后步履蹒跚的复苏。但是同时也是奈根习惯于分裂自己选民的结果。他喜欢把任何对于自己的批评都看作出于种族动机；满腹牢骚地抱怨“影子政府”的存在，还有在办公室安插白人的阴谋，而这些位置原先都是由黑人占据。上个周末，各种肤色、各行各业的新奥尔良人都好像在说：咱们继续前进吧。这个就值得庆祝。