Good morning, everybody. 大家早上好。
It's now been five days since the heartbreaking tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut; three days since we gathered as a nation to pray for the victims. And today, a few more of the 20 small children and six educators who were taken from us will be laid to rest. 距离康涅狄格州纽敦镇令人心碎的悲剧已经过去五天了；距离我们举国为遇难者祈祷已经三天了。今天，又有几名被夺去生命的20名儿童和6名教育工作者将要入土为安。
We may never know all the reasons why this tragedy happened. We do know that every day since, more Americans have died of gun violence. We know such violence has terrible consequences for our society. And if there is even one thing that we can do to prevent any of these events, we have a deep obligation -- all of us -- to try. 我们可能永远无法知道这场悲剧发生的所有原因。但我们确实知道，自那以后每天都有更多美国人死于枪支暴力。我们知道这种暴力对我们的社会造成了可怕的后果。如果有哪怕一件事是我们能做的，来阻止这些事件的发生，我们所有人都有深刻的义务去尝试。
Over these past five days, a discussion has reemerged as to what we might do not only to deter mass shootings in the future, but to reduce the epidemic of gun violence that plagues this country every single day. And it's encouraging that people of all different backgrounds and beliefs and political persuasions have been willing to challenge some old assumptions and change longstanding positions. 在过去的五天里，一场讨论重新兴起：我们不仅要阻止未来的大规模枪击事件，还要减少每天都在困扰这个国家的枪支暴力流行病。令人鼓舞的是，来自不同背景、信仰和政治立场的人们都愿意挑战一些旧有的假设，改变长期以来的立场。
That conversation has to continue. But this time, the words need to lead to action. 这场对话必须继续下去。但这一次，言辞需要转化为行动。
We know this is a complex issue that stirs deeply held passions and political divides. And as I said on Sunday night, there's no law or set of laws that can prevent every senseless act of violence in our society. We're going to need to work on making access to mental health care at least as easy as access to a gun. We're going to need to look more closely at a culture that all too often glorifies guns and violence. And any actions we must take must begin inside the home and inside our hearts. 我们知道这是一个复杂的问题，牵动着深层的激情和政治分歧。正如我星期天晚上所说，没有任何法律或法律组合能够预防我们社会中每一起无意义的暴力行为。我们需要努力让获得心理健康关怀的机会至少和获得枪支一样容易。我们需要更仔细地审视一种常常美化枪支和暴力的文化。我们必须采取的任何行动都应从家庭和内心开始。
But the fact that this problem is complex can no longer be an excuse for doing nothing. The fact that we can't prevent every act of violence doesn't mean we can't steadily reduce the violence, and prevent the very worst violence. 但问题的复杂性不能再成为无所作为的借口。我们无法预防每一桩暴力行为，并不意味着我们不能逐步减少暴力，防止最严重的暴力发生。
That's why I've asked the Vice President to lead an effort that includes members of my Cabinet and outside organizations to come up with a set of concrete proposals no later than January -- proposals that I then intend to push without delay. This is not some Washington commission. This is not something where folks are going to be studying the issue for six months and publishing a report that gets read and then pushed aside. This is a team that has a very specific task, to pull together real reforms right now. 正因如此，我已请副总统领导一个包含内阁成员和外部组织的工作组，在1月之前提出一套具体方案——我随后打算毫不拖延地推动这些方案。这不是什么华盛顿委员会。这不是那种人们会花六个月研究问题、然后发表一份报告、读完就被搁置一边的事情。这是一支有着非常具体任务的团队，现在就要整合出真正的改革方案。
I asked Joe to lead this effort in part because he wrote the 1994 Crime Bill that helped law enforcement bring down the rate of violent crime in this country. That plan -- That bill also included the assault weapons ban that was publicly supported at the time by former Presidents including Ronald Reagan. 我请Joe来领导这项工作，部分原因是他起草了1994年的《犯罪法案》，帮助执法部门降低了这个国家的暴力犯罪率。该法案还包含了攻击性武器禁令，当时得到了包括Ronald Reagan在内的前总统的公开支持。
The good news is there's already a growing consensus for us to build from. A majority of Americans support banning the sale of military-style assault weapons. A majority of Americans support banning the sale of high-capacity ammunition clips. A majority of Americans support laws requiring background checks before all gun purchases, so that criminals can't take advantage of legal loopholes to buy a gun from somebody who won't take the responsibility of doing a background check at all. 好消息是，已经有了日益增长的共识供我们在此基础上推进。大多数美国人支持禁止出售军用式攻击性武器。大多数美国人支持禁止出售大容量弹匣。大多数美国人支持要求所有购枪行为前进行背景调查的法律，以使罪犯无法利用法律漏洞从不负责任、根本不做背景调查的人那里购买枪支。
I urge the new Congress to hold votes on these measures next year in a timely manner. And considering Congress hasn't confirmed a director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms in six years -- the agency that works most closely with state and local law enforcement to keep illegal guns out of the hands of criminals -- I'd suggest that they make this a priority early in the year. 我敦促新一届国会在明年及时对这些措施进行投票表决。考虑到国会已经六年没有确认烟酒枪支及爆炸物管理局的局长人选——该机构与州和地方执法部门合作最为密切，负责将非法枪支拒之于罪犯之手——我建议他们在年初将此事作为优先事项。
