克林頓1992年獲民主黨提名演講

克林頓1992年獲民主黨提名演講 英文版

July 16 1992, New York

Governor Richards, Chairman Brown, Mayor Dinkins, our great host, my fellow delegates and my fellow Americans, I am so proud of Al Gore:

He said he came here tonight because he always wanted to do the warm-up for Elvis. Well, I ran for President this year for one reason and one reason only: I wanted to come back to this convention and finish that speech I started four years ago.

Last night Mario Cuomo taught us how a real nominating speech should be given. He also made it clear why we have to steer our ship of state on a new course. Tonight I want to talk with you about my hope for the future, my faith in the American people, and my vision of the kind of country we can build together.

I salute the good men who were my companions on the campaign trial: Tom Harkin , Bob Kerrey, Doug Wilder, Jerry Brown, and Paul Tsongas.

One sentence in the Platform we built says it all. The most important family policy, urban policy, labor policy, minority policy, and foreign policy America can have is an expanding entrepreneurial economy of high-wage, high-skilled jobs.

And so, in the name of all those who do the work and pay the taxes, raise the kids, and play by the rules, in the name of the hardworking Americans who make up our forgotten middle class, I proudly accept your nomination for President of the United States.

I am a product of that middle class, and when I am President, you will be forgotten no more.

We meet at a special moment in history, you and I. The Cold War is over. Soviet communism has collapsed and our values—freedom, democracy, individual rights, free enterprise—they have triumphed all around the world. And yet, just as we have won the Cold War abroad, we are losing the battles for economic opportunity and social justice here at home.

Now that we have changed the world, it's time to change America.

I have news for the forces of greed and the defenders of the status quo: Your time has come and gone. Its time for a change in America.

Tonight 10 million of our fellow Americans are out of work, tens of millions more work harder for lower pay. The incumbent President says unemployment always goes up a little before a recovery begins, but unemployment only has to go up by one more person before a real recovery can begin. And Mr. President, you are that man.

This election is about putting power back in your hands and putting government back on your side. It's about putting people first.

You know, I've said that all across the country, and whenever I do, someone always comes back to me, as a young man did just this week at a town meeting at the Henry Street Settlement on the Lower East side of Manhattan.He said, “That sounds good, Bill, but you're a politician. Why should I trust you?”

Tonight, as plainly as I can, I want to tell you who I am, what I believe, and where I want to lead America.

I never met my father. He was killed in a car wreck on a rainy road three months before I was born, driving from Chicago to Arkansas to see my mother.

After that, my mother had to support us, so we lived with my grandparents while she went back to Louisiana to study nursing. I can still see her clearly tonight through the eyes of a three-year-old, kneeling at the railroad station and weeping as she put me back on the train to Arkansas with my grandmother.

She endured that pain because she knew her sacrifice was the only way she could support me and give me a better life. My mother taught me. She taught me about family and hard work and sacrifice. She held steady through tragedy after tragedy, and she held our family—my brother and I together through tough times.

As a child, I watched her go off work each day at a time when it wasn't always easy to be a working mother.As an adult, I've watched her fight off breast cancer, and again she has taught me a lesson in courage. And always, always, she taught me to fight.

That's why I'll fight to create high-paying jobs so that parents can afford to raise their children today.

That's why I'm so committed to make sure every American gets the health care that saved my mother's life and that women's health care gets the same attention as men's.

That's why I'll fight to make sure women in this country receive respect and dignity, whether they work in the home, out of the home, or both.

You want to know where I get my fighting spirit? It all started with my mother. Thank you, Mother. I love you.

When I think about opportunity for all Americans, I think about my grandfather. He ran a country store in our little town of Hope. There was no food stamps back then, so when his customers, whether they were White or Black who worked hard and did the best they could, came in with no money, well, he gave them food anyway. He just made a note of it. So did I.

Before I was big enough to see over the counter, I learned from him to look up to people other folks looked down on.

My grandfather just had a high school education—a grade school education, but in that country store he taught me more about equality in the eyes of the Lord than all my professors at Georgetown, more about the intrinsic worth of every individual that all the philosophers at Oxford, more about the need for equal justice under the law than all the jurists at Yale Law School.

If you want to know where I come by the passionate commitment I have to bringing people together without regard to race, it all started with my grandfather.

I learned a lot from another person too: a person who for more than 20 years has worked hard to help our children, paying the price of time to make sure our schools don't fail them. Someone who traveled our state for a year, studying, learning, listening, going to PTA meetings, school board meetings, town hall meetings, putting together a package of school reforms recognized around the Nation, and doing it all while building a distinguished legal career and being a wonderful, loving mother.

That person is my wife.

Hillary taught me. She taught me that all children can learn and that each of us has a duty to help them do it.

So if you want to know why I care so much about our children, and our future, it all started with Hillary. I love you.

Frankly, I am fed up with politicians in Washington lecturing the rest of us about family values. Our families have values. But our government doesn't.

I want an America where family values live in our actions, not just in our speeches. An America that includes every family. Every traditional family and every extended family. Every two parent family. Every single-parent family. And every foster family. Every family.

I do want to say something to the fathers in this country who have chosen to abandon their children by neglecting their child support: Take responsibility for your children or we will force you to do so. Because governments don't raise children; parents do. And you should.

And I want to say something to every child in America tonight who is out there trying to grow up without a father or a mother: I know how you feel. You are special too.

You matter to America. And don't you ever let anybody tell you can't become whatever you want to be. And if other politicians make you feel like you are not part of their family, come on and be part of ours.

The thing that makes me angriest about what has gone wrong in the last 12 years is that our government has lost touch with our values, while our politicians continue to shout about them. I'm tired of it!

I was raised to believe the American Dream was built on rewarding hard work. But we have seen the folks of Washington turn the American ethic on its head.

