By+Barbara+Bradley

In 1912， after he lost his bid for reelection， William Howard Taft mused about what the country should do with its expresidents once they leave the White House.1“A dose of chloroform，” he proposed， to protect the nation“from the troublesome fear that the occupant could ever come back.”2 Today， the Twenty-Second Amendment3 limits how often a president may come back. The question concerning Barack Obama4 is not what should be done with him， but rather， what should he do with himself？ For most of our history， ex-presidents who were not independently wealthy had to work—not until 1958 did Congress pass a law granting them a pension.5 George Washington6 became the countrys largest whiskey producer. John Quincy Adams won a seat in the House of Representatives and fought slavery.7 And William Howard Taft！ Good thing no one took him up on the chloroform.8 Nine years after he left office， he was appointed chief justice of the Supreme Court， a position that the presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin says gave him “probably the happiest decade of his life.”9 At 55， Obama will be one of the youngest ex-presidents， and also—a popular one. He is in good health and could easily live for another four decades， which is a long time to be exanything.

What can he learn from Jimmy Carter， Bill Clinton， and George W. Bush， who likewise walked out of the White House as vigorous middle-aged men？10

The downshift from presidency to post-presidency has bewildered quite a few former White House residents.11 Having lost in a landslide to Ronald Reagan in 1980，12 Jimmy Carter left Washington an unpopular one-term president. When he and Rosalynn returned to Plains， Georgia，13 they found the family peanut business $1 million in debt， and their house in need of repairs. The former first couple spent their first weeks back home hacking away at the overgrowth and making the house habitable.14

The chore was an apt metaphor for Carters predicament as， at age 56， he sought a path forward.15“He said， ‘Look， the actuarial tables16 said Im going to live another 20 to 25 years. I want to stay productive and figure out something else I can do with myself，” says Phil Wise， a vice president at the Carter Center17.

The particulars of a given presidency also come into play， of course.18 Did he feel satisfied with his legacy， or haunted19 by unfinished business？ For his part， Carter sought to build on his greatest presidential triumph， the peace accord he brokered between Israel and Egypt at Camp David.20 To that end， he created the Carter Center， an institution from which he could act as a freelance diplomat and launch further global pursuits.21

Bill Clinton began thinking about his post-presidency the day he became president， according to Joe Conason， the author of Man of the World， a biography of Clinton. But nothing prepared him for his first day out of office. Newly resettled in Chappaqua， New York， Clinton ventured to the local deli for a cup of coffee.22 A crowd of reporters surrounded him， demanding to know why， on his last day in office， he had pardoned the fugitive financier Marc Rich.23

“Suddenly， there was no phalanx24 between him and the media and the public，” Conason says. “He felt powerless.” And alone. Hillary Clinton was starting her new job as the junior senator from New York， Conason notes.25 “So he holed up26 in his house， not knowing exactly what to do.” After a few desultory months， the Marc Rich controversy faded， and Clinton ventured back into the spotlight.27

Through the Clinton Foundation， he got sugary drinks out of public schools and funded relief programs after the tsunami of 2004 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005.28 He poured money into hospitals in Africa， particularly in Rwanda. Bill Clinton was also， of course， the first to fully realize the post-presidencys promise as a global moneymaking operation. Since 2001， he has earned some $150 million for speaking and writing books—prompting Michael Duffy to observe：29 “Being president is a good career move.”

If Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton seemed to cling to the vestiges of the presidency，30 George W. Bush happily shook them off. In a 2010 interview with Texas Monthly， he told that when he woke up in Crawford， Texas， on January 21， 2009， he opened the newspapers and was delighted to realize that the stories inside were no longer his problems： “So I gathered up my two dogs， got in the pickup truck， drove over to my office， and started writing anecdotes for my book.”31

Today， Bush mostly stays close to home， taking part in activities he enjoyed before his political life—barbecues with his neighbors，golfing， riding his mountain bike32. He has occasionally traveled to Africa， where his institute has renovated health clinics and expanded programs to fight cervical cancer.33 “He seems content because he is content，” says Peter Wehner， a former speechwriter for Bush who stays in touch with his former employer.

Indeed， Bush could be the poster child for a happy second act.34 Uninterested in either burnishing his legacy or remaining at the center of the political swirl， he has discovered what midlife researchers suggest is the secret to fulfillment： shifting away from ambition and acquisition and toward activities that have lasting and intrinsic worth， such as investing in important relationships and causes or hobbies that give joy and meaning to ones life.35

On January 21， what can Barack Obama expect？ For reasons of temperament and popularity， Obama may be spared the anxieties that dogged some of his predecessors.36 Douglas Brinkley， a presidential historian， says that while the history may have rejected some of Obamas policies， it has not rejected him. He compares Obamas situation to that of Dwight D. Eisenhower， who left office a popular two-term president， even though his intended successor， Vice President Richard Nixon，37 had lost the 1960 election. Barack Obamas response to leaving the White House is perhaps most likely to recall Bushs， friends and observers say. In part， thats because， despite their vastly different politics and personalities， the two men have a similar relationship with the presidency： They dont need it.