Look, like the majority of Americans, I believe that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to bear arms. This country has a strong tradition of gun ownership that's been handed down from generation to generation. Obviously across the country there are regional differences. There are differences between how people feel in urban areas and rural areas. And the fact is the vast majority of gun owners in America are responsible -- they buy their guns legally and they use them safely, whether for hunting or sport shooting, collection or protection. 听着，和大多数美国人一样，我相信第二修正案保障了个人持枪的权利。这个国家有着世代相传的强大持枪传统。显然，全国各地存在地区差异。城市地区和农村地区的人们的感受有所不同。事实是，美国绝大多数枪支拥有者是负责任的——他们合法购买枪支，安全使用，无论是用于打猎、射击运动、收藏还是保护。
But you know what, I am also betting that the majority -- the vast majority -- of responsible, law-abiding gun owners would be some of the first to say that we should be able to keep an irresponsible, law-breaking few from buying a weapon of war. 但你知道吗，我也打赌，那些负责任的、守法的枪支拥有者中的大多数人——绝大多数人——会是最先站出来说我们应该能够阻止那些不负责任的、违法的少数人购买战争武器的人。
I'm willing to bet that they don't think that using a gun and using common sense are incompatible ideas -- that an unbalanced man shouldn't be able to get his hands on a military-style assault rifle so easily; that in this age of technology, we should be able to check someone's criminal records before he or she can check out at a gun show; that if we work harder to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, there would be fewer atrocities like the one in Newtown -- or any of the lesser-known tragedies that visit small towns and big cities all across America every day. 我愿意打赌，他们不认为使用枪支和运用常识是互不相容的想法——一个精神失衡的人不应该那么容易就拿到军用式攻击性步枪；在当今这个技术时代，我们应该能够在一个人在枪展上结账之前就查到他或她的犯罪记录；如果我们更加努力地阻止危险人物获得枪支，像纽敦这样的暴行——或者每天发生在美国大大小小城市中的那些不太为人所知的悲剧——就会更少。
Since Friday morning, a police officer was gunned down in Memphis, leaving four children without their mother. Two officers were killed outside a grocery store in Topeka. A woman was shot and killed inside a Las Vegas casino. Three people were shot inside an Alabama hospital. A four-year-old was caught in a drive-by in Missouri, and taken off life support just yesterday. Each one of these Americans was a victim of the everyday gun violence that takes the lives of more than 10,000 Americans every year -- violence that we cannot accept as routine. 自星期五早上以来，一名警察在Memphis被枪杀，留下四个孩子失去了母亲。两名警官在Topeka一家杂货店外被杀。一名女子在Las Vegas一家赌场内被枪杀。三人在Alabama一家医院内中枪。一名四岁儿童在Missouri的一次驾车射击中中弹，就在昨天被取消了生命维持系统。每一位这样的美国人都是日常枪支暴力的受害者，这种暴力每年夺去超过一万名美国人的生命——这种暴力我们不能习以为常。
So I will use all the powers of this office to help advance efforts aimed at preventing more tragedies like this. We won't prevent them all -- but that can't be an excuse not to try. It won't be easy -- but that can't be an excuse not to try. 因此，我将利用总统办公室的一切权力来推进旨在防止更多此类悲剧的努力。我们无法阻止所有悲剧——但这不能成为不去尝试的借口。这不会容易——但这不能成为不去尝试的借口。
And I'm not going to be able to do it by myself. Ultimately if this effort is to succeed it's going to require the help of the American people -- it's going to require all of you. If we're going to change things, it's going to take a wave of Americans -- mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, pastors, law enforcement, mental health professionals -- and, yes, gun owners -- standing up and saying "enough" on behalf of our kids. 而且我无法独自完成这件事。如果这项努力要取得成功，最终需要美国人民的帮助——需要你们所有人。如果我们要改变现状，就需要一波美国人的浪潮——母亲和父亲、女儿和儿子、牧师、执法人员、心理健康专业人士——还有，是的，枪支拥有者——站出来代表我们的孩子说「够了」。
It will take commitment and compromise, and most of all, it will take courage. But if those of us who were sent here to serve the public trust can summon even one tiny iota of the courage those teachers, that principal in Newtown summoned on Friday -- if cooperation and common sense prevail -- then I'm convinced we can make a sensible, intelligent way to make the United States of America a safer, stronger place for our children to learn and to grow. 这需要承诺和妥协，最重要的是，需要勇气。但如果我们这些被派来维护公众利益的人能够唤起哪怕一丝纽敦那些老师、那位校长在星期五所展现的勇气——如果合作与常识能够占上风——那么我坚信我们能够找到一种明智的、理性的方式，使美利坚合众国成为我们的孩子学习和成长的更安全、更强大的地方。
Thank you. And now I'm going to let the Vice President go and I'm going to take a few questions. And I will start with Ben Feller. 谢谢。现在我要让副总统先离开了，我来回答几个问题。我先从Ben Feller开始。
Question: Thank you, Mr. President. I'd like to ask you about the other serious issue consuming this town right now, the fiscal cliff. Question: 谢谢您，总统先生。我想问您关于目前困扰华盛顿的另一个严肃问题，财政悬崖。
President Obama: Right. President Obama: 对。