For too long those who play by the rules and keep the faith have gotten the shaft, and those who cut corners and cut deals have been rewarded.

People are working harder than ever, spending less time with their children, working nights and weekends at their jobs instead of going to PTA and Little League or Scouts. And their incomes are still going down. Their taxes are still going up. And the costs of health care, housing and education are going through the roof.

Meanwhile, more and more of our best people are falling into poverty even though they work 40 hours a week.

Our people are pleading for change, but government is in the way. It has been hijacked by privileged private interests. It has forgotten who really pays the bills around here. It has taken more of your money and given you less in return. We have got to go beyond the brain-dead politics in Washington and give our people the kind of government they deserve, a government that works for them.

A President, a president, ought to be a powerful force for progress. But right now I know how President Lincoln felt when General McClellan wouldn't attack in the Civil War. He asked him, “If you’re not going to use your army, may I borrow it?”And so I say: George Bush, if you won't use our power to help America, step aside. I will.

Our country is falling behind. The President is caught in the grip of a failed economic theory. We have gone from first to 13th in the world in wages since Ronald Reagan and Bush have been in office.

Four years ago, candidate Bush said, “America is a special place, not just another pleasant country somewhere on the UN Roll Call between Albania and Zimbabwe.” Now under President Bush, America has an unpleasant economy struck somewhere between Germany and Sri Lanka.

And for most Americans, Mr. President, life's a lot less kind and a lot less gentle than it was before your administration took office.

Listen, do it some more.

Our country has fallen so far so fast that just a few months ago the Japanese prime minister actually said he felt sympathy for the United States. Sympathy. When I am your President , the rest, the rest, of the world will not look down on us with pity but up to us with respect again.

What is George Bush doing about our economic problems?

Now, four years ago he promised 15 million new jobs by this time, and he's over 14 million short. Al Gore and I can do better.

He has raised taxes on the people driving pickup trucks and lowered taxes on the people riding in limousines. We can do better.

He promised to balance the budget, but he hasn't even tried. In fact, the budgets he has submitted to Congress nearly doubled the debt. Even worse, he wasted billions and reduced our investments in education and jobs. We can do better.

So if you are sick and tired of a government that doesn't work to create jobs, if you're sick and tired of a tax system that's stacked against you, if you're sick and tired of exploding debt and reduced investments in our future, or if, like the great civil rights pioneer Fannie Lou Hamer, you're just plain old sick and tired of being sick and tired, then join us, work with us, win with us, and we can make our country the country it was meant to be.

Now, George Bush talks a good game, but he has no game plan to rebuild America, from the cities to the suburbs to the countryside, so that we can compete and win again in the global economy. I do.

He won't take on the big insurance companies and the bureaucracies to control health costs and give us affordable health care for all Americans, but I will.

He won't even implement the recommendations of his own commission on AIDS, but I will.

He won't streamline the federal government and change the way it works, cut 100,000 bureaucrats and put 100,000 new police officers on the streets of American cities, but I will.

He's never balanced a government budget, but I have 11 times.

He won't break the stranglehold the special interests have on our elections and the lobbyists have on our government, but I will.

He won't give mothers and fathers the simple chance to take some time off from work when a baby is born or a parent it sick, but I will.

We're losing our farms at a rapid rate, and he has no commitment to keep family farms in the family, but I do.

He's talked a lot about drugs, but he hasn't helped people on the front line to wage that war on drugs and crime. But I will.

He won't take the lead in protecting the environment and creating new jobs in environmental technologies for the 21st century, but I will.

And you know what else? He doesn't have Al Gore, and I do.Just in case, just in case, you didn't notice, that's Gore with an E on the end.

And George Bush—George Bush won't guarantee a women's right to choose; I will.

Hear me now. I am not pro-abortion; I am pro-choice, strongly. I believe this difficult and painful decision should be left to the women of America.

I hope the right to privacy can be protected and we will never again have to discuss this issue on political platforms. But I am old enough to remember what it was like before Roe v. Wade, and I do not want to return to the time when we made criminals of women and their doctors.

Jobs, education, health care-these are not just commitments from my lips; they are the work of my life.Our priorities must be clear; we will put our people first again. But priorities without a clear plan of action are just empty words. To turn our rhetoric into reality we've got to change the way government does business, fundamentally. Until we do, we'll continue to pour billions of dollars down the drain.

The Republicans have campaigned against big government for a generation, but have you noticed? They've run this big government for a generation and they haven't changed a thing. They don't want to fix government; they still want to campaign against it, and that's all.

But, my fellow Democrats, its time for us to realize we've got some changing to do too. There is not a program in government for every problem, and if we want to use government to help people, we have got to make it work again.

Because we are committed in this Convention and in this Platform to making these changes, we are, as Democrats, in the words that Ross Perot himself spoke today, “a revitalized Democratic Party.”

I am well aware that all those millions of people who rallied to Ross Perot's cause wanted to be in an army of patriots for change. Tonight I say to them, join us, and together we will revitalize America.

Now, I don't have all the answers, but I do know the old ways don't work. Trickledown economics has sure failed. And big bureaucracies, both private and public, they've failed too.

That's why we need a new approach to government, a government that offers more empowerment and less entitlement. More choices for young people in the schools they attend in the public schools they attend. And more choices for the elderly and for people with disabilities and the long-term care they receive. A government that is leaner, not meaner; a government that expands opportunity, not bureaucracy; a government that understands that jobs must come from growth in a vibrant and vital system of free enterprise.

I call this approach a New Covenant, a solemn agreement between the people and their government based not simply on what each of us can take but what all of us must give to our Nation.

We offer our people a new choice based on old values. We offer opportunity. We demand responsibility. We will build an American community again. The choice we offer is not conservative or liberal. In many ways, it is not even Republican or Democratic. It is different. It is new. And it will work. It will work because it is rooted in the vision and the values of the American people.