Unlike so many politicians before him， Obama did not aspire38 to the presidency early on. For years， points out David Maraniss， who has written biographies of Obama and Clinton， Obama did not settle on a particular career path. Rather， he engaged in a “struggle to figure himself out” as a mixed-race man in America， a struggle that included traveling to Kenya， organizing poor residents on Chicagos South Side，39 and writing a literary memoir. “Hes just an unusual character to be president，” observes Doris Goodwin.“The fact that hes a writer means that he looks at himself from the outside in. Theres a self-awareness and a reflection that is not common among politicians.”

Which isnt to say that Obama is likely to spend the rest of his days bodysurfing40. He will undoubtedly spend some time raising money for his presidential library in Chicago， and writing his presidential memoir， for which he is expected to receive a multimillion-dollar advance.41

But what else？

For several years， Obama has ruminated about his next phase with dinner guests including Steven Spielberg and Reid Hoffman， a co-founder of LinkedIn.42 Before November， the possibilities seemed endless， ranging from addressing racism or criminal-justice reform or gun control or climate change， to buying a basketball team， to teaching law， to joining a tech firm. Advancing the social and environmental issues close to his heart may be harder now—but he may also view the effort as more important.43

Regardless， he will have to manage a challenge more quotidian， but hardly simple—an emptying nest.44“Family is everything to Obama，” David Maraniss says. “His whole young life was a search for home—for a sense of family， place， and identity.” A man who grew into adulthood without a father， he seems to define himself as much by his constancy as a dad as by his political achievements.45 Most nights that he is in Washington， he walks upstairs at 6：30 to dine with his family. When politics at home and war abroad created minute-by-minute upheaval， his family was his anchor.46

Now， in an inevitable cruelty of midlife， his girls say they prefer sleepovers47 with friends to movies with Dad. “They break my heart，” Obama has said. He wore sunglasses to Malias graduation from Sidwell Friends School in June，48 so no one would see him cry. The prospect of losing his girls to adulthood， friends say， saddens him more than leaving the White House.49

1. bid： 企圖，努力；William Howard Taft： 威廉·霍華德·塔夫特（1857—1930），第27任美國總統(tǒng)，卸任后于1921年被任命為美國首席大法官；muse： 沉思，反復(fù)思考。

2. 他提議道，“來一劑氯仿吧”，省得人民“總是擔(dān)心這個(gè)人怎么又回來了”。chloroform： 氯仿，常用作麻醉劑；occupant：（工作、職位等的）占有者，占據(jù)者。

3. Twenty-Second Amendment： 美國憲法第二十二修正案，于1951年生效，主要規(guī)定了美國總統(tǒng)最多只能連任兩屆，且不能隔一個(gè)任期后再次參選。

4. Barack Obama： 貝拉克·奧巴馬（1961— ），第44任美國總統(tǒng)，是美國第一位非裔總統(tǒng)。

5. grant： 給予，準(zhǔn)予；pension： 養(yǎng)老金，退休金。

6. George Washington： 喬治·華盛頓（1732—1799），美國國父，第一任美國總統(tǒng)。在兩任期滿后，華盛頓拒絕競選連任，并回到弗農(nóng)山莊園，創(chuàng)辦了當(dāng)時(shí)美國最大的一家威士忌酒廠。

7. John Quincy Adams： 約翰·昆西·亞當(dāng)斯（1767—1848），美國第六任總統(tǒng)，他在1828年競選連任失敗后被選為國會眾議員，是唯一一位當(dāng)選美國眾議員的卸任總統(tǒng)；House of Representatives： 美國眾議院。

8. 謝天謝地，總算沒人采納他那“來一劑氯仿”的建議。take sb. up on sth.： 接受……的建議。

9. 卸任后的第九年，他被任命為美國最高法院的首席大法官。專門研究總統(tǒng)史的歷史學(xué)家多麗絲·卡恩斯·古德溫說，在這個(gè)職位上的十年“可能是他人生中最快樂的十年”。chief justice of the Supreme Court： 美國首席大法官。

10. Jimmy Carter： 吉米·卡特（1924— ），美國第39任總統(tǒng)，卸任后在亞特蘭大埃默里大學(xué)任名譽(yù)教授；Bill Clinton： 比爾·克林頓（1946— ），美國第42任總統(tǒng)，克林頓基金會主席；George W. Bush： 喬治·W. 布什（1946— ），美國第43任總統(tǒng)，人稱小布什，以區(qū)別于其父老布什總統(tǒng)（第41任美國總統(tǒng)）；vigorous： 精力充沛的，充滿活力的。

