For a while – four years in fact – it looked as though Hillary Clinton had put the past behind her. As America’s top diplomat, she enjoyed by far the highest ratings of any US figure. Her popularity abroad was matched by appreciation at home for the grace with which she buried the hatchet with Barack Obama. Americans most admire politicians who seem to be above politics. Mrs Clinton had a taste of that. Then she quit as secretary of state (to prepare for her second White House bid). She has been losing altitude ever since. The worry among Democrats is her woes are only a foretaste of what is to come. They are probably right.
在一段時期裏（實際上是4年），希拉蕊•柯林頓(Hillary Clinton)似乎拋掉了歷史包袱。作爲美國的最高外交官，她在美國政要中享有遙遙領先的最高人氣。與她在海外的受歡迎程度相媲美的是，她與巴拉克•歐巴馬(Barack Obama)捐棄前嫌所展現的風度讓她在國內備受讚賞。美國人最敬佩那些似乎超越政治的政治人物。希拉里曾經接近那種境界。接著她辭去國務卿一職（爲再度問鼎白宮做準備）。自那以來她一直在失去高度。民主黨人擔心，她的困境只是未來的一種預兆。他們的看法很可能是對的。