Of all the things that George Bush has ever said that I disagree with, perhaps the thing that bothers me most is how he derides and degrades the American tradition of seeing and seeking a better future. He mocks it as the “vision thing.”

But just remember what the Scripture says: “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”

I hope, I hope, nobody in this great hall tonight, or in our beloved country has to go through tomorrow without a vision. I hope no one ever tries to raise a child without a vision. I hope nobody ever starts a business or plants a crop in the ground without a vision. For where there is no vision, the people perish.

One of the reasons we have so many children in so much trouble in so many places in this nation is because they have seen so little opportunity, so little responsibility, so little loving, caring community, that they literally cannot imagine the life we are calling them to lead.

And so I say again: Where there is no vision, America will perish.

What is the vision of our New Covenant?

An America with millions of new jobs and dozens of new industries, moving confidently toward the 21st century.

An America that says to entrepreneurs and businesspeople: We will give you more incentives and more opportunity than ever before to develop the skills of your workers and to create American jobs and American wealth in the new global economy. But you must do your part, you must be responsible. American companies must act like American companies again, exporting products, not jobs.

That's what this New Covenant is all about.

An America in which the doors of colleges are thrown open once again to the sons and daughters of stenographers and steelworkers. We will say: Everybody can borrow money to go to college. But you must do your part. You must pay it back, from your paychecks or, better yet, by going back home and serving your communities.

Just think of it. Think of it. Millions of energetic young men and women serving their country by policing the streets or teaching the children or caring for the sick. Or working with the elderly and people with disabilities. Or helping young people to stay off drugs and out of gangs, giving us all a sense of new hope and limitless possibilities.

That's what this New Covenant is all about.

An America in which health care is a right, not a privilege, in which we say to all of our people: “Your government has the courage finally to take on the health care profiteers and make health care affordable for every family.” But, you must do your part. Preventive care, prenatal care, childhood immunization—saving lives, saving money, saving families from heartbreak.

That's what the New Covenant is all about.

An America in which middle-class incomes, not middle-class taxes, are going up.An America, yes, in which the wealthiest few, those making over $200,000 a year, are asked to pay their fair share.An America in which the rich are not soaked, but the middle class is not drowned, either.Responsibility starts at the top.

That's what the New Covenant is all about.

An America where we end welfare as we know it. We will say to those on welfare: You will have, and you deserve, the opportunity, through training and education, through child care and medical coverage, to liberate yourself. But then, when you can, you must work, because welfare should be a second chance, not a way of life.

That's what the New Covenant is all about.

An America with the world's strongest defense, ready and willing to use force when necessary.

An America at the forefront of the global effort to preserve and protect our common environment and promoting global growth.

An America that champions the cause of freedom and democracy from Eastern Europe to Southern Africa and in our own hemispheres, in Haiti and Cuba.

The end of the Cold War permits us to reduce defense spending while still maintaining the strongest defense in the world, but we must plow back every dollar of defense cuts into building American jobs right here at home. I know well that the world needs a strong America, but we have learned that strength begins at home.

But the New Covenant is about more than opportunities and responsibilities for you and your families. It's also about our common community.

Tonight every one of you knows deep in your heart that we are too divided. It is time to heal America.

And so we must say to every American: Look beyond the stereotypes that blind us. We need each other—all of us—we need each other. We don't have a person to waste, and yet for too long politicians have told the most of us that are doing all right that what's really wrong with America is the rest of us—them.Them, the minorities. Them, the liberals. Them, the poor. Them, the homeless. Them, the people with disabilities. Them, the gays.

We've gotten to where we've nearly them'ed ourselves to death. Them, and them, and them.But, this is America. There is no them. There is only us.One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

That, that, is our Pledge of Allegiance, and that's what the New Covenant is all about.

How do I know we can come together and make change happen? Because I have seen it in my own state. In Arkansas, we are working together, and we are making progress. No, there's no Arkansas Miracle, but there are a lot of miraculous people. And because of them, our schools are better, our wages are higher, our factories are busier, our water is cleaner and our budget is balanced. We're moving ahead.

I wish I could say the same thing about America under the incumbent President. He took the richest country in the world and brought it down.

In the end, my fellow Americans, this New Covenant simply asks us all to be Americans again—old-fashioned Americans for a new time. Opportunity, responsibility, community.

When we pull together, America will pull ahead. Throughout the whole history of this country, we have seen, time and time and time again, when we are united we are unstoppable.

We can seize this moment, make it exciting and energizing and heroic to be American again. We can renew our faith in each other and in ourselves. We can restore our sense of unity and community.

As the Scripture says, “our eyes have not yet seen, nor our ears heard, nor minds imagined” what we can build.

But I can't do this alone. No President can. We must do it together. It won't be easy, and it won't be quick. We didn't get into this mess overnight, and we won't get out of it overnight. But we can do it—with commitment, creativity, diversity and drive.

We can do it. We can do it.

We can do it. We can do it. We can do it.

We can do it. We can do it. We can do it.

I want every person in this hall and every person in this land to reach out and join us in a great new adventure, to chart a bold new future.

As a teenager, I heard John Kennedy's summons to citizenship. And then, as a student at Georgetown, I head that call clarified by a professor name Carol Quigley, who said to us that America was the greatest Nation in history because our people had always believed in two things—that tomorrow can be better than today and that every one of us has a personal moral responsibility to make it so.

That, that, kind of future entered my life the night our daughter, Chelsea, was born. As I stood in the delivery room, I was overcome with the thought that God had given me a blessing my own father never knew—the chance to hold my child in my arms.

Somewhere at this very moment a child is being born in America. Let it be our cause to give that child a happy home, a healthy family and a hopeful future. Let it be our cause to see that that child has a chance to live to the fullest of her God-given capacities.