Question: Haven't you betrayed some of the voters who supported you in the election by changing your positions on who should get a tax increase and by including Social Security benefits now in this mix? And more broadly, there seems to be a deepening sense that negotiations aren't going very well right now. Can you give us a candid update? Are we likely to go over the cliff? Question: 您是否辜负了一些在选举中支持您的选民，因为您改变了谁应该加税的立场，以及现在把社会保障福利纳入了谈判范围？更广泛地说，人们似乎越来越觉得目前的谈判进展不太顺利。您能否给我们一个坦诚的最新情况？我们是否有可能跌下财政悬崖？
President Obama: Well, first of all, there's no reason why we should. Remember what I said during the campaign. I thought that it was important for us to reduce our deficit in a balanced and responsible way. I said it was important for us to make sure that millionaires and billionaires paid their fair share. I said that we were going to have to make some tough cuts, some tough decisions on the spending side, but what I wouldn't do was hurt vulnerable families only to pay for a tax cut for somebody like me. President Obama: 首先，我们没有理由跌下财政悬崖。记住我在竞选期间说过的话。我认为以平衡和负责任的方式减少赤字很重要。我说过确保百万富翁和亿万富翁缴纳他们应承担的份额很重要。我说过我们将不得不在支出方面做出一些艰难的削减、一些艰难的决定，但我不会做的是伤害脆弱的家庭来为像我这样的人的减税买单。
And what I said was that the ultimate package would involve a balance of spending cuts and tax increases. 我说过，最终方案将包含支出削减和增税的平衡。
That's exactly what I've put forward. What I've said is, is that in order to arrive at a compromise, I am prepared to do some very tough things -- some things that some Democrats don't want to see and probably there are a few Republicans who don't want to see either. But the only way that we're going to be able to stabilize the economy, make sure we've got a platform for long-term economic growth, that we get our deficits under control and we make sure that middle-class families are protected is if we come up with something that members of both parties in Congress can support. 这正是我提出的方案。我说的是，为了达成妥协，我准备做一些非常艰难的事情——一些民主党人不想看到的事情，可能也有一些共和党人不想看到的事情。但我们能够稳定经济、确保长期经济增长的平台、控制赤字并确保中产家庭受到保护的唯一途径，是我们提出国会两党议员都能支持的方案。
And that's the plan that I've put forward. I have gone at least halfway in meeting some of the Republicans' concerns, recognizing that even though we campaigned on these issues, even though the majority of Americans agree with me that we should be raising taxes on the wealthiest few as a means of reducing the deficit, I have also said that I'm willing to identify some spending cuts that make sense. 这就是我提出的方案。我已经至少走了一半的路来回应共和党人的一些关切，我认识到尽管我们在竞选中就这些问题进行了宣传，尽管大多数美国人同意我关于应该对最富有的少数人增税以减少赤字的观点，我也说过我愿意确定一些合理的支出削减。
And, frankly, up until about a couple of days ago, if you looked at it, the Republicans in the House and Speaker Boehner I think were in a position to say, we've gotten a fair deal. The fact that they haven't taken it yet is puzzling and I think a question that you're going to have to address to them. 坦率地说，直到几天前，如果你看看情况，我认为众议院的共和党人和Boehner议长可以说我们得到了一个公平的交易。他们还没有接受这个方案的事实令人困惑，我认为这是你们需要向他们提出的问题。
I remain optimistic, though, because if you look at what the Speaker has proposed, he's conceded that income tax rates should go up -- except right now he only wants to have them go up for millionaires. If you're making $900,000, somehow he thinks that you can't afford to pay a little more in taxes. But the principle that rates are going to need to go up he's conceded. 不过我仍然保持乐观，因为如果你看看议长提出的方案，他已经承认所得税率应该提高——只不过他现在只想让百万富翁的税率提高。如果你赚90万美元，他竟然认为你负担不起多交一点税。但税率需要提高这一原则他已经让步了。
I've said I'm willing to make some cuts. What separates us is probably a few hundred billion dollars. The idea that we would put our economy at risk because you can't bridge that gap doesn't make a lot of sense. 我说过我愿意做出一些削减。我们之间的分歧大概只有几千亿美元。因为无法弥合这一差距而将我们的经济置于危险之中，这种想法不太合理。
So I'm going to continue to talk to the Speaker and the other leaders up in Congress. But, ultimately, they've got to do their job. Right now their job is to make sure that middle-class taxes do not go up and that we have a balanced, responsible package of deficit reduction. 所以我将继续与议长和国会的其他领袖交谈。但最终，他们必须做好自己的工作。现在他们的工作是确保中产阶级的税收不会增加，并且我们有一个平衡的、负责任的赤字削减方案。
It is there for all to see. It is a deal that can get done. But it is not going to be -- it cannot be done if every side wants 100 percent. And part of what voters were looking for is some compromise up here. That's what folks want. They understand that they're not going to get 100 percent of what they want. And for some reason, that message has not yet taken up on Capitol Hill. 方案就在那里，所有人都能看到。这是一个可以达成的交易。但如果每一方都想要百分之百，那就无法达成。选民所期待的正是这里能有一些妥协。这就是人民想要的。他们明白自己不可能得到想要的一切。但出于某种原因，这个信息还没有被国会山接受。
And when you think about what we've gone through over the last couple of months -- a devastating hurricane, and now one of the worst tragedies in our memory -- the country deserves folks to be willing to compromise on behalf of the greater good, and not tangle themselves up in a whole bunch of ideological positions that don't make much sense. 当你想到我们过去几个月所经历的一切——一场毁灭性的飓风，以及现在我们记忆中最严重的悲剧之一——这个国家值得人们为了更大的利益而愿意妥协，而不是纠结于一大堆没有多大意义的意识形态立场。
