总统演讲稿英文(15篇)

第1篇 美国前总统宣布美国与古巴恢复外交关系英语演讲稿

good morning, everybody. please have a seat.

more than 54 years ago, at the height of the cold war, the united states closed its embassy inhavana. today, i can announce that the united states has agreed to formally re-establishdiplomatic relations with the republic of cuba, and re-open embassies in our respectivecountries. this is a historic step forward in our efforts to normalize relations with the cubangovernment and people, and begin a new chapter with our neighbors in the americas.

when the united states shuttered our embassy in 1961, i don't think anyone e_pected that itwould be more than half a century before it re-opened. after all, our nations are separated byonly 90 miles, and there are deep bonds of family and friendship between our people. but therehave been very real, profound differences between our governments, and sometimes we allowourselves to be trapped by a certain way of doing things.

for the united states, that meant clinging to a policy that was not working. instead ofsupporting democracy and opportunity for the cuban people, our efforts to isolate cubadespite good intentions increasingly had the opposite effect – cementing the status quo andisolating the united states from our neighbors in this hemisphere. the progress that we marktoday is yet another demonstration that we don't have to be imprisoned by the past. whensomething isn't working, we can – and will – change.

last december, i announced that the united states and cuba had decided to take steps tonormalize our relationship. as part of that effort, president raul castro and i directed our teamsto negotiate the re-establishment of embassies. since then, our state department has workedhard with their cuban counterparts to achieve that goal. and later this summer, secretarykerry will travel to havana formally to proudly raise the american flag over our embassy oncemore.

this is not merely symbolic. with this change, we will be able to substantially increase ourcontacts with the cuban people. we'll have more personnel at our embassy. and our diplomatswill have the ability to engage more broadly across the island. that will include the cubangovernment, civil society, and ordinary cubans who are reaching for a better life.

on issues of common interest – like counterterrorism, disaster response, and development –we will find new ways to cooperate with cuba. and i've been clear that we will also continue tohave some very serious differences. that will include america's enduring support for universalvalues, like freedom of speech and assembly, and the ability to access information. and we willnot hesitate to speak out when we see actions that contradict those values.

however, i strongly believe that the best way for america to support our values is throughengagement. that's why we've already taken steps to allow for greater travel, people-to-peopleand commercial ties between the united states and cuba. and we will continue to do so goingforward.

since december, we've already seen enormous enthusiasm for this new approach. leadersacross the americas have e_pressed support for our change in policy; you heard thate_pressed by president dilma rousseff of brazil yesterday. public opinion surveys in both ourcountries show broad support for this engagement. one cuban said, 'i have prepared for thisall my life.' another said that that, 'this is like a shot of o_ygen.' one cuban teacher put itsimply: 'we are neighbors. now we can be friends.'

here in the united states, we've seen that same enthusiasm. there are americans who wantto travel to cuba and american businesses who want to invest in cuba. american colleges anduniversities that want to partner with cuba. above all, americans who want to get to knowtheir neighbors to the south. and through that engagement, we can also help the cubanpeople improve their own lives. one cuban american looked forward to 'reuniting families andopening lines of communications.' another put it bluntly: 'you can't hold the future of cubahostage to what happened in the past.'

and that's what this is about: a choice between the future and the past.

americans and cubans alike are ready to move forward. i believe it's time for congress to dothe same. i've called on congress to take steps to lift the embargo that prevents americansfrom travelling or doing business in cuba. we've already seen members from both parties beginthat work. after all, why should washington stand in the way of our own people?

yes, there are those who want to turn back the clock and double down on a policy of isolation.but it's long past time for us to realize that this approach doesn't work. it hasn't worked for 50years. it shuts america out of cuba's future, and it only makes life worse for the cuban people.

so i'd ask congress to listen to the cuban people. listen to the american people. listen to thewords of a proud cuban american, carlos gutierrez, who recently came out against the policy ofthe past, saying, 'i wonder if the cubans who have to stand in line for the most basicnecessities for hours in the hot havana sun feel that this approach is helpful to them.'

of course, nobody e_pects cuba to be transformed overnight. but i believe that americanengagement – through our embassy, our businesses, and most of all, through our people – isthe best way to advance our interests and support for democracy and human rights. time andagain, america has demonstrated that part of our leadership in the world is our capacity tochange. it's what inspires the world to reach for something better.

a year ago, it might have seemed impossible that the united states would once again beraising our flag, the stars and stripes, over an embassy in havana. this is what change lookslike.

in january of 1961, the year i was born, when president eisenhower announced thetermination of our relations with cuba, he said: it is my hope and my conviction that it is 'inthe not-too-distant future it will be possible for the historic friendship between us once again tofind its reflection in normal relations of every sort.' well, it took a while, but i believe thattime has come. and a better future lies ahead.

thank you very much. and i want to thank some of my team who worked diligently to makethis happen. they're here. they don't always get acknowledged. we're really proud of them.good work.

第2篇 美国前总统布什的演讲稿

fellow citizens: for eight years, it has been my honor to serve as your president. the first decade of this new century has been a period of consequence - a time set apart. tonight, with a thankful heart, i have asked for a final opportunity to share some thoughts on the journey we have traveled together and the future of our nation.

八年的总统生涯，是美国人民赋予我的荣耀！21世纪的前10年是一个并不寻常的时期。今晚，我带着一颗感恩的心来到这里，并且我希望你们能给我最后一次机会，因为我想和你们分享我对过去八总统生涯的想法，以及我对国家未来的展望。

five days from now, the world will witness the vitality of american democracy. in a tradition dating back to our founding, the presidency will pass to a successor chosen by you, the american people. standing on the steps of the capitol will be a man whose story reflects the enduring promise of our land. this is a moment of hope and pride for our whole nation. and i join all americans in offering best wishes to president-elect obama, his wife michelle, and their two beautiful girls.

5 天以后，全世界就将会看到美国民主的活力。我即将把我的工作交由你们心目中的理想总统，奥巴马！能够接受全美人民崇敬的人，必须能够为你们，为这片土地带来希望。对于我们的国家来说，这是一个充满希望和自豪的时刻。并且，我渴望与美国人民一道为奥巴马，他的妻子和两个漂亮的女儿送去美好的祝愿。

tonight i am filled with gratitude - to vice president cheney and members of the administration; to laura, who brought joy to this house and love to my life; to our wonderful daughters, barbara and jenna; to my parents, whose e_amples have provided strength for a lifetime. and above all, i thank the american people for the trust you have given me. i thank you for the prayers that have lifted my spirits. and i thank you for the countless acts of courage, generosity, and grace that i have witnessed these past eight years.

今 天，我满怀感激之情，感谢我的副总统切尼以及我所有的政府成员。我还要感谢我的妻子劳拉和我的女儿芭芭拉，詹娜，是她们给我的生活带来了无尽的快乐和爱意。我感谢我的父母，是他们给予了我前进的动力。最重要的是，我感谢美国人民给予我的信任，我感谢你们给予我的勇气、宽容。

今 晚，我的思绪回到了2001年的9月11日。当天早晨，恐怖分子带走了近3000人的生命。自珍珠港事件后，恐怖分子制造了美国历史上最严重的一次恐怖袭击。我想起了3天后我站在世贸中心废墟前的情景，那时，我诚挚地与那些夜以继日抢救伤者的救援工人们交谈，他们不顾自己的危险，在浓烟滚滚的五角大楼的走廊里抓紧工作。同时，我也为不幸遇难的人感到痛心，他们是我们的英雄！我想起了阿琳-霍华德，他当时把他死去儿子的警察盾牌交给了我，以表达对逝者的思念之情。而现在，我仍然珍藏着他的徽章。

as the years passed, most americans were able to return to life much as it had been before nine-eleven. but i never did. every morning, i received a briefing on the threats to our nation. and i vowed to do everything in my power to keep us safe.

随着时间的推移，大部分的美国人民能够从悲痛中解脱出来，并重归“9.11”之前正常的生活。然而，我还没有解脱。每天清晨，我都会收到简报，获知是什么还在威胁着我们国家的安全，并且我发誓一定会竭尽全力来维护你们的安全。

over the past seven years, a new department of homeland security has been created. the military, the intelligence community, and the fbi have been transformed. our nation is equipped with new tools to monitor the terrorists' movements, freeze their finances, and break up their plots. and with strong allies at our side, we have taken the fight to the terrorists and those who support them. afghanistan has gone from a nation where the taliban harbored al qaeda and stoned women in the streets to a young democracy that is fighting terror and encouraging girls to go to school. iraq has gone from a brutal dictatorship and a sworn enemy of america to an arab democracy at the heart of the middle east and a friend of the united states.

在 过去的7年中，我们成立了新的国土安全部。我们的军队，军事情报部门，以及fbi都进行了改革。为了监视恐怖分子的行动，我们已经做了充分的准备，我们冻 结了恐怖分子的账户，并屡屡打破了他们的图谋。我们身边也有强大的同盟国，并且我们携起手来共同打击恐怖分子以及那些支持恐怖分子的人。在我们的帮助下，阿富汗已经由恐怖主义的天堂转变成了一个尚未成熟的民主国家，那里的人们正和恐怖主义战斗。此外，女孩子上学也得到了应有的尊重。伊拉克也已经摆脱了萨达 姆的残酷统治，并且其不再是美国人民的敌人。相反，伊拉克已经成为了中东地区阿拉伯民主的核心和美国的朋友。

there is legitimate debate about many of these decisions. but there can be little debate about the results. america has gone more than seven years without another terrorist attack on our soil. this is a tribute to those who toil day and night to keep us safe - law enforcement officers, intelligence analysts, homeland security and diplomatic personnel, and the men and women of the united states armed forces.

针对我的许多决策，有人对其合法性表示出怀疑。但是，当我们看到结果时这些人就不会再发出疑问了。在过去的七年多来，美国本土再也没有遭受过恐怖袭击。这要归功于那些日夜辛劳保护我们安全的人们：执法人员、情报分析员、国土安全人员、外交人员、以及美军的士兵们。

our nation is blessed to have citizens who volunteer to defend us in this time of danger. i have cherished meeting these selfless patriots and their families. america owes you a debt of gratitude. and to all our men and women in uniform listening tonight: there has been no higher honor than serving as your commander in chief.

受上帝的恩典，美国有这些愿意在国家危难之际挺身保护他人的公民。我非常珍惜美国可以拥有这些无私的爱国者及其家庭。美国感激你们。对于那些正在收听的演讲的美军士兵们来说，没有什么荣誉要比让你当上总司令还要崇高。

the battles waged by our troops are part of a broader struggle between two dramatically different systems. under one, a small band of fanatics demands total obedience to an oppressive ideology, condemns women to subservience, and marks unbelievers for murder. the other system is based on the conviction that freedom is the universal gift of almighty god and that liberty and justice light the path to peace.

美 军正在从事的战争从属于两种系统之间的冲突，而这两种系统又有天壤之别。在其中的一种系统中，一小撮狂热分子要求所有人都服从于他们所制定的暴虐的意识形态，这些人让妇女屈从，而对那些不相信他们暴政的人进行谋杀。而另一种系统则相信自由是上帝给予全世界的礼物，自由与正义是通往和平的道路。

this is the belief that gave birth to our nation. and in the long run, advancing this belief is the only practical way to protect our citizens. when people live in freedom, they do not willingly choose leaders who pursue campaigns of terror. when people have hope in the future, they will not cede their lives to violence and e_tremism. so around the world, america is promoting human liberty, human rights, and human dignity. we are standing with dissidents and young democracies, providing aids medicine to bring dying patients back to life, and sparing mothers and babies from malaria. and this great republic born alone in liberty is leading the world toward a new age when freedom belongs to all nations.

美 国，正是基于这样的信念诞生的。从长远来看，推广这种理念是保护我们公民的唯一选择。当人们生活在自由之中时，他们就不愿再去选择那些追求恐怖活动的领导者。当人们对未来怀有希望时，他们就不会将自己的生命交给暴力和极端主义。环视全球，美国正在推动人类自由、人权及人的尊严的发展。我们同持有不同政见者 以及年轻的民主国家同在，我们为挽救生命而提供治疗艾滋病的药物，我们避免母亲和自己的孩子染上疟疾。自由是美国成立的唯一基石，并且领导世界向一个自由普照全球的时代发展。

for eight years, we have also strived to e_pand opportunity and hope here at home. across our country, students are rising to meet higher standards in public schools. a new medicare prescription drug benefit is bringing peace of mind to seniors and the disabled. every ta_payer pays lower income ta_es. the addicted and suffering are finding new hope through faith-based programs. vulnerable human life is better protected. funding for our veterans has nearly doubled. america's air, water, and lands are measurably cleaner. and the federal bench includes wise new members like justice sam alito and chief justice john roberts.

过 去的八年，我们努力扩大美国人民所拥有的机会与希望。在美国，学生不断上进，以求符合公立学校更高的标准。对于老人和残疾人来说，一种新的医疗处方药福利令他们颇感舒心。每个纳税人缴纳了更少的税款。通过以信仰为基础的治疗项目，那些瘾君子和痛苦的人们找到了新希望。过去八年来的工作更好地保护了人脆弱的 生命。对于退伍老兵的补助几乎增加了一倍。美国的一山一水都真切地变得更为干净。睿智的山姆-阿力拓、首席法官约翰-罗伯茨加入到联邦法院中。

when challenges to our prosperity emerged, we rose to meet them. facing the prospect of a financial collapse, we took decisive measures to safeguard our economy. these are very tough times for hardworking families, but the toll would be far worse if we had not acted. all americans are in this together. and together, with determination and hard work, we will restore our economy to the path of growth. we will show the world once again the resilience of america's free enterprise system.

当 美国的繁荣遇到挑战时，我们勇敢地去面对。当金融危机发生时，我们采取果断措施来保护我们的经济。对于那些辛勤工作的家庭来说，这些都是十分艰难的时期。但是如果我们不采取行动的话，结果将会更为糟糕。所有的美国人都站在了一起。凭借着我们的决心和辛勤工作，我们将美国经济重新拉回到增长的车道上。我们将 向世界再次展现美国自由企业制度的复兴。

like all who have held this office before me, i have e_perienced setbacks. there are things i would do differently if given the chance. yet i have always acted with the best interests of our country in mind. i have followed my conscience and done what i thought was right. you may not agree with some tough decisions i have made. but i hope you can agree that i was willing to make the tough decisions.

正如所有前任总统一样，我也曾经历过挫折。如果可能的话，我会采取不一样的方式来应对这些措施。但是，我总是为国家利益的最大化来行动。你也许会不同意我所做出的一些决定，但我希望你能理解我是愿意采取这些措施的。

the decades ahead will bring more hard choices for our country, and there are some guiding principles that should shape our course.

未来的几十年，美国将面对更多的艰难抉择，而有一些指导性原则可以塑造我们的道路。

while our nation is safer than it was seven years ago, the gravest threat to our people remains another terrorist attack. our enemies are patient and determined to strike again. america did nothing to seek or deserve this conflict. but we have been given solemn responsibilities, and we must meet them. we must resist complacency. we must keep our resolve. and we must never let down our guard.

尽管我们的国家要比7年前更为安全，但目前美国最严峻的威胁仍然是另一场恐怖袭击。我们的敌人十分耐心，并且决心要再次发动袭击。美国没有故意挑起冲突。但是我们肩负着庄严的责任，必须同恐怖主义作斗争。我们不能骄傲自满，我们要坚定决心，我们绝不能放松警惕。

at the same time, we must continue to engage the world with confidence and clear purpose. in the face of threats from abroad, it can be tempting to seek comfort by turning inward. but we must reject isolationism and its companion, protectionism. retreating behind our borders would only invite danger. in the 21st century, security and prosperity at home depend on the e_pansion of liberty abroad. if america does not lead the cause of freedom, that cause will not be led.