Let it be our cause to see that child grow up strong and secure, braced by her challenges but never struggling alone, with family and friends and a faith that in America, no one is left out; no one is left behind.

Let it be, let it be, our cause that when this child is able, she gives something back to her children, her community and her country. Let it be our cause that we give this child a country that is coming together, not coming apart, a country of boundless hopes and endless dreams, a country once again lifts its people and inspires the world. Let that be our cause our commitment and our New Covenant.

My fellow Americans, I end tonight where it all began for me—I still believe in a place called Hope.

God bless you, and God Bless America.

克林頓1992年獲民主黨提名演講 中文版

1992年7月16日，紐約

尊敬的得克薩斯州州長安·理查茲、主席布朗以及紐約市長狄更斯，我們熱情的東道主、我的代表伙伴們、我的美國同胞們、我為之驕傲的阿爾·戈?duì)枺?/p>

戈?duì)栒f今晚他來到這里，是因?yàn)樵陔娨曋辈ブ八偸且鲂?ldquo;熱身運(yùn)動”。而我今年參加總統(tǒng)競選有一個而且只有一個原因：我希望回到這里，完成我四年前沒有完成的演講。

昨天晚上馬里奧·柯默教給我們真正的提名演說要怎樣寫，他也清楚我們?yōu)槭裁匆谛码A段中調(diào)整政府的方向。今晚我要跟你們談?wù)勎覍τ谖磥淼南Ｍ?，我對于美國人民的信念，以及我對于我們共同建設(shè)國家的憧憬。

我要向在競選活動中我的杰出的同事們致敬：湯姆·哈金、鮑勃·克里、道·懷德、杰里·布郎和保羅·桑賈斯。

在我們搭建的工作平臺上的那句話表明了一切：美國所能采取的政策——最重要的家庭政策、城市政策、勞工政策、少數(shù)民族政策以及外交政策，這些必然是促使那帶來更多高技術(shù)高報酬的就業(yè)機(jī)會的自由經(jīng)濟(jì)進(jìn)一步擴(kuò)展的政策。

因此，以所有那些勞作納稅、養(yǎng)育子女、奉公守法的人民，還有那些被我們遺忘的中產(chǎn)階級、努力工作的美國人的名義，我很榮幸地接受美國總統(tǒng)候選人的提名。

我是中產(chǎn)階級的產(chǎn)兒，當(dāng)我成為美國總統(tǒng)，你們將不再被遺忘。

我們相逢在一個特殊的歷史時刻，冷戰(zhàn)已經(jīng)結(jié)束，蘇維埃已經(jīng)崩潰，我們的價值觀自由、民主、人權(quán)、自由競爭——已取得全球性的勝利。然而，就在我們于海外贏得冷戰(zhàn)的同時，我們卻輸?shù)袅嗽趪鴥?nèi)創(chuàng)造平等的經(jīng)濟(jì)機(jī)會和爭取社會正義的戰(zhàn)役。

既然我們已經(jīng)改變了世界，是時候讓我們改變美國了。

我要告訴那些貪婪的和捍衛(wèi)現(xiàn)狀的人們：你們的時代已經(jīng)成為過去，現(xiàn)在是改變美國的時代!

今天晚上，我的數(shù)以千萬計的美國同胞沒有工作，數(shù)千萬的人們?yōu)樵絹碓降偷墓べY付出更多的努力。我們的現(xiàn)任總統(tǒng)說，失業(yè)率總是在經(jīng)濟(jì)開始復(fù)蘇前有小幅度的上升，但是在真正復(fù)蘇前失業(yè)人數(shù)只需要再多一個人就行了，而那個人就是您，總統(tǒng)先生!

這次選舉就是要把權(quán)力交還給你們，就是讓政府作為你們的后盾，就是要把人民放在第一位。

你們知道這些我在全國各地都說過。無論何時，只要我這么說總有人靠近我，就像本周在曼哈頓東區(qū)亨利街住宅區(qū)的一次市鎮(zhèn)選民大會上一個年輕人所做的那樣。他說：“那些聽起來不錯，比爾。但是你是一個政客，我為什么要相信你呢?

今晚，我要盡可能坦率地告訴你們，我是誰，我信仰什么，我要把美國引向何方。

我從未見過我父親。在我出生前三個月，他駕車從芝加哥趕往阿肯色州去看望我媽媽，一路上下著雨，他在車禍中喪生。

從那以后，媽媽不得不獨(dú)自撫養(yǎng)我們。我們同外祖父外祖母住在一起，同時她又必須回到路易斯安那學(xué)習(xí)護(hù)理。直到今天我依然清晰地記得我三歲時所看到的情景：媽媽跪在站臺上，一邊哭著一邊把我交給坐在開往阿肯色列車上的外祖母。

媽媽忍受痛苦，因?yàn)樗乐挥凶龀鰻奚拍芙o我更好的生活。是媽媽教育了我，她教我懂得家庭、勤奮工作和犧牲的真諦。她鎮(zhèn)定地承受一次又一次災(zāi)難的打擊，她領(lǐng)著全家——我弟弟和我共同渡過艱苦的歲月。

當(dāng)我還是個孩子的時候，我每天都看著她上下班，那個時候?qū)σ粋€母親來說上班真是不容易。我長大成年了，我看著她與乳腺癌斗爭，她又教給我什么是勇氣，她總是要我去奮斗。

這就是為什么，我要爭取創(chuàng)造高薪就業(yè)的機(jī)會，這樣就可以讓家長有能力去撫養(yǎng)他們的孩子。

這就是為什么，我會確保每一位美國人都會獲得醫(yī)保，那樣就可以保住我母親的性命，也能夠讓女性的健康與男性同樣受到關(guān)注。

這就是為什么，我要確保美國的每位女性都要受到尊重和擁有尊嚴(yán)，不管她們是操持家務(wù)、外出工作，還是身兼二任。

你們想知道我的戰(zhàn)斗精神從何而來嗎?這一切都源自我的媽媽。謝謝你，媽媽。我愛你!