So I remain not only open to conversations, but I remain eager to get something done. I'd like to get it done before Christmas. There's been a lot of posturing up on Capitol Hill, instead of just going ahead and getting stuff done. And we've been wasting a lot of time. It is the right thing to do. I'm prepared to get it done. But they're going to have to go ahead and make some adjustments. 所以我不仅对对话保持开放态度，而且我依然渴望达成一些成果。我希望在圣诞节之前完成。国会山上一直在进行大量政治姿态表演，而不是直接去完成事情。我们浪费了很多时间。这是正确的事情。我准备好完成了。但他们需要做出一些调整。
And I'll just give you one other example. The Speaker now is proposing what he calls plan B. So he says, well, this would raise taxes only on folks making a million dollars or more. What that means is an average of a $50,000 tax break for every millionaire out there, at the same time as we're not providing unemployment insurance for 2 million people who are still out there looking for work. It actually means a tax increase for millions of working families across the country at the same time as folks like me would be getting a tax break. 我再给你们举一个例子。议长现在提出他所谓的B计划。他说，这只会对收入百万美元以上的人加税。这意味着每个百万富翁平均获得五万美元的减税，与此同时我们却没有为两百万仍在寻找工作的人提供失业保险。这实际上意味着全国数百万工薪家庭面临增税，而像我这样的人却在获得减税。
That violates the core principles that were debated during the course of this election and that the American people determined was the wrong way to go. 这违背了在本次选举过程中辩论的核心原则，美国人民已经判定那是错误的方向。
And so my hope is, is that the Speaker and his caucus, in conjunction with the other legislative leaders up there, can find a way to make sure that middle-class families don't see their taxes go up on January 1st; that we make sure that those things that middle-class families count on like tax credits for college, or making sure that they're getting some help when it comes to raising their kids through things like the child tax credit, that that gets done; and that we have a balanced package for deficit reduction, which is exactly what I've put forward. 因此我的希望是，议长和他的党团，与那里的其他立法领袖一起，能够找到一种方式确保中产家庭在1月1日不会面临增税；确保中产家庭所依赖的那些东西，如大学税收抵免，或确保他们在养育孩子方面通过儿童税收抵免等方式获得帮助，这些都能得到落实；并且我们有一个平衡的赤字削减方案，这正是我已经提出的。
Question: Will you give more ground if you need to, or are you done? Question: 如果需要的话，您会做出更多让步吗，还是您已经不再让步了？
President Obama: If you look at the package that I put forward, it is a balanced package by any definition. We have put forward real cuts in spending that are hard to do, in every category. And by any measure, by any traditional calculation, by the measures that Republicans themselves have used in the past, this would be as large a piece of deficit reduction as we've seen in the last 20 years. And if you combine that with the increased revenue from the wealthy paying a little bit more, then you actually have something that would stabilize our deficit and debt for a decade -- for 10 years. President Obama: 如果你看看我提出的方案，无论以何种定义衡量，它都是一个平衡的方案。我们在每个类别中都提出了难以做到的真正的支出削减。以任何标准、任何传统的计算方式、共和党人自己在过去使用过的标准来衡量，这将是我们在过去20年中看到的最大规模的赤字削减。如果再加上富人多缴一点税带来的增收收入，那么你实际上得到了一个能让我们的赤字和债务稳定十年——十年的方案。
Now, the notion that we would not do that, but instead the Speaker would run a play that keeps tax cuts for folks making $500,000 or $700,000 or $800,000 or $900,000 a year, and gives more tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires, and raises taxes on middle-class families, and then has no cuts in it -- which is what he says he wants -- doesn't make much sense. 现在，如果我们不这样做，而是议长要推行一个为年收入50万或70万或80万或90万美元的人保留减税、给百万富翁和亿万富翁更多减税、对中产家庭增税、而且没有任何削减——他说这就是他想要的——的方案，这就没什么道理了。
I mean, let's just think about the logic for a second. They're thinking about voting for raising taxes at least on folks over a million, which they say they don't want to do, but they're going to reject spending cuts that they say they do want to do. That defies logic. There's no explanation for that. 我的意思是，让我们想想这个逻辑。他们正在考虑对百万美元以上的人至少投票加税，他们说他们不想这样做，但他们又要拒绝他们说自己确实想做的支出削减。这违背逻辑。对此没有任何解释。
I think that any objective person out there looking would say that we've put forward a very balanced plan and it's time for us to go ahead and get it done. That's what the country needs right now. Because I think folks have been through some wrenching times, we're still recovering from a very tough recession, and what they're hoping for is a sense of stability, focus, compromise, common sense over the next couple of years. And I think we can provide it. But this is a good test for them. 我认为任何客观的人看到这些都会说，我们已经提出了一个非常平衡的方案，是时候去完成它了。这是国家现在需要的。因为我认为人们经历了一些痛苦时期，我们仍在从一场非常严峻的衰退中复苏，他们希望在未来几年看到稳定、专注、妥协和常识。我认为我们可以提供这些。但这对他们来说是一个很好的考验。
Carol Lee. Carol Lee。