11. downshift： 工作降格，改選閑適生活方式；bewilder： 使迷惑，使迷茫；resident： 住戶，這里指美國總統(tǒng)。

12. landslide： 一邊倒的勝利，（競選中）一方選票占壓倒性多數(shù)；Ronald Reagan： 羅納德·里根（1911—2004），第40任美國總統(tǒng)，他的演說風(fēng)格極具魅力，被譽(yù)為“偉大的溝通者”。歷任總統(tǒng)之中，他的就職年齡最大，也是唯一一位演員出身的總統(tǒng)。

13. Rosalynn： 即羅薩琳·卡特（1927— ），卡特的妻子；Plains：普萊恩斯市（佐治亞州），卡特的家鄉(xiāng)?？ㄌ?fù)?dān)任佐治亞州州長前，他們夫婦曾在此地種植花生，經(jīng)商買賣化肥。

14. hack： 劈，砍；overgrowth：（高過頭頂?shù)模┞参?；habitable： 適宜居住的。

15. 用“披荊斬棘”來比喻卡特的困境再恰當(dāng)不過了，因?yàn)樵?6歲這個(gè)年紀(jì)，他找到了一條前進(jìn)的道路。chore： 令人厭煩的工作；apt： 適當(dāng)?shù)模‘?dāng)?shù)?；predicament： 困境，窘?jīng)r。

16. actuarial table： 保險(xiǎn)精算表。

17. Carter Center： 卡特中心，位于美國佐治亞州亞特蘭大市，是由卡特夫婦于1982年建立的非營利性組織，主要致力于促進(jìn)解決國際沖突，推動民主和人權(quán)。

18. particulars： [復(fù)] 細(xì)節(jié)，詳情；given： 指定的，特定的；come into play： 有影響，發(fā)揮作用。

19. haunt： （長期）困擾。

20. peace accord： 和平協(xié)議；broker： 促成協(xié)議（或條約等）；Camp David： 戴維營，美國總統(tǒng)的休假地，位于美國馬里蘭州凱托克延山公園內(nèi)。此處提到的和平協(xié)議是指“戴維營協(xié)議”，即埃以雙方于1978年9月17日在美國總統(tǒng)休假地戴維營達(dá)成的關(guān)于中東和平的一系列文件，可謂卡特總統(tǒng)生涯的一項(xiàng)巨大成就。

21. freelance： 自由職業(yè)的；diplomat： 外交官。

22. Chappaqua： 查巴克，位于紐約郊區(qū)的富人區(qū)；venture： 冒風(fēng)險(xiǎn)（去某處）；deli： 熟食店（指出售干酪、熟肉、色拉、面包等的小店）。

23. pardon： 赦免，特赦；fugitive： 逃亡的；Marc Rich： 馬克·里奇（1934—2013），20世紀(jì)極具爭議的國際商人，曾被美國司法部通緝了17年，因獲克林頓總統(tǒng)赦免而名噪一時(shí)。

24. phalanx： 密集的人群（或車隊(duì)），此處指總統(tǒng)的隨行人員、安保人員等。

25. Hillary Clinton： 希拉里·克林頓（1947— ），比爾·克林頓的妻子，2000年曾就任紐約州聯(lián)邦參議員；senator： 參議員。

26. hole up： 躲藏。

27. desultory： 毫無計(jì)劃的，漫無目的的；controversy：爭議；spotlight： 聚光燈，指公眾矚目的焦點(diǎn)。

28. Clinton Foundation： 克林頓基金會，克林頓于1997年創(chuàng)立的一家非營利性組織，旨在“加強(qiáng)美國以及全世界人民面對全球相互依存的挑戰(zhàn)的能力”；relief program： 賑災(zāi)項(xiàng)目，救助項(xiàng)目；tsunami of 2004： 2004年印度洋海嘯，地震規(guī)模達(dá)到9.3，是1900年以來的第二大地震，死亡和失蹤人數(shù)高達(dá)29萬多人；Hurricane Katrina in 2005： 颶風(fēng)卡特里娜，2005年8月發(fā)生的五級颶風(fēng)，給美國路易斯安那、密西西比等州造成了嚴(yán)重破壞。

29. prompt： 引起，激起（某人說或做某事）；Michael Duffy： 邁克爾·達(dá)菲，美國記者，《時(shí)代》雜志的執(zhí)行副主編；observe： 評論，說。