每當(dāng)我想起全體美國人的機(jī)會平等，我就想起我的外祖父。他在霍普小鎮(zhèn)經(jīng)營一家鄉(xiāng)村雜貨店。那時還沒有政府救濟(jì)券，所以他的客戶不管他們是白人或黑人，只要他們努力工作盡其所能，即使沒有錢也沒有關(guān)系，他總是給他們食物，他只是隨便記上一筆。遇到此類情況，我也是這樣做。

當(dāng)我長到能夠看到柜臺以上時，我已從他那里學(xué)會如何去尊重那些通常被人們蔑視的人。

我外祖父只有普通高中一年級的教育水平，然而在那家鄉(xiāng)村雜貨店里，他教給我更多的是上帝所傳達(dá)的平等，而不是喬治敦大學(xué)教授眼中的平等;他教給我更多的是每個人內(nèi)在的價值，而不是牛津大學(xué)里那些哲學(xué)家的價值;他教給我更多的是在法律下的平等公正，而不僅僅是耶魯法學(xué)院里法學(xué)家眼里的公正。

如果你們想知道，我承諾不分種族要把全體人民團(tuán)結(jié)起來的熱情從何而來。這一切全都源自我的外祖父。

從另一個人身上我也獲益良多。有這么一個人，她勤奮工作逾20年來幫助我們的孩子們;她犧牲大量的時間以確保我們的學(xué)校不會誤人子弟;她用一年時間走遍全國，傾聽、學(xué)習(xí)、研究，出席家庭教師協(xié)會、學(xué)校董事會以及市政廳的有關(guān)會議，推出了得到各地區(qū)驗(yàn)證的學(xué)校改革的一攬子計劃。同時她在律師界奠定了良好的事業(yè)基礎(chǔ)，她又是一位了不起的充滿愛心的母親。

那個人就是我妻子。

希拉里教會我，她教會我所有的孩子都能學(xué)習(xí)，我們每個人都有義務(wù)幫助他們。

因此，如果你們想知道為什么我如此關(guān)心我們的孩子們，我們的未來，這一切都源自希拉里。我愛你。

坦白地說，我對那些向我們宣講家庭價值的華盛頓的政客們感到厭倦。我們的家庭是有價值的，但不是我們政府的價值標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。

我想擁有這樣一個美國，在那里家庭的價值體現(xiàn)在我們的行動中，而不只是停留在我們的演說里。我想擁有這樣一個美國，能夠包容每一個家庭——每一個傳統(tǒng)的大家庭，每一個雙親或單親的家庭，每一個收養(yǎng)的家庭，所有這些家庭。

對我們國家中那些選擇放棄他們的孩子，忽視對孩子撫養(yǎng)義務(wù)的父親們，我想說幾句話：擔(dān)負(fù)起撫養(yǎng)孩子的義務(wù)來，否則我們將強(qiáng)迫你們這樣做。因?yàn)檎荒軗狃B(yǎng)孩子，而父母卻能，你們責(zé)無旁貸。

今晚，我要告訴美國的每一個孩子——那些失去父親或母親正在長大成人的孩子——我了解你們的感受，你們也是獨(dú)一無二的。

你們對美國很重要。你們不能聽任別人告訴你們，說什么你們不能成為你們所希望成就的那種人。如果別的政治家讓你們覺得你們不屬于他們的家庭，來吧，成為我們之中的一員。

過去12年的所有錯誤中最讓我憤怒的莫過于我們的政府將我們所珍視的價值觀拋棄，而我們的政治家卻把它們掛在嘴上喋喋不休，我厭惡這些。

我從小就相信美國夢應(yīng)該建立于努力工作必有回報的基石之上。我們看到的卻是華盛頓那幫家伙把這一道德信條拋諸腦后。

太久了，那些奉公守法保持信仰的人得到的是不公正的待遇，那些投機(jī)取巧弄虛作假的人卻往往占盡好處。

人們工作得比以往更辛苦，他們陪伴孩子的時間比以往更少了。以往參加家庭教師協(xié)會或少年棒球聯(lián)合會的時間被擠占，取而代之的是夜間和周末的加班。他們的收入不斷下降，他們的稅負(fù)持續(xù)上升，而醫(yī)療保健、住宅和教育的開支更是漲上了天。

與此同時，越來越多優(yōu)秀的人正在陷入貧困，盡管他們每周工作40個小時。

人民呼喚改革，但政府卻擋在道上，它已經(jīng)被特權(quán)階層的私利所劫持。它忘了站在這里真正為政府“埋單”的人們。我們必須超越華盛頓僵化的政見，給人民一個他們應(yīng)得的政府，一個為他們服務(wù)的政府。

作為一位總統(tǒng)，應(yīng)該是推動進(jìn)步的強(qiáng)大力量。但直到今天，我才體會到林肯總統(tǒng)的感受。內(nèi)戰(zhàn)期間當(dāng)麥克萊將軍不愿進(jìn)攻時，林肯問他：“如果你不用你的軍隊(duì)，你能借給我嗎?”同樣地我說，喬治·布什，如果你不用你的權(quán)力來幫助美國，站到旁邊去，讓我來吧!