Question: Thank you, Mr. President. Just to follow on Ben's question, what is your next move? Are we in a position now where you're just waiting for the Speaker to make a move? Question: 谢谢您，总统先生。顺着Ben的问题追问一下，您的下一步行动是什么？我们现在的情况是您只是在等议长采取行动吗？
President Obama: Well, I'm going to reach out to all the leaders involved over the next couple of days and find out what is it that's holding this thing up. What is holding it up? If the argument from Republicans is we haven't done enough spending cuts, that argument is not going to fly because we've got close to a trillion dollars of spending cuts. And when you add interest, then it's more than a trillion dollars in spending cuts. President Obama: 好的，我将在接下来的几天里联系所有相关的领袖，弄清楚是什么阻碍了这件事。是什么阻碍了它？如果共和党人的论点是我们没有做足够的支出削减，那个论点是站不住脚的，因为我们已经有将近一万亿美元的支出削减。加上利息的话，就是超过一万亿美元的支出削减。
If the argument is that they can't do -- they can't increase tax rates on folks making $700,000 or $800,000 a year, that's not a persuasive argument to me and it's certainly not a persuasive argument to the American people. 如果他们的论点是他们不能——不能对年收入70万或80万美元的人提高税率，这对我来说不是一个有说服力的论点，对美国人民来说当然也不是。
It may be that members of their caucus haven't looked at exactly what we've proposed. It may be that if we provide more information or there's greater specificity or we work through some of their concerns, that we can get some movement then. 可能是他们党团的成员还没有仔细看过我们提出的方案。也可能是如果我们提供更多信息或更具体的内容，或者解决他们的一些关切，我们就能取得一些进展。
But the fact of the matter is, is that what would violate my commitment to voters is if I ended up agreeing to a plan that put more of the burden on middle-class families and less of a burden on the wealthy in an effort to reduce our deficit. That's not something I'm going to do. What would violate my commitment to voters would be to put forward a plan that makes it harder for young people to go to college, that makes it harder for a family with a disabled kid to care for that kid. 但事实是，如果最终我同意了一个在减少赤字的过程中将更多负担放在中产家庭身上、将更少负担放在富人身上的方案，那才是违背我对选民的承诺。那不是我要做的事情。违背我对选民承诺的，是提出一个让年轻人更难上大学的方案，一个让有残疾孩子的家庭更难照顾那个孩子的方案。
And there's a threshold that you reach where the balance tips, even in making compromises that are required to get something done in this town, where you are hurting people in order to give another advantage to folks who don't need help. And we had an extensive debate about this for a year. And not only does the majority of the American people agree with me, about half of Republican voters agree with me on this. 有一个门槛，当你达到时平衡就会倾斜，即使在做在这个城市完成事情所需的妥协时，你是在伤害人民来给不需要帮助的人另一个优势。我们就此进行了长达一年的广泛辩论。不仅大多数美国人同意我的观点，大约一半的共和党选民也在这个问题上同意我的看法。
So at some point, there's got to be I think a recognition on the part of my Republican friends that -- take the deal. They will be able to claim that they have worked with me over the last two years to reduce the deficit more than any other deficit reduction package; that we will have stabilized it for 10 years. That is a significant achievement for them. They should be proud of it. But they keep on finding ways to say no, as opposed to finding ways to say yes. 所以在某个时刻，我认为我的共和党朋友们必须认识到——接受这个交易。他们将能够声称在过去两年中与我合作，比任何其他赤字削减方案减得更多；我们将使之稳定十年。这对他们来说是一个重大成就。他们应该为此感到骄傲。但他们一直在找方法说不，而不是找方法说是。
And I don't know how much of that just has to do with -- it is very hard for them to say yes to me. But at some point, they've got to take me out of it and think about their voters, and think about what's best for the country. And if they do that -- if they're not worried about who's winning and who's losing, did they score a point on the President, did they extract that last little concession, did they force him to do something he really doesn't want to do just for the heck of it, and they focus on actually what's good for the country, I actually think we can get this done. 我不知道这有多少只是因为——他们很难对我说「是」。但在某个时刻，他们必须把我放在一边，想想他们的选民，想想什么对国家最好。如果他们这样做——如果他们不担心谁赢谁输，是否在总统身上得分了，是否榨取了最后一点让步，是否强迫他做了他真的不想做的事情只是为了好玩，而是专注于实际上什么对国家有利，我实际上认为我们能够完成这件事。
Question: You mentioned the $700,000 and $800,000. Are you willing to move on income level and are there specific things that you would do -- Question: 您提到了70万和80万美元。您是否愿意在收入水平上做出调整，是否有具体的事情您会做——
President Obama: I'm not going to get into specific negotiations here. My point is simple, Carol, that if you look at Speaker Boehner's proposal and you look at my proposal, they're actually pretty close. They keep on saying that somehow we haven't put forward real spending cuts. Actually, there was I think a graph in The New York Times today that showed -- they're the same categories, right? There's a little bit of tweaks here and there; there are a few differences, but we're right there. President Obama: 我不会在这里讨论具体谈判。我的观点很简单，Carol，如果你看看Boehner议长的方案和我的方案，它们实际上相当接近。他们一直在说我们没有提出真正的支出削减。实际上，今天《纽约时报》上有一个图表显示——它们是相同的类别，对吧？这里那里有些微调；有一些差异，但我们已经很接近了。