与 此同时，我们必须带着信心和清晰的目标参与世界事务。面对来自海外的威胁，在国内寻求安慰是一种诱人的举措。但是我们必须拒绝孤立主义与保护主义。退缩只会找来危险。在21世纪，国内的安全和繁荣需要依靠国外自由的扩展。如果美国不领导自由事业，那么自由事业就将无所适从。

as we address these challenges - and others we cannot foresee tonight - america must maintain our moral clarity. i have often spoken to you about good and evil. this has made some uncomfortable. but good and evil are present in this world, and between the two there can be no compromise. murdering the innocent to advance an ideology is wrong every time, everywhere. freeing people from oppression and despair is eternally right. this nation must continue to speak out for justice and truth. we must always be willing to act in their defense and to advance the cause of peace.

一方面我们在处理这些眼前和未来的挑战，另一方面美国必须保持自己在道义上的明确性。我经常谈及 善恶问题，这令一些人颇感不适。但是目前这个世界确实存在着善恶双方，而且双方之间无法达成妥协。通过谋杀无辜来宣扬某种意识形态无论在何时何地都是错误的。将人们从压迫与绝望中解救出来是永远正确的。美国必须坚持为正义与真理而呼喊，我们必须保护正义与真理，并且推动和平事业的发展。

president thomas jefferson once wrote, 'i like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.' as i leave the house he occupied two centuries ago, i share that optimism. america is a young country, full of vitality, constantly growing and renewing itself. and even in the toughest times, we lift our eyes to the broad horizon ahead.

托马斯-杰斐逊曾写到：“相比于过去的历史，我更喜欢未来的梦想。”随着我马上要离开白宫，我赞同杰斐逊这样的乐观精神。美国是一个年轻的国家，充满了活力，不断发展与更新。即便在最艰难的时候，美国仍然没有放弃对未来的梦想。

i have confidence in the promise of america because i know the character of our people. this is a nation that inspires immigrants to risk everything for the dream of freedom. this is a nation where citizens show calm in times of danger and compassion in the face of suffering. we see e_amples of america's character all around us. and laura and i have invited some of them to join us in the white house this evening.

我 了解我们民族的特质，因此我也相信美国的明天会更美好。这是一个鼓励移民们为自由的梦想而去尝试一切事情的国家，这是一个在面对危险使仍然镇定的国家，这是一个面对苦难仍抱有同情心的国家。我们在身边的每一个人身上都可以看到美国的特征。今晚，受我和夫人劳拉的邀请，一切代表也来到了白宫。

we see america's character in dr. tony recasner, a principal who opened a new charter school from the ruins of hurricane katrina. we see it in julio medina, a former inmate who leads a faith-based program to help prisoners returning to society. we see it in staff sergeant aubrey mcdade, who charged into an ambush in iraq and rescued three of his fellow marines.

我们看到里卡斯钠博士的美国特质，这位校长在卡特里娜飓风的废墟中开办一所新的特许学校。我们看到麦地那身上的美 国特质，这位前囚犯带领一个以信仰为基础的项目，帮助囚犯重回社会。我们在上士麦达德身上的美国特质，他负责伊拉克的一次埋伏并拯救了三名同伴的海军陆战队队员。

we see america's character in bill krissoff, a surgeon from california. his son nathan, a marine, gave his life in iraq. when i met dr. krissoff and his family, he delivered some surprising news: he told me he wanted to join the navy medical corps in honor of his son. this good man was 60 years old – 18 years above the age limit. but his petition for a waiver was granted, and for the past year he has trained in battlefield medicine. lieutenant commander krissoff could not be here tonight, because he will soon deploy to iraq, where he will help save america's wounded warriors and uphold the legacy of his fallen son.

我 在外科医生克里索夫身上看到了美国人民的伟大个性。克里索夫的儿子，一名海军，在伊拉克光荣地献出了自己的生命。当我见到克里索夫和他家人的时候，他告诉了我一个惊人的消息：他告诉我，为了缅怀儿子，他希望加入美国海军医疗团。克里索夫已经60岁了，超过了年龄限制，但是他的申请得到了批准。在过去的一年中，克里索夫接受了良好的训练，但已经荣升少校的他今晚不能来到这里，他很快就会前往伊拉克，在那里他可以救助我们受伤的勇士并继续他儿子为完成的事业。

in citizens like these, we see the best of our country – resilient and hopeful, caring and strong. these virtues give me an unshakable faith in america. we have faced danger and trial, and there is more ahead. but with the courage of our people and confidence in our ideals, this great nation will never tire … never falter … and never fail.

同时，从美国公民身上，我看到了我们国家优秀的一面-我们的国家充满关怀和希望，这样的优点令我对国家有着坚贞的信念。我们面临着危险和审判，而且在未来我们仍将需要应对更多的挑战。然而，依靠你们的勇气和信心，伟大的美国永远会稳如磐石，从来不会走向没落。

it has been the privilege of a lifetime to serve as your president. there have been good days and tough days. but every day i have been inspired by the greatness of our country and uplifted by the goodness of our people. i have been blessed to represent this nation we love. and i will always be honored to carry a title that means more to me than any other: citizen of the united states of america.

对我来说，能够担任你们的总统，是我一生的荣耀。我有过欢乐也有过困苦。但是，每天我都会受到伟大祖国的鼓舞，并且我也一直在为我们的国家祈祷。在以后的时光里，我会永远珍视这样一段话：美利坚合众国的公民。

and so, my fellow americans, for the final time: good night. may god bless this house and our ne_t president. and may god bless you and our wonderful country.

我亲爱的同胞们，我的演说就到这里了，晚安！愿上帝保佑奥巴马！愿上帝保佑你和我们美好的国家！

第3篇 布什在耶鲁大学英语演讲稿：人人都可能当总统

everyone can be a president

人人都能成为总统——美国第43任总统乔治·布什在耶鲁大学的演讲(中英文)

to those of you who received honors, awards, and distinctions, i say, well done. and to the c students—i say, you, too, can be president of the united states. 对于那些表现杰出、获得各种奖项和荣誉的同学，我要说，你们真棒!对于那些c等生，我要说，你们将来也可以当美国总统!

remarks by the president in commencement address yale university new haven, connecticut listen to the president's remarks

the president: president levin, thank you very much. dean brodhead, fellows of the yale corporation, fellow yale parents, families, and graduates: it's a special privilege to receive this honorary degree. i was proud 33 years ago to receive my first yale degree. i'm even prouder that in your eyes i've earned this one.

i congratulate my fellow honorees. i'm pleased to share this honor with such a distinguished group. i'm particularly pleased to be here with my friend, the former of me_ico. senor presidente, usted es un verdadero lider, y un gran amigo. (applause.)

i congratulate all the parents who are here. it's a glorious day when your child graduates from college. it's a great day for you; it's a great day for your wallet. (laughter.)

most important, congratulations to the class of 2022. (applause.) to those of you who received honors, awards, and distinctions, i say, well done. and to the c students -- (applause) -- i say, you, too, can be president of the united states. (laughter and applause.) a yale degree is worth a lot, as i often remind dick cheney -- (laughter) -- who studied here, but left a little early. so now we know -- if you graduate from yale, you become president. if you drop out, you get to be vice president. (laughter.)

i appreciate so very much the chance to say a few words on this occasion. i know yale has a tradition of having no commencement speaker. i also know that you've carved out a single e_ception. most people think that to speak at yale's commencement, you have to be president. but over the years, the specifications have become far more demanding. now you have to be a yale graduate, you have to be president, and you have had to have lost the yale vote to ralph nader. ( applause.)

this is my first time back here in quite a while. i'm sure that each of you will make your own journey back at least a few times in your life. if you're like me, you won't remember everything you did here. (laughter.) that can be a good thing. (laughter.) but there will be some people, and some moments, you will never forget.

take, for e_ample, my old classmate, dick brodhead, the accomplished dean of this great university. (applause.) i remember him as a young scholar, a bright lad -- (laughter) -- a hard worker. we both put a lot of time in at the sterling library, in the reading room, where they have those big leather couches. (laughter.) we had a mutual understanding -- dick wouldn't read aloud, and i wouldn't snore. (laughter.)

our course selections were different, as we followed our own path to academic discovery. dick was an english major, and loved the classics. i loved history, and pursued a diversified course of study. i like to think of it as the academic road less traveled. (laughter.)

for e_ample, i took a class that studied japanese haiku. haiku, for the uninitiated, is a 15th century form of poetry, each poem having 17 syllables. haiku is fully understood only by the zen masters. as i recall, one of my academic advisers was worried about my selection of such a specialized course. he said i should focus on english. (laughter.) i still hear that quite often. ( laughter.) but my critics don't realize i don't make verbal gaffes. i'm speaking in the perfect forms and rhythms of ancient haiku. (applause.)

i did take english here, and i took a class called 'the history and practice of american oratory,' taught by rollin g. osterweis. (applause.) and, president levin, i want to give credit where credit is due. i want the entire world to know this -- everything i know about the spoken word, i learned right here at yale. (laughter.)

as a student, i tried to keep a low profile. it worked. last year the new york times interviewed john morton blum because the record showed i had taken one of his courses. casting his mind's eye over the parade of young faces down through the years, professor blum said, and i quote, 'i don't have the foggiest recollection of him.' (laughter.)

but i remember professor blum. and i still recall his dedication and high standards of learning. in my time there were many great professors at yale. and there still are. they're the ones who keep yale going after the commencements, after we have all gone our separate ways. i'm not sure i remembered to thank them the last time i was here, but now that i have a second chance, i thank the professors of yale university. (applause.)

that's how i've come to feel about the yale e_perience -- grateful. i studied hard, i played hard, and i made a lot of lifelong friends. what stays with you from college is the part of your education you hardly ever notice at the time. it's the e_pectations and e_amples around you, the ideals you believe in, and the friends you make.

in my time, they spoke of the 'yale man.' i was really never sure what that was. but i do think that i'm a better man because of yale. all universities, at their best, teach that degrees and honors are far from the full measure of life. nor is that measure taken in wealth or in titles. what matters most are the standards you live by, the consideration you show others, and the way you use the gifts you are given.

now you leave yale behind, carrying the written proof of your success here, at a college older than america. when i left here, i didn't have much in the way of a life plan. i knew some people who thought they did. but it turned out that we were all in for ups and downs, most of them une_pected. life takes its own turns, makes its own demands, writes its own story. and along the way, we start to realize we are not the author.

we begin to understand that life is ours to live, but not to waste, and that the greatest rewards are found in the commitments we make with our whole hearts -- to the people we love and to the causes that earn our sacrifice. i hope that each of you will know these rewards. i hope you will find them in your own way and your own time.

for some, that might mean some time in public service. and if you hear that calling, i hope you answer. each of you has unique gifts and you were given them for a reason. use them and share them. public service is one way -- an honorable way -- to mark your life with meaning.

today i visit not only my alma mater, but the city of my birth. my life began just a few blocks from here, but i was raised in west te_as. from there, yale always seemed a world away, maybe a part of my future. now it's part of my past, and yale for me is a source of great pride.

i hope that there will come a time for you to return to yale to say that, and feel as i do today. and i hope you won't wait as long. congratulations and god bless. (applause.)

end

人人都可能当总统——布什在耶鲁大学的演讲

我很荣幸能在这个场合发表演讲。

我知道，耶鲁向来不邀请毕业典礼演讲人，但近几年来却有例外。虽然破了例，但条件却更 加严格――演讲人必须同时具备两种身份：耶鲁校友、美国总统。我很骄傲在33年前领取 到第一个耶鲁大学的学位。此次，我又荣获耶鲁荣誉学位感到光荣。

今天是诸位学友毕业的日子，在这里我首先要恭喜家长们：恭喜你们的子女修完学业顺利毕 业，这是你们辛勤栽培后享受收获的日子，也是你们钱包解放的大好日子!最重要的是，我 要恭喜耶鲁毕业生们：对于那些表现杰出的同学，我要说，你真棒!对于那些丙等生，我要 说，你们将来也可以当美国总统!

耶鲁学位价值不菲。我时常这么提醒切尼(现任美国副总统),他在早年也短暂就读于此.所以 ,我想提醒正就读于耶鲁的莘莘学子，如果你们从耶鲁顺利毕业，你们也许可以当上总统; 如果你们中途辍学，那么你们只能当副总统了。

这是我毕业以来第二次回到这里。不过，一些人，一些事至今让我念念不忘。举例来说，我 记得我的老同学狄克.布洛德翰，如今他是伟大学校的杰出校长，他读书时的聪明与刻苦至 今让我记忆犹新。那时，我们经常泡在校图书馆那个有着大皮沙发的阅读室里。我们有个默 契：他不大声朗读课文，我睡觉不打呼噜。

后来，随着学术探索的领域不同，我们选修的课程也各不相同，狄克主修英语，我主修历史 。有趣的是，我选修过15世纪的日本俳句——每首诗只有17个音节，我想其意义只有禅学大 师才能明了。我记得一位学科顾问对我选修如此专精的课程表示担忧，他说我应该选修英语 。现在，我仍然时常听到这类建议。我在其他场合演讲时，在语言表达上曾被人误解过，我 的批评者不明白：我不是说错了字，我是在复诵古代俳句的完美格式与声韵呢。

我很感激耶鲁大学给我们提供了这么好的读书环境。读书期间，我坚持“用功读书，努力玩 乐”的思想，虽然不是很出色地完成了学业，但结交了许多让我终生受益的朋友。也许有的 同学会认为，大学只是人生受教育的重要部分，殊不知，“大学生活”这四个字的内涵十分 深厚，它既包含丰富的学科知识和学术氛围，也蕴涵着许多支撑人生成败的观念，还有那丰 富多彩的生活以及读多值得结交的朋友┄┄

大家常说，“耶鲁人”，我从不确定那是什么意思。但是我想，这一定是含着无限肯定与景 仰的褒义词。是的，因为耶鲁，因为有了在耶鲁深造的经历，你、我、他变成了一个个更加 优秀的人!你们离开耶鲁后，我希望你们牢记“我的知识源自耶鲁”，并以你们自己的方式 、自己的时间、自己的奋斗来体现对母校的热爱，听从时代的召唤，用信心与行动予以积极 响应。

你们每个人都有独特的天赋，你们拥有的这些天赋就是你们参与 竞争、实现人生价值的资 本，好好利用它们，与人分享它们，将它们转化为推进时代前进的动力吧!人生是要让我们 去生活、而不是用来浪费的，只要肯争上游，人人都可当总统!

这次我不仅回到母校，也是回到我的出生地，我就是在几条街之外出生的。在那时，耶鲁与 无知的我仿佛要隔了一个世界之遥，而现在，她是我过去的一部分。对我而言，耶鲁是我知 识的源泉，力量的源泉，令我极度骄傲的源泉。我希望，将来你们以另外一种身份回到耶鲁 时，能有与我一样的感受并说出相同的话。我希望你们不要等太久，我也坚信耶鲁邀请你回 校演讲的日子也不会等太久。

第4篇 美国总统感恩节英语演讲稿（中英文）

【2022年感恩节英语演讲稿】

hi, everybody. on behalf of all the obamas – michelle, malia, sasha, bo, and the newest member of our family, sunny – i want to wish you a happy and healthy thanksgiving.

大家好!我代表我们家所有人——米歇尔、玛利亚、萨莎、波尔以及新添成员桑尼，祝愿大家有一个快乐舒适的感恩节。

we’ll be spending today just like many of you – sitting down with family and friends to eat some good food, tell stories, watch a little football, and most importantly, count our blessings.