我們的國家正在落后，總統(tǒng)的經(jīng)濟(jì)理論證明是錯誤的。自從羅納爾多·里根和布什執(zhí)政以來，我們的工資收入已從世界第一滑落到第十三。

四年前，總統(tǒng)候選人布什說：“美國是一個特殊的地方，不是在聯(lián)合國的名冊處于阿爾巴尼亞和津巴布韋之間的隨隨便便的一個什么國家。”今天，在現(xiàn)任總統(tǒng)布什的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)下，我們的經(jīng)濟(jì)已然可悲地落到了德國和斯里蘭卡之間。

對絕大多數(shù)美國人而言，總統(tǒng)先生，比起之前你的政府執(zhí)政以來，生活少了仁愛，少了溫暖。

聽聽他們的呼聲，在這些方面多做努力!

我們的國家滑落得如此之遠(yuǎn)，如此之快，僅僅幾個月前，日本首相竟然說他“同情美國”。“同情”?當(dāng)我成了你們的總統(tǒng)，這世界上其他地方，其他地方的人們將不再憐憫地俯視美國，而是再一次懷著敬意仰視我們。

為了解決我們的經(jīng)濟(jì)問題，喬治·布什做了什么呢?

四年前的今天，他許諾要帶來1500萬新的就業(yè)機(jī)會，現(xiàn)在他卻造成了超過1400百萬的職位短缺。阿爾·戈?duì)柡臀夷茏龅酶谩?/p>

他增加駕駛皮卡貨車人們的稅負(fù)，卻為乘坐豪華轎車的人們減稅。我們能做得更好。

他承諾要平衡預(yù)算，卻始終光說不練。事實(shí)上，他向國會提交的預(yù)算案使我們的負(fù)債翻了將近一番。更糟的是，他浪費(fèi)數(shù)十億美元，卻削減我們在教育以及創(chuàng)造就業(yè)機(jī)會方面的投資。我們能做得更好。

因此，如果你厭倦了一個不努力創(chuàng)造就業(yè)機(jī)會的政府，如果你厭倦了一個機(jī)關(guān)算盡來對付你的稅收系統(tǒng)，如果你厭倦了債務(wù)的急劇增長和被削減的投資;或者像人權(quán)先驅(qū)范妮·盧·哈默所說，你只是厭倦了這些令人厭倦的事，那么加入我們吧，讓我們一同工作一同勝利，我們能夠使我們的國家成為真正意義上的國家。

眼下，喬治·布什正在談?wù)撘粋€美妙的“策略”，可他卻沒有任何計劃來重建美國，從城市到郊區(qū)到鄉(xiāng)村，使我們能夠參與全球經(jīng)濟(jì)的競爭并再次贏得勝利。我可以做到。

他不會雇傭大保險公司和官僚機(jī)構(gòu)去控制醫(yī)療費(fèi)用，給我們一種所有美國人都支付得起的保健服務(wù)。但是我可以做到。

他甚至不愿采納他自己的艾滋病防治委員會的建議。但是我愿意。

他不會精簡聯(lián)邦政府，改變它的工作方式，裁減10萬官員給美國城市的街道增加10萬新警官。但是我會。

他從未平衡過政府預(yù)算。但是我已經(jīng)平衡了11次。

他不想打破特殊利益集團(tuán)對選舉的束縛，不想排除各種游說團(tuán)體對政府的干擾。但是我想。

他不愿讓父母們享有最起碼的福利在他們的孩子出生或雙親患病時享受帶薪假期。但是我讓。

我們正在以驚人的速度失去我們的農(nóng)莊，但他卻不肯承諾讓家庭保住他們的農(nóng)莊。但是我可以做到。

關(guān)于毒品他說了很多，他卻不肯幫助第一線的人們發(fā)動緝毒滅罪的戰(zhàn)役。但是我肯。

他不會帶頭保護(hù)環(huán)境，并利用環(huán)?？萍紴?1世紀(jì)創(chuàng)造新的工作機(jī)會。但是我能。

你們知道嗎?他沒有阿爾·戈?duì)枺俏矣?。因?yàn)榕履銈冏⒁獠坏?，我要提醒一句?ldquo;戈?duì)?rdquo;的最后一個字母是“E”。

并且，喬治·布什，喬治·布什不愿意保證婦女選擇的權(quán)利。但是我保證。

聽我說，我并不贊成墮胎，我只是強(qiáng)烈提倡墮胎合法化。我認(rèn)為那艱難而痛苦的選擇應(yīng)該留給美國的婦女去做。

我希望個人的隱私權(quán)能夠得到保護(hù)，而且我們無需在政治論壇上再來討論這個問題。我的年齡足以讓我記得以前“羅伊案”的情形，我不想回到把人工流產(chǎn)的婦女和她們的醫(yī)生看作罪犯的時代。

就業(yè)機(jī)會、學(xué)校教育、醫(yī)療保健，這些不是掛在我嘴上的承諾，而是我畢生的工作。我們必須優(yōu)先明確要做的事情，我們將再次把人民放在第一位。然而這種“優(yōu)先”若無清晰的行動計劃就只是空洞的言辭。要將美麗的言辭變成現(xiàn)實(shí)，我們就必須徹底改變政府的辦事方式。否則，我們將繼續(xù)把數(shù)十億美元扔進(jìn)下水道。

共和黨人反對大政府的選戰(zhàn)已經(jīng)持續(xù)了一個時代。但是你們注意到?jīng)]有，他們竟然將這個政府運(yùn)行了整整一個時代而未作任何改變!他們不想穩(wěn)定政府，他們?nèi)匀灰l(fā)動選戰(zhàn)來反對它，這就是全部事實(shí)。

但是，我的民主黨同胞們，是時候了，讓我們明白我們也必須做出某些改變。政府并沒有一個解決所有問題的萬全之策。如果我們要讓政府幫助人民，我們就必須讓政府再次運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)起來。