And on the revenue side, there's a difference in terms of them wanting to preserve tax breaks for folks between $250,000 and a million that we just can't afford. I mean, keep in mind I'm in that income category; I'd love to not pay as much in taxes. But I also think it's the right thing to do for us to make sure that people who have less -- people who are working, people who are striving, people who are hoping for their kids -- that they have opportunity. That's what we campaigned about. That's what we talked about. 在收入方面，他们想为收入在25万到100万之间的人保留减税，而我们无法承担这一点。我的意思是，请记住我也在那个收入类别中；我很乐意少交点税。但我也认为，确保那些拥有更少的人——那些在工作的人、在奋斗的人、为孩子们抱有希望的人——拥有机会，这是正确的事情。这就是我们竞选时谈论的内容。这就是我们讨论的事情。
And this is not a situation where I'm unwilling to compromise. This is not a situation where I'm trying to rub their face in anything. I think anybody who looks at this objectively would say that coming off my election, I have met them at least halfway in order to get something done for the country. 这不是一个我不愿意妥协的情况。这不是一个我试图让他们难堪的情况。我认为任何客观看待这件事的人都会说，在我连任之后，为了为国家完成一些事情，我至少在半路上与他们相迎。
And so I noticed that there were a couple of headlines out there saying, oh, we're now in the land of political posturing, and it's the usual he said-he said atmosphere. But look at the facts. Look at where we started; look at where they started. My proposal is right there in the middle. 所以我注意到有几条头条新闻说，哦，我们现在进入了政治作秀的地带，这是通常的公说公有理、婆说婆有理的氛围。但看看事实。看看我们从哪里开始；看看他们从哪里开始。我的方案就在中间。
We should be able to get this done. Let's get it done. We don't have a lot of time. 我们应该能够完成这件事。让我们完成它吧。我们没有多少时间了。
Carrie. Where's -- there you are. Carrie。在哪里——你在这儿。
Question: Thank you, Mr. President. Question: 谢谢您，总统先生。
President Obama: Yes. President Obama: 请说。
Question: What is your level of confidence that if you are able to reach a comprehensive deal with the Speaker, that he will be able to bring his members onboard and get it passed? Essentially, do you still trust Speaker Boehner in this process? Question: 如果您能够与议长达成一个全面协议，您有多大的信心他能说服他的成员支持并使其通过？本质上，在这个过程您是否仍然信任Boehner议长？
President Obama: There is no doubt that the Speaker has challenges in his caucus, and I recognize that. I'm often reminded when I speak to the Republican leadership that the majority of their caucus's membership come from districts that I lost. And so sometimes they may not see an incentive in cooperating with me, in part because they're more concerned about challenges from a tea party candidate, or challenges from the right, and cooperating with me may make them vulnerable. I recognize that. President Obama: 毫无疑问，议长在他的党团中面临挑战，我认识到这一点。我在与共和党领导层交谈时经常被提醒，他们党团的大多数成员来自我输掉的选区。所以有时候他们可能看不到与我合作的激励，部分原因是他们更担心来自茶党候选人的挑战，或者来自右翼的挑战，与我合作可能使他们变得脆弱。我认识到这一点。
But, goodness, if this past week has done anything, it should just give us some perspective. If there's one thing we should have after this week, it should be a sense of perspective about what's important. And I would like to think that members of that caucus would say to themselves: You know what, we disagree with the President on a whole bunch of things. We wish the other guy had won. We're going to fight him on a whole range of issues over the next four years. We think his philosophy is all screwed up. 但是，天哪，如果过去这一周有什么作用的话，它应该让我们有了一些视角。如果这一周之后我们应该有一样东西，那就是对什么重要的洞察力。我愿意认为那个党团的成员会对自己说：你知道吗，我们在一大堆事情上不同意总统。我们希望另一个人赢了。我们在未来四年会在一系列问题上与他斗争。我们认为他的哲学全搞砸了。
But right now, what the country needs is for us to compromise, get a deficit reduction deal in place; make sure middle class taxes don't go up; make sure that we're laying the foundations for growth; give certainty to businesses large and small; not put ourselves through some sort of self-inflicted crisis every six months; 但现在，国家需要的是我们做出妥协，达成赤字削减协议；确保中产阶级税收不增加；确保我们正在为增长奠定基础；给大企业和小企业确定性；不要每六个月就让自己经历某种自我造成的危机；
allow ourselves time to focus on things like preventing the tragedy in Newtown from happening again; focus on issues like energy and immigration reform and all the things that will really make a determination as to whether our country grows over the next four years, 10 years, 40 years. 让我们有时间专注于防止纽敦悲剧再次发生这样的事情；专注于能源和移民改革等问题，以及所有真正决定我们国家在未来四年、十年、四十年是否增长的事情。
And if you just pull back from the immediate political battles, if you kind of peel off the partisan war paint, then we should be able to get something done. 如果你从眼前的政治斗争中退一步，如果你剥去党派战争的伪装，那么我们应该能够完成一些事情。