我们今天会和家人朋友一起享用美味的食物、讲故事、看点足球比赛，最重要的是，感恩——就像你们大多数人一样。

and as americans, we have so much to be thankful for.

作为美国人，我们有那么多值得感恩的东西。

we give thanks for the men and women who set sail for this land nearly four centuries ago, risking everything for the chance at a better life – and the people who were already here, our native american brothers and sisters, for their generosity during that first thanksgiving.

我们对近42022年前航行到这片土地的人们表达感谢，因为他们为了寻求更好的生活，甘冒一切风险。我们还要感激已经在这片土地上的，我们的原住民印第安兄弟姐妹们，感激他们在第一次感恩节上的慷慨大度。

we give thanks for the generations who followed – people of all races and religions, who arrived here from every country on earth and worked to build something better for themselves and for us.

我们对相继而来的世世代代的人们表达感激。来自世界各国的人们——来自不同民族并有着不同宗教信仰，齐心协力为他们自己和我们建筑起更美好的将来。

we give thanks for all our men and women in uniform – and for their families, who are surely missing them very much today. we’re grateful for their sacrifice too.

我们对穿制服为我们服务的人们表达谢意，对今天必定无比想念他们的亲人表达谢意。我们感激他们的牺牲。

we give thanks for the freedoms they defend – the freedom to think what we want and say what we think, to worship according to our own beliefs, to choose our leaders and, yes, criticize them without punishment. people around the world are fighting and even dying for their chance at these freedoms. we stand with them in that struggle, and we give thanks for being free.

我们感恩他们所捍卫的自由——让我们敢想敢说的自由、让我们选择信仰的自由、让我们选择自己的领导人的自由，以及，不受惩罚地批评领导人的自由。世界各国人民都在为有这些自由而奋斗甚至牺牲。我们和他们站在同一战线上，我们为自由而感恩。

and we give thanks to everyone who’s doing their part to make the united states a better, more compassionate nation – who spend their thanksgiving volunteering at a soup kitchen, or joining a service project, or bringing food and cheer to a lonely neighbor. that big-hearted generosity is a central part of our american character. we believe in lending a hand to folks who need it. we believe in pitching in to solve problems even if they aren’t our problems. and that’s not a one-day-a-year belief. it’s part of the fabric of our nation.

而且，我们感恩所有让美国成为更强大并且更富同情心的国家而尽责职守的人们——那些感恩节在救济所参加志愿服务的人，或者参加服务项目的人，或者给孤单的邻居送去食物和鼓励的人。这样的大度慷慨是我们美国人性格中的核心部分。我们愿意给需要的人以援手，我们愿意路见不平拔刀相助。这些不是一年一次的想法，这是我们国家的构成。

and we remember that many americans need that helping hand right now. americans who’ve lost their jobs and can’t get a new one through no fault of their own. americans who’ve been trapped in poverty and just need that helping hand to climb out. citizens whose prayers and hopes move us to act.

我们牢记着许多美国人现在需要帮助。那些失去工作而且没有丝毫过错却找不到新工作的美国人，那些深陷贫困而且急需救援之手的美国人。正是这些公民的祈祷和希望促使我们行动。

we are a people who are greater together than we are on our own. that’s what today is about. that’s what every day should be about. no matter our differences, we’re all part of one american family. we are each other’s keeper. we are one nation, under god. that core tenet of our american e_perience has guided us from the earliest days of our founding – and it will guide us to a future that’s even brighter than today.

我们是一个团结胜过单独行动的国家。今天如此，每天都如此。不管我们多么不同，我们都是美国大家庭的一份子。我们是彼此的守护者。我们是上帝庇佑的一个国家。我们美国历史实践出的这个核心信条将带领我们走向比今天更辉煌的未来，从建国初期到将来都是如此。

thank you, god bless you, and from my family to yours, happy thanksgiving.

谢谢，上帝保佑你。还有我们全家想对大家表示感恩节快乐。

第5篇 奥巴马总统在安赛乐米塔尔集团克利夫兰钢铁厂英语演讲稿

the president: hello, ohio! (applause.) it is good to be backin cleveland. the last timei was herewas about a year ago, in the final days of the campaign. i know how much you misshearing how iapprove this message every night on your tv. (laughter.) i will say it is niceto behere when the only real battle for ohio is the browns-bengals game thissunday. (applause.)he’s got the browns shirt right here, brownscap. (laughter.)

i want to thank scotty for thatterrific introduction. give him a biground of applause. (applause.) he is a natural. i want to thank your ceo, lakshmi mittal, forinvesting in americaand the cleveland area. we appreciate him. (applause.) and i want to thankall of you forhaving me here today.

along with me, there are a coupleof people i just want to acknowledge. first of all,america’s secretary of energy, ernie moniz, is here. right there. (applause.) andcongresswomanmarcy kaptur is here. give marcy a biground of applause. (applause.) fightingfor working people every day.

and earlier this afternoon i hada chance to see your mayor, frank jackson; your countye_ecutive, edfitzgerald. and even though they’re nothere, i want to thank them for the greatwork they’re doing on behalf ofworking people throughout the region. (applause.)

and then, finally, i want tothank mark and gary for showing me one of the biggest steelplants inamerica. and they told me that folks areproud to have been making steel right here fora century -- 100 years -- righthere. (applause.) and they e_plained that, today, the steelyoumake in cleveland is some of the strongest you’ll find anywhere in theworld. it’s one of themost productiveplants in the world. best workers in theworld. (applause.)

and what’s remarkable is, whenyou think about it, go back to where this plant was just afew years ago. the economy was in free fall, auto industryon the brink of collapse. and thatmeantdemand for steel had dried up. the blastfurnaces went quiet. about 1,200steelworkerspunched out for what might have been the last time. and that all came at the end of a decadewhenthe middle class was already working harder and harder just to get by, andnearly one inthree american manufacturing jobs had vanished -- a lot of themgoing overseas. and that couldhavedevastated this community for good.

but we rolled up our sleeves, wemade some tough choices. we rescued andretooled theamerican auto industry; it saved more than a million jobs. we bet on american ingenuity andamericanworkers. (applause.) and assembly lines started humming again, andautomakersstarted to make cars again. and just a few months after this plant shutdown, your plantmanager got the call: fire those furnaces back up, get those workers back on the job. and overthe last four years, you’ve madeyourselves one of the most productive steel mills not just inamerica, but inthe world. in the world. (applause.)

so you retooled to make thestronger steel that goes into newer, better american cars andtrucks. you created new partnerships with schools andcommunity colleges to make sure thatfolks who work here have the high-techskills they need for the high-tech jobs -- because i waslooking around thisfactory, and there’s a whole bunch of computer stuff going on.

one of your engineers -- and iwant to make sure i get margaret’s name right here --margaret krolikowski. did i get that right, margaret? (applause.) where’s margaret? whereisshe? there is she is, back there. so i’m going to quote you -- i’m going toquote you. here’swhat margaretsaid: “when we came back, we wanted tomake sure we were in a position wherewe never shut down again.” never shut down again. and that means making sure that workershereare constantly upgrading their skills and investments being made in thestate-of-the-arttechnology.

and it was interesting, when iwas meeting a number of the folks who were giving me thetour -- folks who havebeen here 30 years, 40 years -- but obviously the plant has changed, andsoduring that period they’ve had to upgrade their skills. and that’s what’s happened. and thestory of this plant is the story ofamerica over the last five years. wehaven’t just beenrecovering from a crisis. what we’ve been trying to do is rebuild a new foundation for growthandprosperity to protect ourselves from future crises. and because of the grit and resilienceandoptimism of the american people, we’re seeing comeback stories like yours allacrossamerica.

over the last 44 months, ourbusinesses have created 7.8 million new jobs. last month,another 200,000 americans went back to work. (applause.) and a lot of those jobs are inmanufacturing. so now we’ve got more work to do to get thoseengines of the economy churningeven faster. but because we’ve been willing to do some hard things, not just kick thecan downthe road, factories are reopening their doors, businesses are hiringnew workers, companies thatwere shipping jobs overseas, they’re starting totalk about bringing those jobs back to america.we’re starting to see that.

and let me give you an e_ample,because we were talking about this -- mr. mittal and otherswere talking aboutwhat’s different now. take a look atwhat we’ve done with american energy.for years, folks have talked about reducing our dependence on foreignoil -- but we didn’t reallydo it. andwe were just importing more and more oil, sending more and more moneyoverseas.gas prices keep on going upand up and up. we finally decided wewere going to do somethingabout it.

so we invested in new americantechnologies to reverse our addiction to foreign oil,double wind power, doublesolar power, produce more oil, produce more natural gas, and do itall in a waythat is actually bringing down some of our pollution, making our entireeconomymore energy-efficient. today, we generatemore renewable energy than ever.weproduce more natural gas than anybody in the world. just yesterday, we learned that for thefirsttime since 1995, the united states of america produces more of our own oil hereat homethan we buy from other countries. first time since 1995. (applause.) and that’s a big deal.that’s what america has done these past fiveyears.

and that is a huge competitiveadvantage for us. part of the reasoncompanies now want tomove -- we were just talking about it -- this plant, ifit’s located in germany, energy costs aredouble, maybe triple; same injapan. so this gives us a big edge. but this is also important: wereached the milestone not just because we’reproducing more energy, but also we’re wastingless energy. and this plant is a good e_ample of it. we set new fuel standards that doublethedistance our cars and trucks go on a gallon of gas by the middle of the ne_tdecade. thatsaves the average driver,everybody here, more than $8,000 at the pump over the life of a newcar. you like that? (applause.) we launched initiatives to put people to work upgrading ourhomes, andour businesses, and our factories so we’re wasting less energy. all that savesbusinesses money on theirenergy bills. your plant is one of thehundreds to answer that call.and if you’resaving money on energy costs, that means you can invest in equipment, investinworkers, hire more people, produce more products.

and here’s another thing: between more clean energy, less wastedenergy, the carbonpollution that’s helping to warm the planet, that actuallystarts going down. and that’s goodnewsfor anybody who cares about leaving a planet to our kids that is as beautifulas the one wegot from our parents and our grandparents. (applause.) so it’s a win-win. our economykeepsgrowing, creating new jobs, which means that strengthening our energysecurity and increasingenergy efficiency doesn’t have to be a choice betweenthe environment and the economy --we can do both.

so we’ve tackled the way we useenergy. that’s making america morecompetitive in order toattract good jobs. we’ve also tackled our deficits. a lot of people have been concerned aboutdeficits. since i took office, we cut them inhalf. that makes america more attractivewhen itcomes to business investment decisions.

and we’ve tackled a broken healthcare system. obviously, we’re not doneyet. (applause.)obviously, we’re not done yet. but over the last three years, health carecosts have grown at theslowest pace on record. and this is a great place to work thanks to a great steelworkersunionand cooperation between management and labor. (applause.) but just keep in mindthatif businesses’ health care costs are growing at about one-third the ratethat they were a decadeago, that makes america a more affordable place to dobusiness, and it also means that theinvestors here, if they’re putting lessmoney into health care costs, they can put more money interms of hiring moreworkers and making sure that they’re getting good pay.

so that’s what all these toughdecisions are about: reversing theforces that have hurt themiddle class for a long, long time, and building aneconomy where anybody, if you work hard,you can get ahead. that’s what plants like this have always beenabout. it’s not that it’seasywork. but it means if you work hard, you’vegot a chance to buy a home, you’ve got achance to retire, you’ve got a chanceto send your kids to school, you have a chance to maybetake a little vacationonce in a while. that’s what peoplestrive for. and that’s what will makethe21st century an american century, just like the last century was.

but i didn’t run for president togo back to where we were. i want us togo forward. i want usto go towards thefuture. (applause.) i want us to get us to where we need tobe. i want tosolve problems, not justput them off. i want to solveproblems. and we’ve got to do moretocreate more good, middle-class jobs like the ones folks have here.

that means we’ve got to doeverything we can to prepare our children and our workers forthe competitionthat they’re going to face. we should bedoing everything we can to help putsome sort of advanced education withinreach for more young people. noteverybody has got togo to a four-year college, but just looking at theequipment around here, you’ve got to have alittle bit of advancedtraining. it may come through acommunity college or it may come througha technical school, but we’ve got tomake sure you can get that education, your kids can getthat education withoutgoing broke -- without going broke, without going into debt. (applause.)so we’re working on that.

another thing we should beworking on: fi_ing a broken immigrationsystem. (applause.)when you think about this whole region, a lotof folks forget, but almost everybody who workedin that plant 100 years agocame from someplace else. and so we’vegot now a new generation ofhopeful, striving immigrants; we’ve got to makesure that they come legally and that we dowhat we need to secure our borders,but we’ve also got to make sure that we’re providing themopportunity just likeyour parents, grandparents, great-grandparents received when theyarrived atthis plant. and that’s important. (applause.) and, by the way, it will help oureconomy grow because then they’repaying ta_es and helping to invest and build here inamerica.

we should do everything we can torevitalize american manufacturing. manufacturing is --that’s the hub of our economy. when our manufacturing base is strong, theentire economy isstrong. a lot ofservice jobs depend on servicing manufacturing jobs. and, typically,manufacturing jobs pay alittle bit better. so that’s been apath, a ticket to the middle class.sowhen we make steel and cars, make them here in america, that helps. like i said, the workmay be hard but itgives you enough money to buy a home and raise a kid, retire and send yourkidsto school.

and those kinds of jobs also tellus something else. it’s not just howmuch you get in yourpaycheck, it’s also a sense of, “i’m making something andi’m helping to build this country.”ithelps establish a sense of -- that we’re invested in this country. (applause.) it tells us whatwe’re worth as a community. one of your coworkers, mike longa -- where’smike?

audience member: back here.

the president: is he back here? that’s mike right there. mike grew up here. his momand dad worked at this plant. this plant helped put mike and four brothersand/or sistersthrough college. and oncethis plant started growing again, mike got his chance to be asteelworker here,and provide for his own two young kids. so it’s a generational thing, and iwant to keep that going.

in my state of the union address,i talked about how we created america’s firstmanufacturing innovationinstitute right here in ohio. marcykaptur has been a big proponentof this, because she knows how importantmanufacturing is. i want to create moreof them --places where businesses are working with universities and they’repartnering to figure out whatare the new manufacturing techniques that keep usat the cutting edge so that china orgermany don’t get ahead of us in terms ofthe equipment that’s being invested. wewant to beat the cutting edge, so what we’re producing is always the beststeel, it’s always the best cars.butthat requires research and investment.

and your senator, sherrod brown,helped us to create that first manufacturing hub inyoungstown. and he’s now leading a bipartisan effort --(applause) -- he’s now leading abipartisan effort with senator blunt ofmissouri to move more of these manufacturinginnovation hubs all across thecountry. and congress should passsherrod’s bill. we should bedoingeverything we can to guarantee the ne_t revolution in manufacturing happensright herein cuyahoga, happens right here in ohio, happens right here inamerica. (applause.)

and let me make one lastpoint. we have to do everything we canto make sure everyamerican has access to quality, affordable health care,period. (applause.) you may have readwe had some problems lastmonth with websites. i’m not happy aboutthat. and then i had apress conferencetoday and i said, you know what, we fumbled the ball in terms of the rollout.

but we always knew this was goingto be hard. there’s a reason why folkshad tried to do itfor 100 years and hadn’t done it. and it’s complicated. there are a lot of players involved. thestatus quo is entrenched. and so, yes, there’s no question the rollouton the affordable careact was much tougher than we e_pected. but i want everybody here to understand, i amgoingto see this through. (applause.) i want millions of americans to make surethat they’re notgoing broke when they get sick and they can go to a doctorwhen their kids get sick. and we’renotapologizing for that. we are going toget this done. (applause.)

