Inaugural Luncheon Toast

Michelle and the Speaker of the House came to a meeting of the minds that I may be delaying the proceedings too much. And so I'm just going to be extraordinarily brief and say thank you -- to my Vice President, who has not only been an extraordinary partner but an extraordinary friend; and to Dr. Jill Biden, who has partnered with my wife with extraordinary generosity on behalf of our men and women in uniform. Michelle和众议院议长达成共识,认为我可能把议程拖延得太久了。所以我就格外简短地说声感谢——感谢我的副总统,他不仅是一位杰出的伙伴,更是一位挚友;感谢Jill Biden博士,她以极大的慷慨与我的妻子携手,为我们的男女军人服务。

To the entire Cabinet that is here, I am grateful to you. Some of you are staying and some of you are leaving, but I know the extraordinary sacrifices that you and my team have made to try to advance the cause of progress in this country, and I'm always going to be grateful to you for that. 对在座的全体内阁成员,我深感感激。你们中有人留任,有人离任,但我知道你们和我的团队为推动这个国家的进步所做出的非凡牺牲,我将永远对此心存感激。

To the Speaker of the House and Nancy Pelosi, to Democratic Leader Harry Reid, as well as Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, and to all the congressional leaders and all the members of Congress who are here -- I recognize that democracy is not always easy, and I recognize there are profound differences in this room, but I just want to say thank you for your service and I want to thank your families for their service, because regardless of our political persuasions and perspectives, I know that all of us serve because we believe that we can make America for future generations. 对众议院议长和Nancy Pelosi,对民主党领袖Harry Reid,以及共和党领袖Mitch McConnell,以及对在座的所有国会领袖和国会议员——我深知民主并非总是一帆风顺,我承认在场存在深刻的分歧,但我只想说感谢你们的服务,也感谢你们家人的奉献,因为无论我们的政治倾向和视角如何,我相信我们所有人之所以服务,是因为我们相信自己能够为子孙后代建设美国。

And I'm confident that we can act at this moment in a way that makes a difference for our children and our children's children. I know that former President Carter, President Clinton, they understand the irony of the presidential office, which is, the longer you're there the more humble you become and the more mindful you are that it is beyond your poor powers individually to move this great country. You can only do it because you have extraordinary partners and a spirit of good will, and most of all, because of the strength and resilience and fundamental goodness of the American people. 我有信心我们能在此刻采取行动,为我们的孩子以及孩子的孩子带来改变。我知道前总统Carter、Clinton,他们深谙总统职位的讽刺之处:你在那里待得越久,就越发谦卑,越发意识到仅凭个人微薄的力量无法推动这个伟大的国家前行。你之所以能做到,是因为你有卓越的合作伙伴和善意,更重要的是,因为美国人民的力量、韧性和根本的善良。

And so I would like to join all of you not only in toasting the extraordinary work that Chuck Schumer and Lamar Alexander and others have done to create this special day for us, but I also want to thank each and every one of you for not only your service in the past, but hopefully your service in the future as well. 因此,我想与各位一起,不仅为Chuck Schumer和Lamar Alexander等人为创造这个特殊日子所做的卓越工作举杯,也想感谢你们每一位不仅过去的服务,也希望未来继续服务。

And I would like to offer one last toast, and that is to my extraordinary wife, Michelle. There is controversy about the quality of the President -- no controversy about the quality of our current First Lady. 最后,我想献上最后一次祝酒,献给我杰出的妻子Michelle。关于总统的品质或许存在争议——但关于我们现任第一夫人的品质,毫无争议。

Thank you, everybody. God bless you, and God bless America. 谢谢大家。愿上帝保佑你们,愿上帝保佑美国。

署名Barack Obama(巴拉克·奥巴马)  2013-01-21  发表于 U.S. Statuary Hall, United States Capitol, Washington, D.C.