And I think the Speaker would like to get that done. I think an environment needs to be created within not just the House Republican caucus, but also among Senate Republicans that say, the campaign is over and let's see if we can do what's right for the country -- at least for the next month. And then we can reengage in all the other battles that they'll want to fight. 我认为议长也想完成这件事。我认为不仅需要在众议院共和党党团内部，也需要在参议院共和党人中创造一种环境，说竞选已经结束了，让我们看看能不能做对国家有利的事——至少在下个月。然后我们可以重新投入到他们想打的所有其他战役中。
Question: If you don't get it done, Republicans have said they'll try to use the debt limit as a next pressure point. Would you negotiate with them in that context? Question: 如果您没有完成，共和党人说他们会尝试将债务上限作为下一个施压点。您会在那种情况下与他们谈判吗？
President Obama: No. And I've been very clear about this. This is the United States of America, the greatest country on Earth, the world's economic superpower. And the idea that we lurch from crisis to crisis, and every six months, or every nine months, that we threaten not to pay our bills on stuff we've already bought, and default, and ruin the full faith and credit of the United States of America -- that's not how you run a great country. President Obama: 不会。关于这一点我一直非常明确。这是美利坚合众国，地球上最伟大的国家，世界的经济超级大国。每隔六个月或九个月，我们就威胁不支付我们已经购买的东西的账单、违约、毁掉美利坚合众国的完全信用——在危机之间跌跌撞撞的想法——这不是管理一个伟大国家的方式。
So I've put forward a very clear principle: I will not negotiate around the debt ceiling. We're not going to play the same game that we saw happen in 2011 -- which was hugely destructive; hurt our economy; provided more uncertainty to the business community than anything else that happened. 所以我提出了一个非常明确的原则：我不会围绕债务上限进行谈判。我们不会再玩我们在2011年看到的那种游戏——那场游戏具有巨大的破坏性；伤害了我们的经济；给商业界带来的不确定性比任何其他事情都多。
And I'm not alone in this. If you go to Wall Street, including talking to a whole bunch of folks who spent a lot of money trying to beat me, they would say it would be disastrous for us to use the debt ceiling as a cudgel to try to win political points on Capitol Hill. 而且我在这件事上不是孤立的。如果你去华尔街，包括与许多花了大笔钱试图击败我的人交谈，他们会说用债务上限作为大棒来试图在国会山赢取政治分数将是灾难性的。
So we're not going to do that -- which is why I think that part of what I hope over the next couple of days we see is a recognition that there is a way to go ahead and get what it is that you've been fighting for. These guys have been fighting for spending cuts. They can get some very meaningful spending cuts. This would amount to $2 trillion -- $2 trillion -- in spending cuts over the last couple of years. And in exchange, they're getting a little over a trillion dollars in revenue. 所以我们不会那样做——这就是为什么我希望在接下来的几天里我们能看到一种认识，即有一种方式可以继续前进并获得你们一直在争取的东西。这些人一直在为支出削减而战。他们可以获得一些非常有意义的支出削减。这将相当于过去几年两万亿美元——两万亿美元——的支出削减。作为交换，他们将获得略超过一万亿美元的收入。
And that meets the pledge that I made during the campaign, which was $2 to $2.50 of spending cuts for every revenue increase. And that's an approach that I think most Americans think is appropriate. 这符合我在竞选期间做出的承诺，即每增加1美元收入就有2到2.5美元的支出削减。我认为大多数美国人认为这种方式是合适的。
But I will not negotiate around the debt ceiling. We're not going to do that again. 但我不会围绕债务上限进行谈判。我们不会再那样做了。
Question: Sir, may I ask a question about Newtown, please? Question: 先生，请问可以问一个关于纽敦的问题吗？
President Obama: Yes, I've got David Jackson. President Obama: 可以，我让David Jackson提问。
Question: Thank you, Mr. President. Getting back to the gun issue, you alluded to the fact that Washington commissions don't have the greatest reputation in the world. What makes you think this one is going to be different given the passage of time and the political power of gun rights groups like the National Rifle Association? Question: 谢谢您，总统先生。回到枪支问题，您提到华盛顿委员会在世界上没有最好的声誉。鉴于时间的推移和全国步枪协会等枪支权利团体的政治影响力，您凭什么认为这次会有所不同？
President Obama: Well, this is not going to be a commission. Joe is going to gather up some key Cabinet members who have an interest in this issue. We're going to reach out to a bunch of stakeholders. We're going to be reaching out to members of Congress who have an interest in this issue. It's not as if we have to start from scratch. There are a whole bunch of proposals that have been thought about, debated, but hopefully also some new ideas in terms of how we deal with this issue. President Obama: 嗯，这不会是一个委员会。Joe将召集一些对这个议题有兴趣的关键内阁成员。我们将联系一批利益相关方。我们将联系对这个议题有兴趣的国会议员。我们并不是要从头开始。已经有很多提案经过了思考和辩论，但希望也有一些关于如何处理这个议题的新想法。
Their task is going to be to sift through every good idea that's out there, and even take a look at some bad ideas before disposing of them, and come up with a concrete set of recommendations in about a month. And I would hope that our memories aren't so short that what we saw in Newtown isn't lingering with us, that we don't remain passionate about it only a month later. 他们的任务将是筛选每一个好的想法，甚至在抛弃一些坏想法之前也要审视它们，并在大约一个月内提出一套具体的建议。我希望我们的记忆不会那么短暂，纽敦发生的事情不会仅仅萦绕我们一个月就消退，我们不会仅仅在一个月后就不再对此充满热情。