so we’re going to get the websiteworking the way it’s supposed to. theplans are already outthere that are affordable and people can get ta_credits. we’re going to help folks whoseoldplans have been canceled by the insurers -- many of them weren’t very good-- and we’re goingto make sure that they can get newer, better options.

but we’re not going to go back tothe old system, because the old system was broken. andevery year, thousands of americans wouldget dropped from coverage or denied their medicalhistory or e_posed tofinancial ruin. you guys are lucky thatyou work at a company with astrong union that gives you good healthbenefits. (applause.) but you know friends and familymembers whodon’t have it, and you know what it’s like when they get sick. you know how scaryit is for them when theyget sick. or some of them have healthinsurance -- they think they do --and they get sick, and suddenly theinsurance company says, oh, i’m sorry, you owe $50,000.that’s not covered. or they jack up your premium so you can’tafford it because you had somesort of pree_isting condition. that happens every day.

so we’re not going to let thathappen. we’re not going to let folks whopay their premiumson time get jerked around. and we’re not going to walk away from the 40 million americanswithouthealth insurance. (applause.) we are not going to gut this law. we will fi_ what needsto be fi_ed, but we’regoing to make the affordable care act work. and those who say they’reopposed to it and can’t offer a solution, we’llpush back. (applause.)

i got to give your governor alittle bit of credit. john kasich, alongwith a lot of statelegislators who are here today, they e_panded medicaidunder the affordable care act. andthinkabout that. just that one step means asmany as 275,000 ohioans are going to have healthinsurance. and it doesn’t depend on a website. that’s already happening because oftheaffordable care act. (applause.)

and i think it’s fair to say thatthe governor didn’t do it because he just loves me so much. (laughter.) we don’t agree on much, but he saw, well, this makes sense -- why wouldn’twe dothis? why wouldn’t we make surethat hundreds of thousands of people right here in ohio havesomesecurity? it was the right thing todo. and, by the way, if every republicangovernor didwhat kasich did here rather than play politics about it, you’dhave another 5.4 million americanswho could get access to health care ne_tyear, regardless of what happens with the website.that’s their decision not to do it. and it’s the wrong decision. they’ve got to go ahead andsign folks up.

so the bottom line is sometimeswe just have to set aside the politics and focus on what’sgood forpeople. what’s good to grow our middleclass? what’s going to help keep planslike thisgrowing? what’s going to makesure we’re putting more people back to work? what’s going toreally make a difference in terms of our kids getting agreat education?

and, look, we’ve done itbefore. that’s the good news. the good news is that america is --look, wemake mistakes. we have ourdifferences. our politics get screwed upsometimes.websites don’t worksometimes. (laughter.) but we just keep going. we didn’t become thegreatest nation on earthby accident. we did it because we didwhat it took to make sure ourfamilies could succeed, make sure our businessescould succeed, make sure our communitiescould succeed. and if you don’t believe me, listen to one ofyour coworkers.

so sherrod brown, earlier thisyear, brought a special guest along with him to the state ofthe union address-- one of your coworkers, cookie hall. where’s cookie? is cookie here?

audience member: no, she’s back at the hall.

the president: she’s back at the hall working. (laughter.) well, let me say somethingnice about her behind her back. (laughter.) so cookie said, one of -- let me make sure i canfind this. she said -- that night she said, “if i get achance to meet president obama, i’ll tellhim my greatest pride is in our 2022production record at cleveland works. we’rethe mostproductive steelworkers in the world.” (applause.) more than a ton ofsteel produced for everysingle one of the workers at this plant. that’s pretty good. that’s pretty good. (applause.)

so all of you are an e_ample ofwhat we do when we put our minds to it. this plant wasclosed for a while. we go through hard times. and alot of our friends are still going throughhard times. but when we work at it, we know we can get toa better place, and we can restoresome security to a middle class that wasforged in plants just like this one, and keep givingladders of opportunity forfolks who were willing to work hard to get into the middle class.that’s what i’m about. that’s what this plant is about. i’m proud to be with you.

and as long as i have the honorof being your president, i’m going to be waking up everysingle day thinkingabout how i can keep on helping folks like the ones who work in thisplant. (applause.)

god bless you. thank you. god bless you, and god bless the united states of america.thank you.

第6篇 英国女王伊丽莎白二世在德国总统府欢迎国宴上英语演讲稿

mr president,

prince philip and i would like to thank you and frau schadt for the warm welcome you havegiven us at the start of our fifth state visit to germany. in the 50 years since our first visit, ourcountries have lived through many profound changes. i am very glad to record that one of theirreversible changes for the better in my lifetime has been in the relationship between theunited kingdom and germany.

mr president, it falls to a head of state to lead a nation in the marking of anniversaries. everymonth this year we commemorate either the centenary of a momentous event in the firstworld war; the 70th anniversary of a milestone at the end of the second world war; or, herein germany, 25 years of reunification following the fall of the wall which divided this city andthis nation for so long.

but, tonight, i would also like to cast back rather further in time. last week in a water-meadow by the river thames, i attended an event to celebrate the 800th anniversary of themagna carta. of course, in common with other events in our remote history, the precise factsof 1215 are disputed. the consequences of the agreement between king john and his barons,however, are not disputed: for the first time we established in england that no man should beabove the law and that individuals as well as rulers have rights. thus began the long, slow andinterrupted process of our country's evolution into a democracy.

tomorrow i shall visit st paul's church, where the first freely-elected legislature in germanymet in 1848. the frankfurt parliament turned out to be a false dawn; it took another centuryand the loss of the most terrible wars in history to set germany on the path of democracy.

earlier this year my cousins visited germany to mark with you, mr president, more recent andpainful anniversaries. the duke of kent visited dresden and the duke of gloucester visitedbergen-belsen. i myself shall visit bergen-belsen on friday. these visits underline the completereconciliation between our countries.

germany has reconciled with all her neighbours. i pay tribute to the work of the germanstatesmen since the second world war who reinvented germany and helped to rebuild europe.i met chancellor adenauer at windsor in 1958. he rejected the idea of a neutral germany,preferring to anchor germany in the west. his successors took up the challenge of unitinggermany as a member of all the institutions of europe and the west.

since 1945 the united kingdom has determined to number among germany's very strongestfriends in europe. in the intervening decades, britain and germany have achieved so much byworking together. i have every confidence that we will continue to do so in the years ahead.

since berlin and germany were reunited there has been much to celebrate. today i cruisedwith you, mr president, along the spree. i saw fewer cranes than when i was last here in 2022.but still the most magnificent element of berlin's skyline is the reichstag dome, an enduringreminder of our cultural cooperation. our work together includes every part of life, frompolitics to commerce, from industry to every aspect of the arts, in particular, music,museums and education.

we also saw a wonderful e_ample of partnership in education and science during our visit to thetechnical university this afternoon. the enthusiasm and interest our students and youngpeople have for each other's ideas and work is our greatest asset: the ne_t generation is at easewith itself and with contemporaries across europe in a way that was never the case before.

the united kingdom has always been closely involved in its continent. even when our mainfocus was elsewhere in the world, our people played a key part in europe. in the nineteenthcentury in the russian empire a welsh engineer called john hughes founded a mining townwhich is now donetsk in ukraine. and in the seventeenth century a scottish publican calledrichard cant moved his family to pomerania; his son moved further east to memel and hisgrandson then moved south to k?nigsberg, where richard's great-grandson, immanuel kant,was born.

in our lives, mr president, we have seen the worst but also the best of our continent. we havewitnessed how quickly things can change for the better. but we know that we must work hardto maintain the benefits of the post-war world. we know that division in europe is dangerousand that we must guard against it in the west as well as in the east of our continent. thatremains a common endeavour.

ladies and gentlemen, i ask you to rise and drink a toast to the president and the people ofgermany.

第7篇 关于美国前总统布什感恩节演讲稿

美国前总统布什感恩节演讲稿(2009)

good morning. this week, americans gather with loved ones to celebrate thanksgiving. this holiday season is a time of fellowship and peace. and it is a time to give thanks for our many blessings.

during this holiday season, we give thanks for generations of americans who overcame hardships to create and sustain a free nation. when the pilgrims celebrated their first thanksgiving nearly four centuries ago, they had already suffered through a harsh and bitter winter. but they were willing to endure that adversity to live in a land where they could worship the almighty without persecution. when president abraham lincoln proclaimed thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863, the united states was in the midst of a terrible civil war. but in that hour of trial he gave thanks -- because he believed america would weather the storm and emerge into a new era of liberty.

during this holiday season, we give thanks for those who defend our freedom. america's men and women in uniform deserve our highest respect -- and so do the families who love and support them. lately, i have been asked what i will miss about the presidency. and my answer is that i will miss being the commander-in-chief of these brave warriors. in this special time of year, when many of them are serving in distant lands, they are in the thoughts and prayers of all americans.

during this holiday season, we give thanks for the kindness of citizens throughout our nation. it is a testament to the goodness of our people that on thanksgiving, millions of americans reach out to those who have little. the true spirit of the holidays can be seen in the generous volunteers who bring comfort to the poor and the sick and the elderly. these men and women are selfless members of our nation's armies of compassion -- and they make our country a better place, one heart and one soul at a time.

finally, i have a special note of thanks to the american people. on this, my last thanksgiving as your president, i am thankful for the good will, kind words, and heartfelt prayers that so many of you have offered me during the past eight years. i have been blessed to represent such decent, brave, and caring people. for that, i will always be grateful, and i will always be honored. thank you for listening.

第8篇 肯尼迪就职美国总统英语演讲稿

肯尼迪就职演讲稿(英文版)

vice president johnson, mr. speaker, mr. chief justice, president eisenhower, vice president ni_on, president truman, reverend clergy, fellow citizens:

we observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom -- symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning -- signifying renewal, as well as change. for i have sworn before you and almighty god the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three-quarters ago.

the world is very different now. for man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. and yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe -- the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of god.

we dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of americans -- born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage, and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.

let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty.

this much we pledge -- and more.

to those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends. united there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. divided there is little we can do -- for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder.

to those new states whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our word that one form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny. we shall not always e_pect to find them supporting our view. but we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom -- and to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.

to those people in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required -- not because the communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. if a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.

to our sister republics south of our border, we offer a special pledge: to convert our good words into good deeds, in a new alliance for progress, to assist free men and free governments in casting off the chains of poverty. but this peaceful revolution of hope cannot become the prey of hostile powers. let all our neighbors know that we shall join with them to oppose aggression or subversion anywhere in the americas. and let every other power know that this hemisphere intends to remain the master of its own house.

to that world assembly of sovereign states, the united nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we renew our pledge of support -- to prevent it from becoming merely a forum for invective, to strengthen its shield of the new and the weak, and to enlarge the area in which its writ may run.

finally, to those nations who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request: that both sides begin anew the quest for peace, before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction.

we dare not tempt them with weakness. for only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed.

but neither can two great and powerful groups of nations take comfort from our present course -- both sides overburdened by the cost of modern weapons, both rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the deadly atom, yet both racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of mankind's final war.

so let us begin anew -- remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate.

let both sides e_plore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.

let both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals for the inspection and control of arms, and bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations.

let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors. together let us e_plore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce.

let both sides unite to heed, in all corners of the earth, the command of isaiah -- to 'undo the heavy burdens, and [to] let the oppressed go free.'¹

and, if a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion, let both sides join in creating a new endeavor -- not a new balance of power, but a new world of law -- where the strong are just, and the weak secure, and the peace preserved.

all this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days; nor in the life of this administration; nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. but let us begin.

in your hands, my fellow citizens, more than mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. since this country was founded, each generation of americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. the graves of young americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.

now the trumpet summons us again -- not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need -- not as a call to battle, though embattled we are -- but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, 'rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation,'² a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.

can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, north and south, east and west, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? will you join in that historic effort?

in the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of ma_imum danger. i do not shrink from this responsibility -- i welcome it. i do not believe that any of us would e_change places with any other people or any other generation. the energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it. and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.

and so, my fellow americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.

my fellow citizens of the world, ask not what america will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

finally, whether you are citizens of america or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. with a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking his blessing and his help, but knowing that here on earth god's work must truly be our own.

肯尼迪就职演讲稿(中文版)

我们今天庆祝的并不是一次政党的胜利，而是一次自由的庆典;它象征着结束，也象征着开始;意味着更新，也意味着变革。因为我已在你们和全能的上帝面前，作了跟我们祖先将近一又四分之三世纪以前所拟定的相同的庄严誓言。

现今世界已经很不同了，因为人在自己血肉之躯的手中握有足以消灭一切形式的人类贫困和一切形式的人类生命的力量。可是我们祖先奋斗不息所维护的革命信念，在世界各地仍处于争论之中。那信念就是注定人权并非来自政府的慷慨施与，而是上帝所赐。

我们今天不敢忘记我们是那第一次革命的继承人，让我从此时此地告诉我们的朋友，并且也告诉我们的敌人，这支火炬已传交新一代的美国人，他们出生在本世纪，经历过战争的锻炼，受过严酷而艰苦的和平的熏陶，以我们的古代传统自豪，而且不愿目睹或容许人权逐步被褫夺。对于这些人权我国一向坚贞不移，当前在国内和全世界我们也是对此力加维护的。

让每一个国家知道，不管它盼我们好或盼我们坏，我们将付出任何代价，忍受任何重负，应付任何艰辛，支持任何朋友，反对任何敌人，以确保自由的存在与实现。

这是我们矢志不移的事--而且还不止此。

对于那些和我们拥有共同文化和精神传统的老盟邦，我们保证以挚友之诚相待。只要团结，则在许多合作事业中几乎没有什么是办不到的。倘若分裂，我们则无可作为，因为我们在意见分歧、各行其是的情况下，是不敢应付强大挑战的。

对于那些我们欢迎其参与自由国家行列的新国家，我们要提出保证，绝不让一种形成的殖民统治消失后，却代之以另一种远为残酷的暴政。我们不能老是期望他们会支持我们的观点，但我们却一直希望他们能坚决维护他们自身的自由，并应记取，在过去，那些愚蠢得要骑在虎背上以壮声势的人，结果却被虎所吞噬。

对于那些住在布满半个地球的茅舍和乡村中、力求打破普遍贫困的桎梏的人们，我们保证尽最大努力助其自救，不管需要多长时间。这并非因为共产党会那样做，也不是由于我们要求他们的选票，而是由于那样做是正确的。自由社会若不能帮助众多的穷人，也就不能保全那少数的富人。

对于我国边界以内的各姐妹共和国，我们提出一项特殊的保证：要把我们的美好诺言化作善行，在争取进步的新联盟中援助自由人和自由政府来摆脱贫困的枷锁。但这种为实现本身愿望而进行的和平革命不应成为不怀好意的国家的俎上肉。让我们所有的邻邦都知道，我们将与他们联合抵御对美洲任何地区的侵略或颠覆。让其它国家都知道，西半球的事西半球自己会管。

至于联合国这个各主权国家的世界性议会，在今天这个战争工具的发展速度超过和平工具的时代中，它是我们最后的、最美好的希望。我们愿重申我们的支持诺言;不让它变成仅供谩骂的讲坛，加强其对于新国弱国的保护，并扩大其权力所能运用的领域。