因?yàn)槲覀兂兄Z在這次大會在這個平臺上做出這些改變。用羅斯·佩羅今天自己的話來說，我們是新生的民主黨，新生的民主黨人。

我十分清楚數(shù)十萬人正聚集在羅斯·佩羅的旗幟周圍，組成了一支要求變革的愛國者的大軍。今晚我要對他們說，加入我們吧，讓我們一起使美國獲得新生。

眼下我還沒有全部的答案，然而我確信老一套是行不通的。積極投資的經(jīng)濟(jì)理論已經(jīng)破產(chǎn)。龐大的官僚體系，無論是私營的還是公立的都失敗了。

這就是為什么我們要給政府找一條新的途徑。一個更多授權(quán)而非集權(quán)的政府;一個給在校的——在公立學(xué)校的年輕人更多的選擇，給接受長期保健的老年人和殘疾人更多的選擇的政府;一個更像引導(dǎo)者而非定義者的政府;一個增加機(jī)會而非擴(kuò)充官僚機(jī)構(gòu)的政府;一個明了就業(yè)機(jī)會只能來自活潑的生機(jī)勃勃的自由企業(yè)體系的政府。

我把這種新的方法叫做“新的契約”，一個人民和政府之間莊嚴(yán)的協(xié)議。它并不簡單地立足于我們能從國家索取什么，更多地立足于我們必須向國家奉獻(xiàn)什么。

我們提供基于傳統(tǒng)價值之上的新選擇。我們提供機(jī)會，我們要求責(zé)任，我們將重建美國社會。我們提供的選擇，既不是保守主義的，也不是自由主義的。從更豐富的層面看，甚至既不是共和主義的，也不是民主主義的。它是截然不同的，它是全新的，它將行之有效。它之所以有效，因?yàn)樗钌畹刂哺诿绹嗣袼攀氐膬r值和美國人民對未來的憧憬之中。

喬治·布什說過的話中，我不能同意的，也是最讓我惱怒的，是他對美國人民尋求和探索更美好的未來這一傳統(tǒng)的嘲笑和貶低。他嘲笑這憧憬是“泡影”。

然而，我們只要想想圣經(jīng)的教諭：“沒有憧憬，人民便趨于滅亡。”

我希望，我希望今晚，在這個大會堂，在我們這個可愛的國家，沒有人在邁向明天時心里沒有憧憬。我希望沒有人在養(yǎng)育子女時心里沒有憧憬。我希望沒有人在開始自己的事業(yè)或在地里種植莊稼時心里沒有憧憬。因?yàn)闆]有憧憬，人民便趨于滅亡。

為什么現(xiàn)在美國許多地方我們有那么多的孩子都有如此多的麻煩，原因之一便是他們看到的機(jī)會是如此渺茫，如此缺乏責(zé)任，缺少愛和關(guān)懷的社會。以致他們甚至無法想象我們召喚他們?nèi)ミ^那種新的生活。

因此我要重申：沒有憧憬，美國將趨于滅亡。

那么，我們和未來的新契約中包含怎樣的憧憬呢?

一個有著數(shù)百萬新的就業(yè)機(jī)會，有著十多個新興產(chǎn)業(yè)，自信地邁向21世紀(jì)的美國。

在這樣一個美國，我們可以向企業(yè)家和商人宣告：我們將提供比以前更多的激勵和機(jī)會讓你們提高工人的技能，在全球經(jīng)濟(jì)中為美國創(chuàng)造更多的就業(yè)機(jī)會和更多的財富。但是你們必須做好你們的本分，你們必須盡自己的責(zé)任。美國的公司必須再次像美國公司那樣運(yùn)作，輸出我們的產(chǎn)品而不是就業(yè)機(jī)會。

這就是新契約的應(yīng)有之意。

在一個這樣的美國，高校的大門將再次為速記員和煉鋼工人的子女們敞開。我們將宣布：每個人都可貸款進(jìn)入高校。但是你們必須盡你們的本分，你們必須償還，用你們未來的薪金，或者更好一些，回到你們的家鄉(xiāng)服務(wù)于你們的社區(qū)。

只要想想，想想這樣一幅圖景：千千萬萬精神充沛的青年男女服務(wù)于他們的國家——維護(hù)治安，教育兒童，看護(hù)病人，照顧老人和殘疾人，或幫助年輕人使他們遠(yuǎn)離毒品和幫派。它必然給我們所有人一種感覺，一種充滿無限可能和希望的感覺。

這就是新契約的應(yīng)有之意。

在一個這樣的美國，醫(yī)療保健是基本權(quán)利而非特權(quán)。我們要告訴我們的人民：“你們的政府終于有勇氣挑戰(zhàn)醫(yī)療保健行業(yè)的奸商，提供每個家庭能夠支付得起的醫(yī)療服務(wù)。”但是你們必須盡你們的本分。做好預(yù)防工作，做好搞好產(chǎn)前保健，做好兒童免疫。珍惜生命，節(jié)約金錢，避免家庭悲劇的發(fā)生。

這就是新契約的應(yīng)有之意。

在一個這樣的美國，中產(chǎn)階級的收入而非他們的稅負(fù)將持續(xù)增長。在一個這樣的美國，少數(shù)最富的人，那些年收入超過20萬美元的人將被要求承擔(dān)公平的稅負(fù)。在一個這樣的美國，富人不會被收重稅，中產(chǎn)階級也不會被稅收所累，責(zé)任是居首要位置的。

這就是新契約的應(yīng)有之意。

在一個這樣的美國，我們要結(jié)束福利制度。我們要對那些依靠福利的人說：你們將享有，你們也應(yīng)該享有機(jī)會，完備的訓(xùn)練和教育，完善的兒童撫育和醫(yī)療保障以充分發(fā)掘你們的潛能。但是那之后，只要可能你們就必須工作，因?yàn)樯鐣＠皇禽o助的手段，而不是生活方式。