And as soon as we get those recommendations, I will be putting forward very specific proposals. I will be talking about them in my State of The Union and we will be working with interested members of Congress to try to get some of them done. 一旦我们收到这些建议，我将提出非常具体的方案。我将在国情咨文中讨论它们，我们将与感兴趣的国会议员合作，努力完成其中一些。
And the idea that we would say this is terrible, this is a tragedy, never again, and we don't have the sustained attention span to be able to get this done over the next several months doesn't make sense. I have more confidence in the American people than that. I have more confidence in the parents, the mothers and fathers that I've been meeting over the last several days all across the country from all political persuasions, including a lot of gun owners, who say, you know what, this time we've got to do things differently. 如果我们说这太可怕了，这是一场悲剧，绝不再发生，但我们却没有持续的注意力来在未来几个月内完成这件事，这种想法是没有道理的。我对美国人民有更大的信心。我对那些我过去几天在全国各地遇到的父母、母亲和父亲们有更大的信心，他们来自各种政治立场，包括许多枪支拥有者，他们说，你知道吗，这一次我们必须以不同的方式做事。
Question: What about the NRA? Question: 全国步枪协会呢？
President Obama: Well, the NRA is an organization that has members who are mothers and fathers. And I would expect that they've been impacted by this as well. And hopefully they'll do some self-reflection. President Obama: 嗯，全国步枪协会是一个拥有母亲和父亲成员的组织。我预计他们也受到了这件事的影响。希望他们会做一些自我反思。
And here's what we know -- that any single gun law can't solve all these problems. We're going to have to look at mental health issues. We're going to have to look at schools. There are going to be a whole range of things that Joe's group looks at. We know that issues of gun safety will be an element of it. And what we've seen over the last 20 years, 15 years, is the sense that anything related to guns is somehow an encroachment on the Second Amendment. 以下是我们所知道的——任何单一的枪支法律都无法解决所有这些问题。我们必须关注心理健康问题。我们必须关注学校。Joe的团队将关注一系列广泛的问题。我们知道枪支安全问题将是其中的一个元素。而在过去20年、15年里，我们看到的是一种观念，即任何与枪支有关的事情都是对第二修正案的某种侵犯。
What we're looking for here is a thoughtful approach that says we can preserve our Second Amendment, we can make sure that responsible gun owners are able to carry out their activities, but that we're going to actually be serious about the safety side of this; that we're going to be serious about making sure that something like Newtown or Aurora doesn't happen again. 我们在这里寻找的是一种深思熟虑的方式，说的是我们可以维护我们的第二修正案，我们可以确保负责任的枪支拥有者能够进行他们的活动，但我们将真正认真对待安全问题；我们将认真确保纽敦或Aurora这样的事情不再发生。
And there is a big chunk of space between what the Second Amendment means and having no rules at all. And that space is what Joe is going to be working on to try to identify where we can find some common ground. 第二修正案的含义和完全没有规则之间存在着很大的空间。那个空间就是Joe将要努力去识别的，看看我们能在哪里找到一些共同点。
So I've got -- I'm going to take one last question. 好了，我要——我要回答最后一个问题。
Go ahead, Jake. 请说，Jake。
Question: It seems to a lot of observers that you made the political calculation in 2008 in your first term and in 2012 not to talk about gun violence. You had your position on renewing the ban on semiautomatic rifles that then-Senator Biden put into place, but you didn't do much about it. This is not the first issue -- the first incident of horrific gun violence of your four years. Where have you been? Question: 在很多观察者看来，您在2008年第一个任期内和2012年做出了政治算计，不去谈论枪支暴力。您对恢复时任参议员Biden实施的半自动步枪禁令有自己的立场，但您没有采取太多行动。这不是您四年任期内第一起——第一起可怕的枪支暴力事件。您之前都在哪里？
President Obama: Well, here's where I've been, Jake. I've been President of the United States dealing with the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, an auto industry on the verge of collapse, two wars. I don't think I've been on vacation. President Obama: 嗯，这就是我一直在哪里，Jake。我一直在当美利坚合众国总统，应对自大萧条以来最严重的经济危机、濒临崩溃的汽车工业、两场战争。我不认为我在度假。
And so I think all of us have to do some reflection on how we prioritize what we do here in Washington. And as I said on Sunday, this should be a wake-up call for all of us to say that if we are not getting right the need to keep our children safe, then nothing else matters. And it's my commitment to make sure that we do everything we can to keep our children safe. 所以我认为我们所有人都需要反思一下我们如何排列在华盛顿所做之事的优先级。正如我星期天所说，这应该是我们所有人的警钟，如果我们没有把保护孩子安全的需求做对，那么其他一切都不重要了。这是我的承诺，确保我们尽一切努力保护我们的孩子安全。
A lot of things go in -- are involved in that, Jake. So making sure they've got decent health care and making sure they've got a good education, making sure that their parents have jobs -- those are all relevant as well. Those aren't just sort of side issues. But there's no doubt that this has to be a central issue. And that's exactly why I'm confident that Joe is going to take this so seriously over the next couple months. 很多事情都牵涉其中，Jake。确保他们有像样的医疗保障，确保他们受到良好的教育，确保他们的父母有工作——这些都是相关的。那些不仅仅是次要问题。但毫无疑问，这必须是一个核心议题。这正是为什么我有信心Joe会在未来几个月认真对待这件事。
All right. Thank you, everybody. 好了。谢谢大家。