最后，对于那些与我们为敌的国家，我们所要提供的不是保证，而是要求：双方重新着手寻求和平，不要等到科学所释出的危险破坏力量在有意或无意中使全人类沦于自我毁灭。

我们不敢以示弱去诱惑他们。因为只有当我们的武力无可置疑地壮大时，我们才能毫无疑问地确信永远不会使用武力。

可是这两个强有力的国家集团，谁也不能对当前的趋势放心--双方都因现代武器的代价而感到不胜负担，双方都对于致命的原子力量不断发展而产生应有的惊骇，可是双方都在竞谋改变那不稳定的恐怖均衡，而此种均衡却可以暂时阻止人类最后从事战争。

因此让我们重新开始，双方都应记住，谦恭并非懦弱的征象，而诚意则永远须要验证。让我们永不因畏惧而谈判。但让我们永不要畏惧谈判。

让双方探究能使我们团结在一起的是什么问题，而不要虚耗心力于使我们分裂的问题。

让双方首次制订有关视察和管制武器的真诚而确切的建议，并且把那足以毁灭其它国家的漫无限制的力量置于所有国家的绝对管制之下。

让双方都谋求激发科学的神奇力量而不是科学的恐怖因素。让我们联合起来去探索星球，治理沙漠，消除疾病，开发海洋深处，并鼓励艺术和商务。

让双方携手在世界各个角落遵循以赛亚的命令，去“卸下沉重的负担……(并)让被压迫者得自由。”

如果建立合作的滩头堡能够遏制重重猜疑，那么，让双方联合作一次新的努力吧，这不是追求新的权力均衡，而是建立一个新的法治世界，在那世界上强者公正，弱者安全，和平在握。

凡此种种不会在最初的一百天中完成，不会在最初的一千天中完成，不会在本政府任期中完成，甚或也不能在我们活在地球上的毕生期间完成。但让我们开始。

同胞们，我们事业的最后成效，主要不是掌握在我手里，而是操在你们手中。自从我国建立以来，每一代的美国人都曾应召以验证其对国家的忠诚。响应此项召唤而服军役的美国青年人的坟墓遍布全球各处。

现在那号角又再度召唤我们--不是号召我们肩起武器，虽然武器是我们所需要的;不是号召我们去作战，虽然我们准备应战;那是号召我们年复一年肩负起持久和胜败未分的斗争，“在希望中欢乐，在患难中忍耐”;这是一场对抗人类公敌--暴政、贫困、疾病以及战争本身--的斗争。

我们能否结成一个遍及东西南北的全球性伟大联盟来对付这些敌人，来确保全人类享有更为富裕的生活?你们是否愿意参与这历史性的努力?

在世界的悠久历史中，只有很少几个世代的人赋有这种在自由遭遇最大危机时保卫自由的任务。我决不在这责任之前退缩;我欢迎它。我不相信我们中间会有人愿意跟别人及别的世代交换地位。我们在这场努力中所献出的精力、信念与虔诚、将照亮我们的国家以及所有为国家服务的人，而从这一火焰所聚出的光辉必能照明全世界。

所以，同胞们：不要问你们的国家能为你们做些什么，而要问你们能为国家做些什么。

全世界的公民：不要问美国愿为你们做些什么，而应问我们在一起能为人类的自由做些什么。

最后，不管你是美国的公民或世界它国的公民，请将我们所要求于你们的有关力量与牺牲的高标准拿来要求我们。我们唯一可靠的报酬是问心无愧，我们行为的最后裁判者是历史，让我们向前引导我们所挚爱的国土，企求上帝的保佑与扶携，但我们知道，在这个世界上，上帝的任务肯定就是我们自己所应肩负的任务。

第9篇 奥巴马总统就美国经济和外交政策发布会演讲稿

good afternoon, everybody. happy friday. i thought i’d take somequestions, but first, let me say a few words about the economy.

this morning, we learned that our economy created over 200,000 new jobs in july. that’s ontop of about 300,000 new jobs in june. so we are now in a si_-month streak with at least200,000 new jobs each month. that’s the first time that has happened since 1997. over thepast year, we’ve added more jobs than any year since 2022. and all told, our businesses havecreated 9.9 million new jobs over the past 53 months. that’s the longest streak of privatesector job creation in our history.

and as we saw on wednesday, the economy grew at a strong pace in the spring. companies areinvesting. consumers are spending. american manufacturing, energy, technology, autos -- allare booming. and thanks to the decisions that we’ve made, and the grit and resilience of theamerican people, we’ve recovered faster and come farther from the recession than almost anyother advanced country on earth.

so the good news is the economy clearly is getting stronger. things are getting better. ourengines are revving a little bit louder. and the decisions that we make right now can sustainand keep that growth and momentum going.

unfortunately, there are a series of steps that we could be taking to maintain momentum, andperhaps even accelerate it; there are steps that we could be taking that would result in morejob growth, higher wages, higher incomes, more relief for middle-class families. and so far, atleast, in congress, we have not seen them willing or able to take those steps.

i’ve been pushing for common-sense ideas like rebuilding our infrastructure in ways that aresustained over many years and support millions of good jobs and help businesses compete.i’ve been advocating on behalf of raising the minimum wage, making it easier for working folksto pay off their student loans; fair pay, paid leave. all these policies have two things incommon: all of them would help working families feel more stable and secure, and all of themso far have been blocked or ignored by republicans in congress. that’s why myadministration keeps taking whatever actions we can take on our own to help working families.

now, it’s good that congress was able to pass legislation to strengthen the va. and i want tothank the chairmen and ranking members who were involved in that. it’s good that congresswas able to at least fund transportation projects for a few more months before leaving town --although it falls far short of the kind of infrastructure effort that we need that would actuallyaccelerate the economy. but for the most part, the big-ticket items, the things that wouldreally make a difference in the lives of middle-class families, those things just are not gettingdone.

let’s just take a recent e_ample: immigration. we all agree that there’s a problem that needsto be solved in a portion of our southern border. and we even agree on most of the solutions.but instead of working together -- instead of focusing on the 80 percent where there isagreement between democrats and republicans, between the administration and congress --house republicans, as we speak, are trying to pass the most e_treme and unworkable versionsof a bill that they already know is going nowhere, that can’t pass the senate and that if it wereto pass the senate i would veto. they know it.

they’re not even trying to actually solve the problem. this is a message bill that they couldn’tquite pull off yesterday, so they made it a little more e_treme so maybe they can pass it today-- just so they can check a bo_ before they’re leaving town for a month. and this is on an issuethat they all insisted had to be a top priority.

now, our efforts administratively so far have helped to slow the tide of child migrants trying tocome to our country. but without additional resources and help from congress, we’re just notgoing to have the resources we need to fully solve the problem. that means while they’re outon vacation i’m going to have to make some tough choices to meet the challenge -- with orwithout congress.

and yesterday, even though they’ve been sitting on a bipartisan immigration bill for over ayear, house republicans suggested that since they don’t e_pect to actually pass a bill that i cansign, that i actually should go ahead and act on my own to solve the problem. keep in mindthat just a few days earlier, they voted to sue me for acting on my own. and then when theycouldn’t pass a bill yesterday, they put out a statement suggesting i should act on my ownbecause they couldn’t pass a bill.

第10篇 奥巴马总统每周电台英语演讲稿

hi, everybody. this week, america came together tosalute our veterans – to e_press our appreciationto all who served so that we might live free. but ourgratitude should e_tend beyond what our veteranshave done for us in the past. it should remind us ofour responsibilities to serve them as well as theyhave served us. it should compel us to keep ourveterans central to the ongoing work of this nation.

in recent years, we've made historic investments toboost the va budget, e_pand veterans' benefits,and improve care for our wounded warriors. we've now slashed the disability claims backlog bynearly 90 percent from its peak. we're reducing the outrage of veterans' homelessness andwe've helped tens of thousands of veterans get off the streets. the veterans' unemploymentrate is down to 3.9 percent – even lower than the national average.

of course, we're not satisfied. we've still got more work to do – and i've directed myadministration to keep doing everything it can to fulfill our promise to our veterans. but thisisn't just a job for government alone. we all have a role to play. less than one percent ofamericans are serving in uniform. so it's true most americans don't always see andappreciate the incredible skills and assets that our veterans can offer. but every americanshould know that our veterans are some of the most talented, capable people in the world.they've mastered skills and technologies and leadership roles that are impossible to teach offthe battlefield. they know how to get stuff done.

and as our veterans will tell you themselves, they're not finished serving their country. they'reteachers and doctors, engineers and entrepreneurs, social workers and community leaders.they serve in statehouses across the country and in congress. as i tell small business ownersand ceos on a regular basis, if you want to get the job done, hire a vet. every sector, everyindustry, every community in this country can benefit from the incredible talents of ourveterans.

our troops and veterans give us their very best. that's what a soldier named captain florentgroberg proved. three years ago, on patrol in afghanistan, flo saw a suicide bomber comingtoward his unit. without hesitating, flo grabbed him by his vest and helped push him to theground. when the bomb went off, flo was badly injured, and four of his comrades were killed.but many more were saved because of flo's sacrifice. flo represents the very best of america –and this week, i was proud to present him with the medal of honor for his actions.

veterans like flo, they deserve our undying gratitude. they deserve the chance to keepserving the country they risked everything to defend. and so we must come together to keepgiving them that chance, not just on veterans day, but on every single day of the year. maygod bless all those who serve and all who have given their lives for our country. and may godbless the united states of america.

第11篇 美国总统罗斯福就职英语演讲稿

美国总统罗斯福就职演讲稿(英文版)

president hoover, mr. chief justice, my friends:

this is a day of national consecration. and i am certain that on this day my fellow americans e_pect that on my induction into the presidency, i will address them with a candor and a decision which the present situation of our people impels.

this is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. this great nation will endure, as it has endured, will revive and will prosper.

so, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself -- nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. in every dark hour of our national life, a leadership of frankness and of vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. and i am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days.

in such a spirit on my part and on yours we face our common difficulties. they concern, thank god, only material things. values have shrunk to fantastic levels; ta_es have risen; our ability to pay has fallen; government of all kinds is faced by serious curtailment of income; the means of e_change are frozen in the currents of trade; the withered leaves of industrial enterprise lie on every side; farmers find no markets for their produce; and the savings of many years in thousands of families are gone. more important, a host of unemployed citizens face the grim problem of e_istence, and an equally great number toil with little return. only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment.

and yet our distress comes from no failure of substance. we are stricken by no plague of locusts. compared with the perils which our forefathers conquered, because they believed and were not afraid, we have still much to be thankful for. nature still offers her bounty and human efforts have multiplied it. plenty is at our doorstep, but a generous use of it languishes in the very sight of the supply.

primarily, this is because the rulers of the e_change of mankind's goods have failed, through their own stubbornness and their own incompetence, have admitted their failure, and have abdicated. practices of the unscrupulous money changers stand indicted in the court of public opinion, rejected by the hearts and minds of men.

true, they have tried. but their efforts have been cast in the pattern of an outworn tradition. faced by failure of credit, they have proposed only the lending of more money. stripped of the lure of profit by which to induce our people to follow their false leadership, they have resorted to e_hortations, pleading tearfully for restored confidence. they only know the rules of a generation of self-seekers. they have no vision, and when there is no vision the people perish.

yes, the money changers have fled from their high seats in the temple of our civilization. we may now restore that temple to the ancient truths. the measure of that restoration lies in the e_tent to which we apply social values more noble than mere monetary profit.

happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. the joy, the moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits. these dark days, my friends, will be worth all they cost us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves, to our fellow men.

recognition of that falsity of material wealth as the standard of success goes hand in hand with the abandonment of the false belief that public office and high political position are to be valued only by the standards of pride of place and personal profit; and there must be an end to a conduct in banking and in business which too often has given to a sacred trust the likeness of callous and selfish wrongdoing. small wonder that confidence languishes, for it thrives only on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection, and on unselfish performance; without them it cannot live.

restoration calls, however, not for changes in ethics alone. this nation is asking for action, and action now.

our greatest primary task is to put people to work. this is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously. it can be accomplished in part by direct recruiting by the government itself, treating the task as we would treat the emergency of a war, but at the same time, through this employment, accomplishing great -- greatly needed projects to stimulate and reorganize the use of our great natural resources.

hand in hand with that we must frankly recognize the overbalance of population in our industrial centers and, by engaging on a national scale in a redistribution, endeavor to provide a better use of the land for those best fitted for the land.

yes, the task can be helped by definite efforts to raise the values of agricultural products, and with this the power to purchase the output of our cities. it can be helped by preventing realistically the tragedy of the growing loss through foreclosure of our small homes and our farms. it can be helped by insistence that the federal, the state, and the local governments act forthwith on the demand that their cost be drastically reduced. it can be helped by the unifying of relief activities which today are often scattered, uneconomical, unequal. it can be helped by national planning for and supervision of all forms of transportation and of communications and other utilities that have a definitely public character. there are many ways in which it can be helped, but it can never be helped by merely talking about it.

we must act. we must act quickly.

and finally, in our progress towards a resumption of work, we require two safeguards against a return of the evils of the old order. there must be a strict supervision of all banking and credits and investments. there must be an end to speculation with other people's money. and there must be provision for an adequate but sound currency.

these, my friends, are the lines of attack. i shall presently urge upon a new congress in special session detailed measures for their fulfillment, and i shall seek the immediate assistance of the 48 states.

through this program of action we address ourselves to putting our own national house in order and making income balance outgo. our international trade relations, though vastly important, are in point of time, and necessity, secondary to the establishment of a sound national economy. i favor, as a practical policy, the putting of first things first. i shall spare no effort to restore world trade by international economic readjustment; but the emergency at home cannot wait on that accomplishment.

the basic thought that guides these specific means of national recovery is not nationally -- narrowly nationalistic. it is the insistence, as a first consideration, upon the interdependence of the various elements in and parts of the united states of america -- a recognition of the old and permanently important manifestation of the american spirit of the pioneer. it is the way to recovery. it is the immediate way. it is the strongest assurance that recovery will endure.

in the field of world policy, i would dedicate this nation to the policy of the good neighbor: the neighbor who resolutely respects himself and, because he does so, respects the rights of others; the neighbor who respects his obligations and respects the sanctity of his agreements in and with a world of neighbors.

if i read the temper of our people correctly, we now realize, as we have never realized before, our interdependence on each other; that we can not merely take, but we must give as well; that if we are to go forward, we must move as a trained and loyal army willing to sacrifice for the good of a common discipline, because without such discipline no progress can be made, no leadership becomes effective.

we are, i know, ready and willing to submit our lives and our property to such discipline, because it makes possible a leadership which aims at the larger good. this, i propose to offer, pledging that the larger purposes will bind upon us, bind upon us all as a sacred obligation with a unity of duty hitherto evoked only in times of armed strife.

with this pledge taken, i assume unhesitatingly the leadership of this great army of our people dedicated to a disciplined attack upon our common problems.

action in this image, action to this end is feasible under the form of government which we have inherited from our ancestors. our constitution is so simple, so practical that it is possible always to meet e_traordinary needs by changes in emphasis and arrangement without loss of essential form. that is why our constitutional system has proved itself the most superbly enduring political mechanism the modern world has ever seen.

it has met every stress of vast e_pansion of territory, of foreign wars, of bitter internal strife, of world relations. and it is to be hoped that the normal balance of e_ecutive and legislative authority may be wholly equal, wholly adequate to meet the unprecedented task before us. but it may be that an unprecedented demand and need for undelayed action may call for temporary departure from that normal balance of public procedure.

i am prepared under my constitutional duty to recommend the measures that a stricken nation in the midst of a stricken world may require. these measures, or such other measures as the congress may build out of its e_perience and wisdom, i shall seek, within my constitutional authority, to bring to speedy adoption.

but, in the event that the congress shall fail to take one of these two courses, in the event that the national emergency is still critical, i shall not evade the clear course of duty that will then confront me. i shall ask the congress for the one remaining instrument to meet the crisis -- broad e_ecutive power to wage a war against the emergency, as great as the power that would be given to me if we were in fact invaded by a foreign foe.

for the trust reposed in me, i will return the courage and the devotion that befit the time. i can do no less.

we face the arduous days that lie before us in the warm courage of national unity; with the clear consciousness of seeking old and precious moral values; with the clean satisfaction that comes from the stern performance of duty by old and young alike. we aim at the assurance of a rounded, a permanent national life.

we do not distrust the -- the future of essential democracy. the people of the united states have not failed. in their need they have registered a mandate that they want direct, vigorous action. they have asked for discipline and direction under leadership. they have made me the present instrument of their wishes. in the spirit of the gift i take it.

in this dedication -- in this dedication of a nation, we humbly ask the blessing of god.

may he protect each and every one of us.

may he guide me in the days to come.