這就是新契約的應(yīng)有之意。

在一個這樣的美國，它擁有世界上最強(qiáng)大的防衛(wèi)力量，必要時它能夠并且愿意使用武力。

在一個這樣的美國，它站在維持和保護(hù)我們公共環(huán)境，增加全球植被的最前線。

在一個這樣的美國，它支持自由和民主的事業(yè)，從東歐到南非，在我們自己所在的半球，在海地，在古巴。

冷戰(zhàn)的結(jié)束，允許我們在保持世界最強(qiáng)大的防衛(wèi)力量的同時削減國防開支，但是我們必須把削減下的每一個美元都用于在國內(nèi)創(chuàng)造就業(yè)機(jī)會。我深知世界需要一個強(qiáng)大的美國，但是我們都認(rèn)識到力量源自國內(nèi)。

然而，這個新的契約不僅涉及你們和你們家庭的機(jī)會和責(zé)任，更涉及我們共同的社會。

今晚，你們每一個人都深知我們有太多的分歧。是時候讓美國“痊愈”了。

因此，我必須告訴每一個美國人，透過蒙蔽我們的成見，看到背后的真相。我們彼此需要——我們所有的人——我們彼此需要。我們不會放棄任何一個人。長期以來政客們總是說多數(shù)人都做得不錯，真正對美國有害的只是剩下的那些人——他們。他們，是少數(shù)族裔;他們，是自由主義者;他們，是窮人;他們，是無家可歸的人;他們，是殘疾人;他們，是同性戀者。

我們已經(jīng)快要被“他們”置于死地。他們，他們，他們!但是，這里是美國，這里沒有“他們”，只有“我們”!上帝庇佑之下，一個不可分割的國家，自由正義屬于所有的人。

這就是我們的《效忠誓言》，這就是新契約的應(yīng)有之意。

為何我知道我們團(tuán)結(jié)起來做出改變?因?yàn)槲乙言诎⒖仙菘吹竭^這種跡象，我們同心協(xié)力并取得了進(jìn)展。不，沒有什么阿肯色奇跡，只有許多奇跡般的阿肯色人。因?yàn)樗麄?，我們的學(xué)校更好，我們的工資更高，我們的工廠更忙，我們的水源更清，而且我們的預(yù)算平衡。我們正在穩(wěn)步向前。

我希望能對現(xiàn)任總統(tǒng)治理下的美國說同樣的話。他領(lǐng)導(dǎo)了世界上最富有的國家，卻讓其走了下坡路。我們接管的是美國最窮的州，但是我們正在前進(jìn)。

說到底，我的美國同胞們，這個新的契約只是要求我們再次成為真正的美國人，新時代的傳統(tǒng)的美國人——機(jī)會、責(zé)任、社會。

只要我們團(tuán)結(jié)起來，將會推動美國前進(jìn)。回顧這個國家的全部歷史，我們一次又一次地看到，只要我們?nèi)f眾一心，我們前進(jìn)的步伐就無可阻擋。

我們能夠抓住這個時刻，讓作為美國人再次成為令人激動、精神煥發(fā)、無上光榮的事情。我們能夠重建我們的信念，我們能夠重建舉國一致的認(rèn)識。

正如圣經(jīng)所說：“我們所能成就的，非我們的眼睛所曾見過，非我們的耳朵所曾聽聞，非我們的頭腦所能想象。”

然而，我不能單打獨(dú)斗，沒有哪一位總統(tǒng)可以，我們必須同心協(xié)力。這并不輕松，也不會很快完成。我們并非一夜之間陷入困境，我們也不可能一夜之間擺脫困境。憑著承諾、創(chuàng)造、多樣性和無窮的動力我們能夠完成。

我們能夠做到。我們能夠做到。

我們能夠做到。我們能夠做到。我們能夠做到。

我們能夠做到。我們能夠做到。我們能夠做到。

我要求這個會場的每一個人，這個國家的每一個人伸出手來，和我們一起開始新的偉大的冒險，勇敢地描繪我們輝煌的未來。

在我年少時，我曾聆聽約翰·肯尼迪呼喚公民權(quán)利義務(wù)的演講。在那之后，作為喬治城大學(xué)的學(xué)生，我又聆聽了卡羅爾·奎格利教授對此所做的闡釋。他告訴我們，美國是歷史上最偉大的國家，因?yàn)槲覀兊娜嗣駡?jiān)信兩個信念：一是，明天會比今天更好;二是，我們每個人在道德上都有責(zé)任讓它成為現(xiàn)實(shí)。

那樣的一種未來，在我們的女兒切爾西降生之時走進(jìn)了我的生命。當(dāng)我站在產(chǎn)房之中，我被一個想法所折服：上帝給了我一個我父親不能感受到的祝福——把自己的孩子抱在懷里。

此刻，在美國的某個地方一個孩子正在降生。定下了我們的目標(biāo)：給那個孩子一個幸福的家園，一個健康的家庭，一個充滿希望的未來。讓它成為我們的事業(yè)：給那個孩子一個機(jī)會，實(shí)現(xiàn)上帝賦予她的全部潛能。

定下我們的目標(biāo)：看著孩子長大，讓她健壯地成長，讓她在家庭和朋友的支持下迎接生活的挑戰(zhàn)，而從不單槍匹馬。讓她樹立一個信念，在美國沒有誰被遺棄，沒有誰落在后面。

定下我們的目標(biāo)：只要那個孩子有能力，她就會回饋她的孩子、她的社會和她的國家。定下我們的目標(biāo)：給那個孩子一個日益團(tuán)結(jié)而不是趨于分裂的國家，一個充滿無限希望無窮夢想的國家，一個再次振奮人民激勵世界的國家。讓我們定下建立承諾和新約的目標(biāo)。

我的美國同胞們，今晚我在這里結(jié)束我的演講，一切將從這里開始。我始終相信一個地方——它就是希望。

上帝保佑你們，上帝保佑美國。