单选题
Readers of our Christmas issue were invited to nominate the wisest fool of the past 50 years. They responded magnificently, though often predictably. But this was not a popularity contest, or an unpopularity one. Except Jack Kennedy, every eligible president of the United States was nominated, along with every important political leader of the rest of the world. Alan Greenspan was a popular choice, but surprisingly few businessmen were proposed. Donald Trump, Kenneth Lay, Steve Jobs, Sir Richard Branson and Lord Conrad Black were those most often mentioned. Even fewer women were nominated, though Diana, Princess of Wales, was a strong contender.
Piers Allen of Malta nominated Ronald Reagan, explaining, "A joke—cracking, afternoon—napping, intellectual lightweight whose memory could, in times of crisis, always be relied upon, but only to fail. Although foolish enough to announce, live on radio, that he would be bombing Russia in five minutes and take advice from his wife"s astrologer (占星家), he was also wise enough to have survived union leadership and two terms as governor of California to reach the presidency of the United States and end the cold war favorably for the West. Any other wise fools making it to the White House will be hard pressed to fill his cowboy boots."
Richard Spencer (address not supplied) chose Yasser Ararat, whose foolishness was in "never missing an opportunity to miss an opportunity". "While appearing to his people as a strong leader who could stand up to the Israelis, Ararat was unable to (or simply chose not to) seize the historical moment and forge a compromise solution that would benefit the lot of the Palestinians. Had he been wise enough to make a deal with Israel when the going was good, he likely would have been buried as a bona fide world leader in a sovereign state of Palestine."
Denis Papathanasiou of Hoboken, New Jersey, nominated Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra, baseball player for the New York Yankees (1946—63). "Mr Berra hardly qualifies as an intellectual: he is famous for such remarks as "You don"t look so hot yourself" (in response to a comment that he looked cool in his summer suit), "What? You mean right now? (when asked for the time of day), and I take a two—hour nap from one o"clock to four. On second glance, however, his utterances depict a certain honest Zen—like (类似禅宗) wisdom: If you don"t know where you"re going, you"ll wind up somewhere else? It was hard to have a conversation with anyone—there were so many people talking. Those qualities have inspired a miniature popular cult of books and seminars. Not bad for a humble baseball player of modest education."
Mr Papathanasiou takes first prize.