美国总统罗斯福就职演讲稿(中文版)

胡佛总统，首席法官先生，朋友们：

今天，对我们的国家来说，是一个神圣的日子。我肯定，同胞们都期待我在就任总统时，会像我国目前形势所要求的那样，坦率而果断地向他们讲话。现在正是坦白、勇敢地说出实话，说出全部实话的最好时刻。我们不必畏首畏尾，不老老实实面对我国今天的情况。这个伟大的国家会一如既往地坚持下去，它会复兴和繁荣起来。因此，让我首先表明我的坚定信念：我们唯一不得不害怕的就是害怕本身--一种莫名其妙、丧失理智的、毫无根据的恐惧，它把人转退为进所需的种种努力化为泡影。凡在我国生活阴云密布的时刻，坦率而有活力的领导都得到过人民的理解和支持，从而为胜利准备了必不可少的条件。我相信，在目前危急时刻，大家会再次给予同样的支持。

我和你们都要以这种精神，来面对我们共同的困难。感谢上帝，这些困难只是物质方面的。价值难以想象地贬缩了;课税增加了;我们的支付能力下降了;各级政府面临着严重的收入短缺;交换手段在贸易过程中遭到了冻结;工业企业枯萎的落叶到处可见;农场主的产品找不到销路;千家万户多年的积蓄付之东流。

更重要的是，大批失业公民正面临严峻的生存问题，还有大批公民正以艰辛的劳动换取微薄的报酬。只有愚蠢的乐天派会否认当前这些阴暗的现实。

但是，我们的苦恼决不是因为缺乏物资。我们没有遭到什么蝗虫的灾害。我们的先辈曾以信念和无畏一次次转危为安，比起他们经历过的险阻，我们仍大可感到欣慰。大自然仍在给予我们恩惠，人类的努力已使之倍增。富足的情景近在咫尺，但就在我们见到这种 情景的时候，宽裕的生活却悄然离去。这主要是因为主宰人类物资交换的统治者们失败了，他们固执己见而又无能为力，因而已经认定失败了，并撒手不管了。贪得无厌的货币兑换商的种种行径。将受到舆论法庭的起诉，将受到人类心灵理智的唾弃。

是的，他们是努力过，然而他们用的是一种完全过时的方法。面对信贷的失败，他们只是提议借出更多的钱。没有了当诱饵引诱 人民追随他们的错误领导的金钱，他们只得求助于讲道，含泪祈求人民重新给予他们信心。他们只知自我追求者们的处世规则。他们没有眼光，而没有眼光的人是要灭亡的。

如今，货币兑换商已从我们文明庙宇的高处落荒而逃。我们要以千古不变的真理来重建这座庙宇。衡量这重建的尺度是我们体现比金钱利益更高尚的社会价值的程度。

幸福并不在于单纯地占有金钱;幸福还在于取得成就后的喜悦，在于创造努力时的激情。务必不能再忘记劳动带来的喜悦和激励，而去疯狂地追逐那转瞬即逝的利润。如果这些暗淡的时日能使我们认识到，我们真正的天命不是要别人侍奉，而是为自己和同胞们服务，那么，我们付出的代价就完全是值得的。

认识到把物质财富当作成功的标准是错误的，我们就会抛弃以地位尊严和个人收益为唯一标准，来衡量公职和高级政治地位的错误信念;我们必须制止银行界和企业界的一种行为，它常常使神圣的委托混同于无情和自私的不正当行为。难怪信心在减弱，信心，只有靠诚实、信誉、忠心维护和无私履行职责。而没有这些，就不可能有信心。

但是，复兴不仅仅只要改变伦理观念。这个国家要求行动起来，现在就行动起来。

我们最大、最基本的任务是让人民投入工作。只要我信行之以智慧和勇气，这个问题就可以解决。这可以部分由政府直接征募完成，就象对待临战的紧要关头一样，但同时，在有了人手的情况下，我们还急需能刺激并重组巨大自然资源的工程。

我们齐心协力，但必须坦白地承认工业中心的人口失衡，我们必须在全国范围内重新分配，使土地在最适合的人手中发表挥更大作用。

明确地为提高农产品价值并以此购买城市产品所做的努力，会有助于任务的完成。避免许多小家庭业、农场业被取消赎取抵押品的权利的悲剧也有助于任务的完成。联邦、州、各地政府立即行动回应要求降价的呼声，有助于任务的完成。将现在常常是分散不经济、不平等的救济活动统一起来有助于任务的完成。对所有公共交通运输，通讯及其他涉及公众生活的设施作全国性的计划及监督有助于任务的完成。许多事情都有助于任务完成，但这些决不包括空谈。我们必须行动，立即行动。

最后，为了重新开始工作，我们需要两手防御，来抗御旧秩序恶魔卷土从来;一定要有严格监督银行业、信贷及投资的机制：一定要杜绝投机;一定要有充足而健康的货币供应。

以上这些，朋友们，就是施政方针。我要在特别会议上敦促新国会给予详细实施方案，并且，我要向18个州请求立即的援助。

通过行动，我们将予以我们自己一个有秩序的国家大厦，使收入大于支出。我们的国际贸易，虽然很重要，但现在在时间和必要性上，次于对本国健康经济的建立。我建议，作为可行的策略、首要事务先行。虽然我将不遗余力通过国际经济重新协调所来恢复国际贸易，但我认为国内的紧急情况无法等待这重新协调的完成。

指导这一特别的全国性复苏的基本思想并非狭隘的国家主义。我首先考虑的是坚持美国这一整体中各部分的相互依赖性--这是对美国式的开拓精神的古老而永恒的证明的体现。这才是复苏之路，是即时之路，是保证复苏功效持久之路。

在国际政策方面，我将使美国采取睦邻友好的政策。做一个决心自重，因此而尊重邻国的国家。做一个履行义务，尊重与他国协约的国家。

如果我对人民的心情的了解正确的话，我想我们已认识到了我们从未认识的问题，我们是互相依存的，我们不可以只索取，我们还必须奉献。我们前进时，必须象一支训练有素的忠诚的军队，愿意为共同的原则而献身，因为，没有这些原则，就无法取得进步，领导就不可能得力。我们都已做好准备，并愿意为此原则献出生命和财产，因为这将使志在建设更美好社会的领导成为可能。我倡议，为了更伟大的目标，我们所有的人，以一致的职责紧紧团结起来。这是神圣的义务，非战乱，不停止。

有了这样的誓言，我将毫不犹豫地承担领导伟大人民大军的任务，致力于对我们普遍问题的强攻。这样的行动，这样的目标，在我们从祖先手中接过的政府中是可行的。我们的宪法如此简单，实在。它随时可以应付特殊情况，只需对重点和安排加以修改而不丧失中心思想，正因为如此，我们的宪法体制已自证为是最有适应性的政治体制。它已应付过巨大的国土扩张、外战、内乱及国际关系所带来的压力。

而我们还希望行使法律的人士做到充分的平等，能充分地担负前所未有的任务。但现在前所未有的对紧急行动的需要要求国民暂时丢弃平常生活节奏，紧迫起来。

让我们正视面前的严峻岁月，怀着举国一致给我们带来的热情和勇气，怀着寻求传统的、珍贵的道德观念的明确意识，怀着老老少少都能通过克尽职守而得到的问心无愧的满足。我们的目标是要保证国民生活的圆满和长治久安。

我们并不怀疑基本民主制度的未来。合众国人民并没有失败。他们在困难中表达了自己的委托，即要求采取直接而有力的行动。他们要求有领导的纪律和方向。他们现在选择了我作为实现他们的愿望的工具。我接受这份厚赠。

在此举国奉献之际，我们谦卑地请求上帝赐福。愿上帝保信我们大家和每一个人，愿上帝在未来的日子里指引我。

第12篇 奥巴马总统、第一夫人米歇尔·奥巴马2022年圣诞节英语演讲稿

the president: hello everybody, and happy holidays.

the first lady: we know how busy this time of year is for everyone, so we’re not going totake much of your time.

but we did want to take a moment to wish you all a merry christmas, from our family to yours.

the president: this is a season for millions of americans to be together with family, tocontinue long-held holiday traditions, and to show our gratitude to those we love. and alongthe way, some of us might even watch a little basketball or eat some christmas cookies, too.

the first lady: here at the white house, over the past few weeks, we’ve had about 70,000people from all across the country come visit us and look at our holiday decorations.

this year’s theme was “gather around: stories of the season.”

and in every room of the house, we tried to tell a story about who we are as americans and howwe celebrate the holidays together.

and we made certain to highlight some of the most powerful stories we know—the stories ofour outstanding troops, veterans, and military families and their service and sacrifice for ourcountry.

the president: our e_traordinary men and women in uniform are serving so that therest of us can enjoy the blessings we cherish during the holidays. but that means many of ourtroops are far from home and far from family. they’re spending some e_tra time on the phonewith their loved ones back home. or they’re setting up video chats so they can watch as thepresents are opened. so today, we want all of our troops to know that you’re in our thoughtsand prayers this holiday season.

and here’s the good news: for many of our troops and newest veterans, this might be the firsttime in years that they’ve been with their families on christmas. in fact, with the iraq war overand the transition in afghanistan, fewer of our men and women in uniform are deployed inharm’s way than at any time in the last decade.

the first lady: and that’s something we all can be thankful for.

and with more and more of our troops back here at home, now it’s our turn to serve—it’s ourturn to step up and show our gratitude for the military families who have given us so much.

and that’s why jill biden and i started our joining forces initiative—to rally all americans tosupport our military families in ways large and small.

and again and again, we have been overwhelmed by the response we’ve gotten as folks fromacross the country have found new ways to give back to these families through their schools,businesses, and houses of worship.

the president: that’s the same spirit of giving that connects all of us during the holidays.so many people all across the country are helping out at soup kitchens, buying gifts for childrenin need, or organizing food or clothing drives for their neighbors. for families like ours, thatservice is a chance to celebrate the birth of christ and live out what he taught us – to love ourneighbors as we would ourselves; to feed the hungry and look after the sick; to be our brother’skeeper and our sister’s keeper. and for all of us as americans, regardless of our faith, those arevalues that can drive us to be better parents and friends, better neighbors and better citizens.

the first lady: so as we look to the new year, let’s pledge ourselves to living out thosevalues by reaching out and lifting up those in our communities who could use a hand up.

the president: so merry christmas, everyone. and from the two of us, as well as malia,sasha, grandma, bo…

the first lady: and sunny, the newest obama.

the president: we wish you all a blessed and safe holiday season.

the first lady: happy holidays everybody, and god bless.

第13篇 美国总统悼念爱德华·肯尼迪英语演讲稿

one of the most accomplished americans ever to serve our democracy

remarks by the president

on the passing of senator edward m. kennedy

blue heron farm

chilmark, massachusetts

9:57 a.m. edt

the president: i wanted to say a few words this morning about the passing of an e_traordinary leader, senator edward kennedy.

over the past several years, i've had the honor to call teddy a colleague, a counselor, and a friend. and even though we have known this day was coming for some time now, we awaited it with no small amount of dread.

since teddy's diagnosis last year, we've seen the courage with which he battled his illness. and while these months have no doubt been difficult for him, they've also let him hear from people in every corner of our nation and from around the world just how much he meant to all of us. his fight has given us the opportunity we were denied when his brothers john and robert were taken from us: the blessing of time to say thank you -- and goodbye.

the outpouring of love, gratitude, and fond memories to which we've all borne witness is a testament to the way this singular figure in american history touched so many lives. his ideas and ideals are stamped on scores of laws and reflected in millions of lives -- in seniors who know new dignity, in families that know new opportunity, in children who know education's promise, and in all who can pursue their dream in an america that is more equal and more just -- including myself.

the kennedy name is synonymous with the democratic party. and at times, ted was the target of partisan campaign attacks. but in the united states senate, i can think of no one who engendered greater respect or affection from members of both sides of the aisle. his seriousness of purpose was perpetually matched by humility, warmth, and good cheer. he could passionately battle others and do so peerlessly on the senate floor for the causes that he held dear, and yet still maintain warm friendships across party lines.

and that's one reason he became not only one of the greatest senators of our time, but one of the most accomplished americans ever to serve our democracy.

his e_traordinary life on this earth has come to an end. and the e_traordinary good that he did lives on. for his family, he was a guardian. for america, he was the defender of a dream.

i spoke earlier this morning to senator kennedy's beloved wife, vicki, who was to the end such a wonderful source of encouragement and strength. our thoughts and prayers are with her, his children kara, edward, and patrick; his stepchildren curran and caroline; the entire kennedy family; decades' worth of his staff; the people of massachusetts; and all americans who, like us, loved ted kennedy.

end

10:00 a.m. edt

第14篇 2022年奥巴马总统竞选演讲稿

four years ago as i had the privilege to travel all across the country and meet americans from all walks of life. i decided nobody else should have to endure the heartbreak of a broken health care system. no one in the wealthiest nation on earth should go because they get sick. nobody should have to tell their daughters or sons the decisions they can and cannot make for themselves are constrained because of some politicians in washington.

四年前我有幸周游了全国，遇到了各行各业的人们。我下定了决心不让任何人由于医疗保健系统的不健全而心碎，不让这个世界上最富有的的国家的任何人因为疾病而穷困潦倒。不让任何人需要告诉自己的子女，他们能做什么，不能做什么，会由华盛顿的某些政客而左右。

and thanks to you, we’ve made a difference in people’s lives. thanks to you. there are folks that i meet today who have gotten care and their cancer’s been caught. and they’ve got treatment. and they are living full lives and it happened because of you.

感谢你们，人们的生活才有了更多不同。感谢你们，让今天的我遇到的很多人得到了关怀，得到了治疗。他们能够继续完整地生活，这些都离不开你们。

we've come too far to turn back now. we've got too much work to do to implement health care. we've got too much work to do to create good jobs. we've got too many teachers that we've got to hire. we've got too many schools that we've got to rebuild. we've got too many students who still need affordable higher education.

我们已经经历了那么多，现在不该回头。要落实医疗改革，要创造就业机会，我们还有太多要做。有太多老师等着我们去征集，有太多学校需要我们去重建，有太多学生需要让他们负担得起的大学。

there's more homegrown energy to generate. there are more troops that we've got to bring home. there are more doors of opportunity we've got to open to anybody who is willing to work hard and walk through those doors. we've got to keep building an economy. or no matter what you look like or where you come from, you can make it here if you try. and you can leave something behind for the ne_t generation. that's what at stake right now in colorado. that's why i'm running for president of the united states of america. that's why i'm asking for your vote.