30. cling to： 緊緊抓住不放；vestige： 殘余。

31. Texas Monthly：《得克薩斯月刊》；pickup truck：皮卡，敞篷小卡車；anecdote： 軼事，趣聞。

32. mountain bike： 登山車，山地自行車。

33. renovate： 修復(fù)，翻新；health clinic：健康中心，保健室；cervical cancer：宮頸癌。

34. 確實(shí)，小布什完全可以成為迎來人生“第二春”的典型代表。poster child： 作為模范的人或物，典型代表；second act： 第二個(gè)場景，這里指第二個(gè)人生階段。

35. 無意美化自己的政治遺產(chǎn)，亦不愿繼續(xù)逗留在政治旋渦的中心，他發(fā)現(xiàn)了獲得成就感的秘密，正如那些中年危機(jī)研究者們建議的：從野心和權(quán)力之爭中抽離，投身于更具有長遠(yuǎn)意義和內(nèi)在價(jià)值的事情，例如投入到重要的人際關(guān)系和事業(yè)之中，或給人帶來歡樂與意義的業(yè)余愛好之中。burnish： 擦亮，使……更有光澤；swirl： 旋渦，騷動；shift： 轉(zhuǎn)移；acquisition：（土地、權(quán)力、金錢等的）獲得，得到；intrinsic： 內(nèi)在的，本質(zhì)的；cause： 事業(yè)，理想。

36. temperament： 氣質(zhì)，性格；spare： 使免受（損壞或傷亡），幸免于；dog： v.（災(zāi)難、不幸等）緊緊纏住，困擾；predecessor： 前任，前輩。

37. Dwight D. Eisenhower： 德懷特·D. 艾森豪威爾（1890—1969），第34任美國總統(tǒng)兼美國陸軍五星上將，曾是二戰(zhàn)時(shí)期盟軍在歐洲的最高指揮官；successor： 繼任者；Richard Nixon：理查德·尼克松（1913—1994），第37任美國總統(tǒng)，于任期結(jié)束前發(fā)生了著名的“水門事件”，因而引咎辭職。

38. aspire： 渴望，有志于。

39. figure out： 理解，弄清楚；mixed-race man： 此處指奧巴馬的復(fù)雜身世，奧巴馬出生于夏威夷檀香山市，父親是肯尼亞留學(xué)生，母親是堪薩斯州白人，因其繼父是印尼籍，奧巴馬幼年曾隨母親和繼父在印尼生活過四年；Chicagos South Side： 芝加哥南區(qū)。這個(gè)地區(qū)居住著不同種族的人，貧富差距大、犯罪率高。

40. bodysurfing： 人體沖浪，（不用沖浪板而將胸腹貼于水面滑行的）臥式?jīng)_浪。奧巴馬從小就喜歡這項(xiàng)運(yùn)動。

41. presidential library： 總統(tǒng)圖書館，是集圖書館、檔案館和博物館于一體的機(jī)構(gòu)，既保存總統(tǒng)的檔案文件，又收藏總統(tǒng)接受的贈品、個(gè)人物品、圖書和藝術(shù)品等，由美國國家檔案館管理和維護(hù)；advance： 預(yù)付款。

42. ruminate： 反復(fù)思考，沉思；Steven Spielberg： 史蒂芬·斯皮爾伯格，美國著名導(dǎo)演、編劇，代表作包括《侏羅紀(jì)公園》、《辛德勒的名單》等；Reid Hoffman： 里德·霍夫曼，美國企業(yè)家、風(fēng)險(xiǎn)投資家及作家，也是領(lǐng)英（LinkedIn，一家社交服務(wù)網(wǎng)站）的聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人。

43. 現(xiàn)在，他可能再也不能像以前那樣輕易地就能推動自己關(guān)心的社會議題和環(huán)境問題——但是他也可能會認(rèn)為，勇于嘗試本身更為重要。

44. quotidian： 平凡的，日常的；empty nest： 空巢期，兒女長大離家。

45. 由于成年之前的生活缺少父親的陪伴，因此他似乎不僅用政治成就，也一直會用“父親”這一角色來定義自己。constancy： 經(jīng)久不變。

46. 當(dāng)他身陷國內(nèi)政治和海外戰(zhàn)爭形成的風(fēng)云突變中時(shí)，家庭就是他的精神支柱。minute-by-minute： 分分秒秒的；upheaval： 劇變，動蕩；anchor： 錨，精神支柱。

47. sleepover：（尤指小孩）在朋友家過夜的晚會。

48. Malia： 即馬莉婭·奧巴馬，奧巴馬的長女；Sidwell Friends School： 塞維爾友誼學(xué)校，位于首都華盛頓北郊，成立于1883年，是一所歷史悠久的美國私立高中。

49. 朋友們都說，女兒們長大離家的那一天，會比告別白宮更令他哀傷。prospect： 預(yù)期，前景。