有太多本土能源要去生产，有更多的军队需要回归祖国，有更多的机会之门需要我们去打开，让那些愿意努力工作的人们有机会成功。我们要继续发展经济。做到无论你是何种肤色，来自何方，只要你努力就可以成功。你就可以为下一代创造更好的条件。这是我们在科罗拉多州要争夺的。这是为什么我要竞选美国总统。这是为什么我希望你们投票给我。

i still believe in you. and if you still believe in me, and if you're willing to stand with me, and knock on some doors with me, and make some phone calls with me, and talk to your neighbors and friends about what's at stake, we will win this election. we will finish what we started. and we'll remind the world why america is the greatest nation on earth.

我依旧相信你们。如果你们依旧相信我，如果你们愿意支持我，和我一起去叩门拜访，和我一起打电话，告诉你的邻居和朋友们，我们在争取什么，那我们就能在这场竞选中获得胜利。我们就会像上次那样赢得最终胜利。

god bless you and god bless the united states of america.

上帝护佑你，上帝护佑美利坚合众国。

第15篇 奥巴马总统在2022年《华尔街日报》ceo理事会年会英语演讲稿

the president: thank you so much. (applause.) everybody, please have a seat. thankyou.

well, it is wonderful to be here,and i always look forward to an opportunity to speak tosome of our topbusinesses across the country who are hiring people, investing inamerica,making the economy run. and many of youi’ve had a chance to interact with before. asyou know, oftentimes when i do something like this, i want to spendmore time answeringquestions and having a conversation than giving any formalremarks. let me just provide alittlebit of an introduction.

obviously, over the last coupleof months, most of the o_ygen in this town has beenconsumed with two things --one, the government shutdown and the possibility of default thatwas ultimatelyresolved; and the second has been the rollout of the affordable care act andthefact that my website is not working the way it’s supposed to. and it’s entirely legitimate thatthose havebeen issues of great concern.

the impact of the shutdown andthe threat of default i think not only did some significantdamage to theeconomy at a time when we didn’t need self-inflicted wounds, but it also spoketosome of the larger problems we’ve seen here in washington, and the sense ofdysfunction andthe seeming incapacity of both parties in congress to worktogether to advance an agendathat’s going to help us grow.

with respect to the affordablecare act, i think people are legitimately concerned becausewe have a majorproblem with health care in this country -- 41 million people withouthealthinsurance, a lot of people underinsured. and once again, how we fi_ a health care systemthat’s been broken fortoo many people for too long i think ends up speaking to how muchconfidence wehave in government and whether we still have the capacity, collectively, tobringabout changes that are going to be good for our economy, good for ourbusinesses, good for theamerican people.

i do want to say, though, thatbeyond the headlines, we have made real progress in theeconomy, and sometimesthat hasn’t gotten enough attention. some of the tough decisions thatwe made early on have paid off --decisions that helped us not only recover from a crisis, butbegin to lay astronger foundation for future growth.

we refocused on manufacturinge_ports, and today, our businesses sell more goods andservices made in americathan ever before around the world. aftera decade of shedding jobs,our manufacturing sector has now added about half amillion new jobs, and it’s led by anamerican auto industry that has comeroaring back after decades of decline.

we decided to reverse ourdependence on foreign oil, and today, we generate morerenewable energy thanever before and more natural gas than anybody in the world. and for thefirst time in nearly 20 years,america now produces more of our own oil than we buy from othercountries.

when i took office, we invested afraction of what other countries did in wirelessinfrastructure, and today, it’sup nearly 50 percent, helping companies unleash jobs,innovation and a boomingapp economy that’s created more than 500,000 jobs. when i tookoffice, only 5 percent of theworld’s smartphones ran on american operating systems. today,more than 80 percent do.

and it’s not just in thehigh-tech economy that we’re seeing progress. for e_ample,american farmers are on pace to have one of their bestyears in decades, and they haveconsistently been able to e_port more, makemore profits and help restore rural economiesthan when we came into office.

and, yes, we decided to take on abroken health care system. and even though the rollout ofthe new health caremarketplace has been rough, to say the least, about half a millionamericansare now poised to gain health care coverage beginning january 1st. that’s after onlya month of sign-up. we also have seen health care costs growingat the slowest rate in 50 years.employer-based health costs are growing at about one-third of the rateof a decade ago, andthat has an impact on your bottom line.

and after years oftrillion-dollar deficits, we reined in spending, wound down two wars, andbeganto change a ta_ code that i believe was too skewed towards the wealthiest amongus atthe e_pense of the middle class. and since i took office, we have now cut our deficits by morethan half.

add it all up, and businesseslike yours have created 7.8 million new jobs over the past 44months. we’ve gone farther and recovered faster thanmost other advanced nations. and so inalot of ways, america is poised for a breakout. we are in a good position to compete aroundthe world in the 21stcentury.

the question is, are we going torealize that potential? and that meansthat we’ve still gotsome more work to do. our stock markets and corporate profits are soaring, but we’ve gottomake sure that this remains a country where everyone who works hard can getahead. andthat means we’ve still got toaddress long-term unemployment. we stillhave to addressstagnant wages and stagnant incomes.

and frankly, we’ve got to stopgoverning by crisis here in this town. because if it weren’t forwashington’s dysfunction, i think all of usagree we’d be a lot further along. theshutdown andthe threat of default harmed our jobs market, they cost oureconomy about $5 billion, andeconomists predict it will slow our gdp growththis quarter -- and it didn’t need to happen. itwas self-inflicted. we shouldnot be injuring ourselves every few months. we should be investingin ourselves. and in a sensible world, that starts with a budget that cuts what we don’tneed,closes wasteful loopholes, and helps us afford to invest in the thingsthat we know will helpbusinesses like yours and the economy as a whole --education, infrastructure, basic researchand development.

we would have a grand bargain formiddle-class jobs that combines ta_ reform with afinancing mechanism that letsus create jobs, rebuilding infrastructure that your businessesdepend on, butwe haven’t gotten as much take-up from the other side as we’d like to see sofar.we have the opportunity forbipartisan authority to negotiate the best trade deals possible sobusinessesand workers can take advantage of new markets that are opening up aroundtheworld. we haven’t seen the kind oftake-up from the other side that we’d like to see so far.

we’ve got the opportunity to fi_a broken immigration system that strengthens oureconomy and our nationalsecurity. the good news here is thesenate has already passed abipartisan bill that economists say would grow oureconomy by $1.4 trillion and shrink ourdeficits by nearly a trillion over thene_t two decades. you wouldn’t turn downa deal that good,and congress shouldn’t either. so i’m hoping that speaker boehner and thehouse ofrepresentatives can still work with us to get that done.

and we need to be going all outto prepare our kids and our workers for the demands of a21st-centuryeconomy. i’ve proposed giving everychild an early start at success by making high-quality preschool available toevery four-year-old in america. we knowthat you get more bangfor the buck when it comes to early childhood educationthan just about anything else, andyou’ve got great e_amples around thecountry, oftentimes in red states, that are doing just that.we need to make that same investment.

we’re working to bring down thecosts of a college degree so more young people can get ahigher education. and one thing that i’m very e_cited about --and this has been a goode_ample of a public-private partnership -- is the ideaof redesigning our high schools to makesure that more young people gethands-on training and develop the skills that they need,particularly in math,science and engineering, that businesses are looking for. and in fact, todaywe’re announcing acompetitive grant program that will encourage more high schools topartner withcolleges and local businesses to better prepare our kids for college or acareer. andin december, i’ll bebringing together college presidents and other leaders to figure out waystohelp more low-income students attend and to succeed in college.

so just to sum up, my basicmessage is this: we know what thechallenges are. we knowwhat thesolutions are. some of them are tough,but what’s holding us back is not a lack of goodpolicy ideas or even what usedto be considered good bipartisan policy ideas. we just have tobreak through the stubborn cycle of crisis politics andstart working together. moreobstruction,more brinkmanship won’t help anybody. it doesn’t help folks politically. my understanding isnobody in this town isdoing particularly well at the moment when it comes to the opinions oftheamerican people, but it certainly doesn’t help anybody economically.

on many of the issues, i thinkyou and i would agree, and i want you to know that i’mrooting for yoursuccess, and i look forward to making sure that we are able in theremainingthree years that i’m president to work together to not only improve thebusinessclimate, but also improve the prospects for americans all across thecountry who have beentreading water, feel like they’re losing ground, arean_ious about the future and their children’sfutures, but i think are stillhopeful and still possess that fundamental american optimism. ifthey see leadership working across theboard on their behalf, then i’m confident that we canmake enormous progress.

so with that, why don’t we getjerry up here and i’ll start answering his questions. i hope headds some input. (laughter.) if he starts asking me about whathappened to the kansas citychiefs, i’m not sure i’ll have a good answer forthat one. (applause.)

well, thank you, mr. president. let me start by thanking you officially forjoining us today. ithink you probablysee a lot of familiar faces out there, most friendly, most of them. and i wouldalso note that you’re gettinghere a little late. congressman paulryan is coming later. he isgoing to gethere a little early. so if you guysoverlap a little bit, maybe we can just get someproblems solved righthere. what do you think?

the president: let’s do it. (laughter.) let’s do it.

it’s your chance. we have talked amongst ourselves or tried tosort of take the sense of theroom. so i’mgoing to try to reflect some of the conversations that have been going on hereinthe questions i’m going to ask you. you’ll not be stunned that i’m going to ask you abouthealth care first.

you indicated there and you’veindicated publicly quite clearly that the rollout has beendifficult. what do you think you’ve learned from thise_perience about the government’s abilityto do this sort of thing, about thelaw itself, or about your own administration?

the president: well, there are a couple of things. number one is that this has been abigproblem for a very long time and so it was always going to be challenging notjust to pass alaw, but also to implement it. there’s a reason why, despite a century of talking about it,nobody hadbeen able to successfully try to deal with some of the underlying problems inthehealth care system.

the good news is that many of theelements of the affordable care act are already in placeand are workinge_actly the way they’re supposed to. somaking sure that consumers who haveemployer-based health insurance are gettinga better deal and that are protected from some ofthe fine print that left themin the lurch when they actually got sick -- that’s in place. makingsure that young people under the ageof 26 can stay on their parents’ plan -- that’s helped 3million childrenalready. that’s making adifference. helping seniors to getbetter prescriptiondrug prices -- that’s already helped millions of seniorsand billions of dollars in savings. rebatesfor people who see insurance companies who are not spendingenough on actual care, more onadministrative costs or profits, they’re gettingrebates. they may not know it’s theaffordablecare act that’s giving them rebates, but it’s happening. so there were a number of things thatwerealready in place over the last three years that got implemented effectively.

the other thing that hasn’t beentalked about a lot is cost. there was a lot of skepticismwhen we passed theaffordable care act that we were going to be giving a lot of people care butweweren’t doing anything about the underlying costs. and, in fact, over the last three years,we’veseen health care costs grow at the slowest pace in 50 years. and that affects the bottomlines ofeverybody here.

and there are a lot of smartdelivery system reforms that slowly across the system are beingimplemented andthey’re making a big difference. andthat’s saving us money. that’s why, bytheway, some of the projections that in terms of what the affordable care actwould do to deficitshave actually proved even better than we had originallye_pected.

what i have learned, though, withrespect to setting up these marketplaces -- which areessentially mechanismswhere people who are currently in the individual market or don’t havehealthinsurance at all can join together, shop, and insurance companies will competefor theirbusiness -- setting those things up is very challenging justmechanically.

the good news is that choice andcompetition has actually worked and insurers came in withbids that were evenlower than people e_pected -- about 16 percent lower than had originallybeenprojected.

the challenge has been justmaking sure that consumers are actually able to get on awebsite, see thosechoices, and shop. and i think that weprobably underestimated thecomple_ities of building out a website that neededto work the way it should.

there is a larger problem that iprobably -- speak personally, but also as theadministration -- could haveidentified earlier, and that is the way the federal government doesprocurementand does it is just generally not very efficient. in fact, there’s probably no biggergapbetween the private sector and the public sector than it.

and we’ve seen that in, fore_ample, the va and the department of defense trying to dealwith electronicmedical records for our servicemen as they move into civilian life. most of thatstuff is still done on paper. we’ve spent billions of dollars -- i’m notsaying “we” as in myadministration, i mean we’ve now had about a decade ofe_perimentation, spent billions ofdollars and it’s still not working the wayit should.

so what we probably needed to doon the front end was to blow up how we procure for it,especially on a systemthis complicated. we did not do thatsuccessfully. now, we are gettingitfi_ed, but it would have been better to do it on the front end rather than theback end.

and the last point i’ll make isthat in terms of e_pectation setting, there’s no doubt that inan environmentin which we had to fight tooth and nail to get this passed, it ended upbeingpassed on a partisan basis -- not for lack of trying, because i met with anawful lot ofrepublicans to try to get them to go along -- but because therewas just ideological resistanceto the idea of dealing with the uninsured andpeople with pree_isting conditions. there was aprice to that, and it was that what was already going to behard was operating within a verydifficult political environment. and we should have anticipated that thatwould create arockier rollout than if democrats and republicans were bothinvested in success.

one of the problems we’ve had isone side of capitol hill is invested in failure, and thatmakes, i think, thekind of iterative process of fi_ing glitches as they come up and fine-tuningthe law more challenging. but i’moptimistic that we can get it fi_ed.

well, that’s the question i was going toask ne_t. is it possible you’ve lostenough time hereand enough potential customers in the e_changes that you’renot going to reach the criticalmass of signups that you need to make themarketplace work? is that a danger thatyou have toworry about right now?

the president: well, it’s something that we have to payattention to. but keep in mindthat thismodel of marketplaces was based on what was done in massachusetts, andthee_perience in massachusetts was that in the first month, 153 or 163 people signedup out ofan ultimate 36,000. it wasless than 1 percent signed up in that first month -- partly becausebuyinginsurance is a complicated process for a lot of people. when they have more choices, itmeans thatthey’re going to take more time.

there’s no doubt that we’ve lostsome time, but the website is getting better each week. bythe end of this month, it will befunctioning for the majority of people who are using it. they’llbe able to shop, see what theirchoices are. the prices are good. the prices are not changingduring the openenrollment period that goes out until march. and so i think that we’re going tohave time to catch up.

what’s also been e_pressed as aconcern is the mi_ of people that sign up. so we mightend up having millions of people sign up; they’re happy withtheir new coverage, but we’ve gotmore people who are older, more likely to getsick than younger and healthier. we’vegot tomonitor that carefully. we alwaysanticipated, though, that younger folks would be the last folksin, justbecause -- it’s been a while since you and i were young -- but as i recall, youdon’t thinkthat you’re going to get sick at that time.

so, look, i am confident that themodel that we’ve built, which works off of the e_istingprivate insurancesystem, is one that will succeed. we aregoing to have to, a, fi_ the website soeverybody feels confident aboutthat. we’re going to have to obviouslyre-market and re-brand,and that will be challenging in this politicalenvironment.

but keep in mind, in the firstmonth we also had 12 million people visit the site. thedemand is there. there are 41 million people who don’t havehealth insurance. the folks intheindividual market, many of them are going to get a much better deal in themarketplaces.and so we’ve just got tokeep on improving the customer e_perience and make sure that we’refending offefforts not to fi_ the problem -- because if somebody wants to help us fi_ it,i’m allgame, but fending off efforts to completely undermine it.

let me turn to the economy, the broadereconomy, probably the predominant concern ofpeople in this room. we seem to be stuck in an economic growthpattern of okay, but not greatgrowth. your friend, larry summers, was here earlier today and said essentiallythe problem orone of the problems is that the system can’t do two things atonce. it can’t cut deficits andspurgrowth. it needs to do one or the otherright now. it needs to spur growth,should not worryso much about deficits. do you agree? and if you doagree, how do you make that happen?

the president: actually, larry and i, and most of myeconomic team -- in fact, all of myeconomic team -- have consistentlymaintained that there is a way to reconcile the concernsabout debt anddeficits with the concerns about growth.

what we know is, is that ourfiscal problems are not short-term deficits. our discretionarybudget, that portion of the federal budget that isn’tdefense or social security or medicare ormedicaid, the entitlement programs,is at its smallest level in my lifetime, probably since dwighteisenhower. we are not lavishly spending on a whole bunchof social programs out there. andin many ways, a lot of these programs havebecome more efficient and pretty effective.

defense, we spent a lot from 2022to 2022, but generally we are stabilizing. and thepentagon, working with me, have come up with plans that allow usto meet our security needswhile still bringing down some of the costs ofdefense, particularly after having ended the war iniraq and on the brink ofending the war in afghanistan.

so when we talk about our deficitand debt problems, it is almost entirely health care costs.you eliminate the delta, the differencebetween what we spend on health care and what everyother country -- advancedindustrialized nation spends on health care, and that’s our long-termdebt. and if we’re able to bend the costcurve, we help solve the problem.

now, one way to do that is justto make health care cheaper overall. that’s i think the bestway to do it, and that’s what we’ve been doingthrough some of the measures in the affordablecare act. there are some other provisions that we couldtake that would maintain ourcommitment to seniors, medicare, social security,the disabled, and medicaid, while stillreducing very modestly the costs ofthose programs.

if we do those things, thatsolves our real fiscal problem, and we could take some of thatmoney, a verymodest portion on the front end, and invest in infrastructure that putspeopleback to work, improve our research and development.

so the idea would be do somethings in the short term that focus on growth; do some thingsin the long termthat deal with the long-term debt. that’swhat my budget reflects. that’s whatamultiple series of negotiations with john boehner talked about, the so-calledgrand bargain. wecouldn’t quite getthere in the end, mainly because republicans had a great deal of difficultywiththe idea of putting in more revenue to balance out some of the changesthat were made onentitlements.

i would guess a lot of people in this roomwould say another way to make some of thosethings happen would be to fi_ thecorporate ta_ code that everybody agrees is a mess. you’vegot some companies that pay way toomuch compared to their international competitors; somecompanies don’t pay atall. it’s not a good system. it’s not anefficient system, everybody agrees,but it doesn’t ever seem to change. can you make it change? and can you do something aboutrepatriationof u.s. assets overseas?

the president: well, here is the good news, is that both myadministration andrepublicans have talked about corporate ta_ reform. and paul ryan, who is going to becoming afterme, said he’s interested in corporate ta_ reform. and we’ve reached out to himand we’ve saidlet’s get to work. we put forward a veryspecific set of proposals that would lowerthe corporate ta_ rate, broaden thebase, close some loopholes. and in termsof internationalcompanies and competitiveness, what we’ve said is rather thana whole bunch of tangled lawsthat incentivize folks to keep money overseas,let’s have a modest but clear global minimumta_, get rid of some of the hugefluctuations that people e_perience. itwill save companiesmoney, make them more competitive and, in terms oftransitioning to that system, actuallyallow some people to bring back moneyand, in a one-time way, help us finance infrastructureand some other projectsthat need to get done.

i don’t e_pect republicans toadopt e_actly the proposal that we’ve put forward. butthere’s not that much separation betweenwhat democrats are talking about -- i know chairmanma_ baucus put outsomething today, the chairman of the finance committee -- what davecamp overin the house has talked about. thisshould be bridgeable.

the one thing i would caution is-- and i’ve said this to the business roundtable and othercorporate leaderswho i’ve talked to -- people like the idea of corporate ta_ reform intheory.in practice, if you want to makethe corporate ta_ reform deficit-neutral, then you actuallyhave to close someloopholes. and people like the idea of asimpler ta_ system until it’s theirparticular loophole that’s about to getclosed.

and what we can’t afford to do isto keep all the loopholes that are currently in place andlower the corporateta_ rate. we would then blow anotherhole in the deficit that would have tobe filled. and what i’m not willing to do is to havehigher rates on the middle class in order topay for that.

some of the ceos here had a working groupearlier today, the mission of which was toaddress the question of how do youstay competitive. interestingly, atleast to me, their firstpriority -- first priority -- was this: immigration reform. the u.s. needs immigration reformto retaintalented workers educated in the u.s. and attract talent to the u.s. immigrationreform could provide an instantjolt to the u.s. economy which we need.

i know you agree with thatstatement, but it’s hard to see that happening right now. you’vegot the senate off on one track -- it’spassed a comprehensive bill the house won’t even agreeto take up. democrats want to do comprehensivereform. republicans want to do step-by-stepreform. it’s a poisonous politicalatmosphere. can you make it happen?

the president: i am actually optimistic that we’re going toget this done. i am acongenitaloptimist. i would have to be -- i’m named barack obama and i ran forpresident. (laughter.)

and won.

the president: and won twice. (laughter.)

so, look, keep in mind, first ofall, that what the ceos here said is absolutely right. this isa boost to our economy. everywhere i go, i meet with entrepreneursand ceos who say, i’vegot these terrific folks, they just graduated fromcaltech or mit or stanford, they’re ready to dobusiness here, some of themhave these amazing new ideas that we think we can commercialize-- but they’rebeing dragged back to their home countries, not because they want to gobutbecause the immigration system doesn’t work.

the good news is that the senatebill was a bipartisan bill and we know what thecomponent parts of thisare. we’ve got to have strong bordersecurity. we’ve got to havebetterenforcement of e_isting laws. we’ve gotto make sure that we have a legal immigrationsystem that doesn’t cause peopleto sit in the queue for 5 years, 10 years, 15 years -- in somecases, 20years. we should want to immediately sayto young people who we’ve helped toeducate in this country, you want to stay,we want you here.

and we do have to deal with about11 million folks who are in this country, most of themjust seekingopportunity; they did break the law by coming here or overstaying their visa,andthey’ve got to earn their way out of the shadows -- pay a fine, learnenglish, get to the back ofthe line, pay their back ta_es -- but giving them amechanism whereby they can get right by oursociety. and that’s reflected in the senate bill.

now, i actually think that thereare a number of house republicans -- including paul ryan, ithink, if you askhim about it -- who agree with that. they’re suspicious of comprehensivebills, but if they want to chop thatthing up into five pieces, as long as all five pieces get done, idon’t carewhat it looks like as long as it’s actually delivering on those core valuesthat we talkabout.

but democrats have been pretty suspiciousthat all five pieces won’t get done.

the president: and that’s the problem. i mean, the key is -- what we don’t want todois simply carve out one piece of it -- let’s say agricultural jobs, which are important, but iseasier,frankly, or the high-skilled jobs that many in your audience here wouldimmediately wantto do -- but leave behind some of the tougher stuff that stillneeds to get done. we’re not goingtohave a situation in which 11 million people are still living in the shadows andpotentiallygetting deported on an ongoing basis.

so we’re going to have to do itall. in my conversations with therepublicans, i actually thinkthe divide is not that wide. so what we just have to do is find a pathwaywhere republicans inthe house, in particular, feel comfortable enough aboutprocess that they can go ahead andmeet us.

this, by the way, jerry, i thinkis a good e_ample of something that’s been striking meabout our politics for awhile. when you go to other countries, the political divisions are so muchmorestark and wider. here in america, thedifference between democrats and republicans, we’refighting inside the 40-yardline, maybe in --

you’ve fooled most people on that in thelast few months, i’d say. (laughter.)

the president: well, no, no. i would distinguish between the rhetoric and the tacticsversus theideological differences. i mean, in most countries you’ve got -- people call measocialist sometimes, but, no, you’ve got to meet real socialists.(laughter.) you’ll have a sense ofwhata socialist is. (laughter.)

i’m talking about lowering thecorporate ta_ rate. my health carereform is based on theprivate marketplace. the stock market is looking pretty good last time i checked. and it is truethat i’m concerned aboutgrowing inequality in our system, but nobody questions theefficacy of marketeconomies in terms of producing wealth and innovation and keepinguscompetitive.

on the flip side, mostrepublicans, even the tea party -- one of my favorite signs during thecampaignwas folks hoisting a sign, “government, keep your hands off my medicare.” (laughter.)think about that. (laughter.) i mean, ideologically, they did not like the idea of thefederalgovernment, and yet they felt very protective about the basic social safety netthat hadbeen structured.

so my simple point is this: if we can get beyond the tactical advantagesthat partiesperceive in painting folks as e_treme and trying to keep an eyealways on the ne_t election,and for a while at least, just focus on governing,then there is probably 70 percent overlap on awhole range of issues. a lot of republicans want to getinfrastructure done, just like i do. alot ofthem believe in basic research, just like i do. a lot of them want to reform entitlementstomake sure that they’re affordable for the ne_t generation; so do i. a lot of them say theywant to reform our ta_system; so do i.

there are going to be differenceson the details, and those details matter and i’ll fight veryhard forthem. but we shouldn’t think thatsomehow the reason we’ve got these problems isbecause our policy differencesare so great.

well, the details are obviously importantenough to shut down the government just a coupleof weeks ago. and everybody knows we’re headed back towardshowdowns again -- january,budget; february, debt ceiling. jack lew was here earlier, your treasurysecretary, and said hethought maybe the system crossed a threshold in octoberand has realized it doesn’t want to goback and do that again. are you confident it’s not going to go backand do that again? and bythe way, theoecd, the organization of economic cooperation and development, suggestedtodaythat the u.s. just get rid of the debt ceiling entirely. would you be in favor of that?

the president: i think that the way our system is set up islike a loaded gun, and oncepeople thought we can get leverage on policydisputes by threatening default, that was ane_traordinarily dangerousprecedent. and that’s a principle that ihad to adhere to, not just forme but for the ne_t president -- that you’re notgoing to be able to threaten the entire u.s. orworld economy simply becauseyou disagree with me about a health care bill.

i’d like to believe that therepublicans recognize that was not a good strategy, and we’reprobably betteroff with a system in which that threat is not there on a perpetual basis. i donot foresee what we saw in october beingrepeated in january. but the broaderpoint is one thati think all of us have to take to heart. we have to be able to disagree on policyissues withoutresorting to the kinds of e_treme tactics that end up hurtingall of us.

and that’s been my maindisagreement with a lot of my republican friends. and frankly, theamerican people agree withthat. they don’t e_pect us to march inlockstep. there’s a reasonwhy we’ve gottwo parties in this country. they doe_pect that we are constantly thinking abouthow are we making sure they canfind a job that pays well, that their kids can go to college andafford it,that we are growing and competitive, that we are dealing with our fiscalposition in asensible way. and if wekeep them in mind consistently, then i think we’re going to besuccessful.

one thing -- you’ve got someinternational ceos here, and i think they’ll confirm this --when i travel, what’sstriking to me is people around the world think we’ve got a really goodhand.you just take the e_ample of energy. they say america is poised to change ourgeopolitics entirely because ofthe advances we’ve made in oil production and natural gasproduction. it means manufacturing here is much moreattractive than it used to be. that’sahuge competitive advantage.

we’ve got the most productiveworkers just about in the world, and our workers havebecome more and moreproductive, and a lot of companies look at that and say we wish we hadworkerswho were able to operate the way these folks do.

our university systems, ourresearch infrastructure -- all those things are the envy of theworld. and one of the great things about america --sometimes we get worried that we’re losingtraction and the sky is falling, andback in the ‘80s, japan was about to take over, and thenchina, and obviouslybefore that, the soviet union -- and we usually come out okay because wechangeand we adapt. i just want everybody toremember that we’re in a very strong position tocompete as long as ourpolitical system functions. it doesn’thave to be outstanding. this issort oflike winston churchill, two cheers for democracy. and it’s always going to be messy. butit’s got to function better than it has.

i’m in the red zone on the clock here, butlet me -- i do want to ask a question aboutinternational affairs. you’ve mentioned the world and the u.s.position in it. there’s thepossibilitythis week of an agreement with iran, a preliminary, limited agreement in whichtheywould free some of their nuclear activities in return for some relief onsanctions. your israelifriends havebeen arguing, along with some of your friends as well as your foes in congress,thatif you give the iranian regime any relief on sanctions, the sanctionsregime will fall apart;countries that don’t want to be there in the firstplace will head for the e_its; it will all comeapart -- and that’s the dangerof what you’re negotiating right now.

i know you talked to somesenators about this very topic today. isthere going to be a deal?and why canyou ease sanctions without having them fall apart?

the president: well, just by way of background, when i cameinto office, we had a tradeembargo; the u.s. had done some thingsunilaterally. we did not have a strong,enforceableinternational mechanism to really put the squeeze on iran aroundits nuclear program, despitethe fact that it had violated a range of u.n. andnonproliferation treaty requirements.

so we built, we constructed, withthe help of congress, the strongest sanctions regimeever. and it has put a bite on the iranianeconomy. they have seen a 5 percentcontraction thelast year in their economy. it’s projected to be another contraction this year. and in partbecause the sanctions have beenso effective, we were able to get iran to seriously come to thetable and lookat how are they going to give assurances to the international communitythatthey are, in fact, not pursuing a nuclear weapons program.

i don’t know if we’ll be able toclose a deal this week or ne_t week. wehave been very firmwith the iranians even on the interim deal about what wee_pect. and some of the reportingoutthere has been somewhat inaccurate, understandably, because the p5-plus-1, themembersof the -- permanent members of the security council in addition to --and germany as well --have kept the negotiations fairly tight.

but the essence of the deal wouldbe that they would halt advances on their nuclearprogram; they would roll backsome elements that get them closer to what we call breakoutcapacity, wherethey can run for -- a weapon before the international community has a chancetoreact; that they would subject themselves to more vigorous inspections eventhan the onesthat are currently there, in some cases, daily inspections.

in return, what we would do wouldbe to open up the spigot a little bit for a very modestamount of relief thatis entirely subject to reinstatement if, in fact, they violated any part ofthisearly agreement. and it wouldpurchase a period of time -- let’s say, si_ months -- during whichwe could seeif they could get to the end state of a position where we, the israelis,theinternational community could say with confidence iran is not pursuing anuclear weapon.

now, part of the reason i haveconfidence that the sanctions don’t fall apart is because we’renot doinganything around the most powerful sanctions. the oil sanctions, the bankingsanctions, the financial servicessanctions -- those are the ones that have really taken a bigchunk out of theiranian economy. so oil production andoil sales out of iran have dropped bymore than half since these sanctions wereput in place. they’ve got over $100billion of oilrevenue that is sitting outside of their country. the rial, their currency, hasdroppedprecipitously. and all those sanctionsand the architecture for them don’t go anywhere.

essentially, what we do is weallow them to access a small portion of these assets that arefrozen. keep in mind, though, that because the oiland banking sanctions stay in place, they willactually still be losing moneyeven during this si_-month period relative to the amount of oilsales they hadback in 2022.

so what we are suggesting both tothe israelis, to members of congress here, to theinternational community, butalso to the iranians, is, let’s look, let’s test the proposition thatover thene_t si_ months we can resolve this in a diplomatic fashion, while maintainingtheessential sanctions architecture, and, as president of the united states,me maintaining alloptions to prevent them from getting nuclear weapons. i think that is a test that isworthconducting.

and my hope and e_pectation isnot that we’re going to solve all of this just this week inthis interim phase,but rather that we’re purchasing ourselves some time to see how serioustheiranian regime might be in re-entering membership in the world community andtakingthe yoke of these sanctions off the backs of their economy.

well, mr. president, with that, let me justthank you again for joining us. iappreciate it verymuch. (applause.)

the president: i enjoyed it. thank you very much. (applause)