Good afternoon, everybody. Have a seat. 大家下午好。请坐。
Today, I had a chance to speak with John Boehner and congratulated Mitch McConnell on becoming the next Senate Majority Leader. And I told them both that I look forward to finishing up this Congress’ business, and then working together for the next two years to advance America’s business. And I very much appreciated Leader McConnell’s words last night about the prospect of working together to deliver for the American people. On Friday, I look forward to hosting the entire Republican and Democratic leadership at the White House to chart a new course forward. 今天，我有机会与约翰·博纳通话，并祝贺米奇·麦康奈尔成为下一任参议院多数党领袖。我告诉他们两位，我期待完成本届国会的工作，然后在未来两年共同努力，推进美国的事业。我非常感谢麦康奈尔领袖昨晚关于携手为美国人民谋福祉的讲话。周五，我期待在白宫接待共和党和民主党全体领导层，共同规划前进的新方向。
Obviously, Republicans had a good night, and they deserve credit for running good campaigns. Beyond that, I’ll leave it to all of you and the professional pundits to pick through yesterday’s results. What stands out to me, though, is that the American people sent a message, one that they’ve sent for several elections now. They expect the people they elect to work as hard as they do. They expect us to focus on their ambitions and not ours. They want us to get the job done. 显然，共和党人度过了美好的一晚，他们竞选活动做得很出色，值得肯定。除此之外，我会让你们各位和专业评论人士去分析昨天的选举结果。不过，让我印象深刻的是，美国人民传递了一个信息——一个他们已经在几次选举中传递过的信息。他们期望自己选出的人像他们一样努力工作。他们期望我们关注他们的抱负，而不是我们自己的抱负。他们希望我们把工作做好。
All of us, in both parties, have a responsibility to address that sentiment. Still, as President, I have a unique responsibility to try and make this town work. So, to everyone who voted, I want you to know that I hear you. To the two-thirds of voters who chose not to participate in the process yesterday, I hear you, too. All of us have to give more Americans a reason to feel like the ground is stable beneath their feet, that the future is secure, that there’s a path for young people to succeed, and that folks here in Washington are concerned about them. 我们所有人，无论哪个政党，都有责任回应这种情绪。不过，作为总统，我肩负着独特的责任，要努力让这座城市运转起来。所以，我想让每一位投票的人知道，我听到了你们的声音。我也想让昨天选择不参与投票的三分之二选民知道，我同样听到了你们的声音。我们所有人都必须让更多美国人有理由感到脚下的土地是稳固的，未来是安全的，年轻人有成功的道路，华盛顿的人们关心他们。
So I plan on spending every moment of the next two-plus years doing my job the best I can to keep this country safe and to make sure that more Americans share in its prosperity. 因此，我计划在未来两年多的时间里，尽我所能做好我的工作，保护这个国家的安全，确保更多美国人共享国家的繁荣。
This country has made real progress since the crisis six years ago. The fact is more Americans are working; unemployment has come down. More Americans have health insurance. Manufacturing has grown. Our deficits have shrunk. Our dependence on foreign oil is down, as are gas prices. Our graduation rates are up. Our businesses aren’t just creating jobs at the fastest pace since the 1990s, our economy is outpacing most of the world. But we’ve just got to keep at it until every American feels the gains of a growing economy where it matters most, and that's in their own lives. 自六年前的危机以来，这个国家取得了实实在在的进展。事实是，更多美国人有了工作；失业率已经下降。更多美国人有了医疗保险。制造业增长了。我们的赤字缩小了。我们对外国石油的依赖下降了，汽油价格也下降了。我们的毕业率上升了。我们的企业不仅以自上世纪90年代以来最快的速度创造就业机会，我们的经济也超过了世界上大多数国家。但我们必须继续努力，直到每一个美国人都能感受到经济增长带来的好处——最重要的是在他们自己的生活中。
Obviously, much of that will take action from Congress. And I’m eager to work with the new Congress to make the next two years as productive as possible. I'm committed to making sure that I measure ideas not by whether they are from Democrats or Republicans, but whether they work for the American people. And that’s not to say that we won’t disagree over some issues that we’re passionate about. We will. Congress will pass some bills I cannot sign. I'm pretty sure I'll take some actions that some in Congress will not like. That’s natural. That's how our democracy works. 显然，其中很大一部分需要国会采取行动。我渴望与新国会合作，让未来两年尽可能富有成效。我致力于确保我衡量一个想法的标准不是它来自民主党还是共和党，而是它是否对美国人民有效。这并不是说我们不会在一些我们充满热情的问题上产生分歧。我们会的。国会会通过一些我无法签署的法案。我很确定我会采取一些国会议员不喜欢的行动。这很自然。这就是我们民主的运作方式。
But we can surely find ways to work together on issues where there’s broad agreement among the American people. 但我们肯定能在那些美国人民广泛认同的问题上找到合作的方式。
So I look forward to Republicans putting forward their governing agenda. I will offer my ideas on areas where I think we can move together to respond to people’s economic needs. 因此，我期待共和党人提出他们的施政议程。我将在我认为我们可以共同推进以回应人民经济需求的领域提出我的想法。
So, just take one example. We all agree on the need to create more jobs that pay well. Traditionally, both parties have been for creating jobs rebuilding our infrastructure -- our roads, bridges, ports, waterways. I think we can hone in on a way to pay for it through tax reform that closes loopholes and makes it more attractive for companies to create jobs here in the United States. 举个例子。我们都同意需要创造更多高薪工作。传统上，两党都支持通过重建我们的基础设施——我们的道路、桥梁、港口、水道——来创造就业机会。我认为我们可以通过税收改革来找到一种支付方式，关闭漏洞，让公司更愿意在美国创造就业机会。
We can also work together to grow our exports and open new markets for our manufacturers to sell more American-made goods to the rest of the world. That's something I’ll be focused on when I travel to Asia next week. 我们还可以共同努力扩大出口，为我们的制造商打开新市场，向世界其他地区销售更多美国制造的商品。这是我下周访问亚洲时将关注的重点。
We all share the same aspirations for our young people. And I was encouraged that this year Republicans agreed to investments that expanded early childhood education. I think we've got a chance to do more on that front. We’ve got some common ideas to help more young people afford college and graduate without crippling debt so that they have the freedom to fill the good jobs of tomorrow and buy their first homes and start a family. 我们对年轻人有着共同的期望。令我鼓舞的是，今年共和党人同意了扩大幼儿教育的投资。我认为我们在这方面有机会做得更多。我们有一些共同的想法来帮助更多年轻人负担得起大学费用，毕业时不背负沉重的债务，这样他们就有自由去从事未来的好工作，购买他们的第一套房子，组建家庭。
And in the five states where a minimum wage increase was on the ballot last night, voters went five for five to increase it. That will give about 325,000 Americans a raise in states where Republican candidates prevailed. So that should give us new reason to get it done for everybody, with a national increase in the minimum wage. 在昨晚有五个州就提高最低工资进行公投的州，选民们五票全票通过了提高最低工资。这将在共和党候选人获胜的州为大约32.5万美国人加薪。因此，这应该给我们新的理由，通过全国性提高最低工资来为每个人实现这一目标。
So those are some areas where I think we've got some real opportunities to cooperate. And I am very eager to hear Republican ideas for what they think we can do together over the next couple of years. Of course, there’s still business on the docket that needs attention this year. And here are three places where I think we can work together over the next several weeks, before this Congress wraps up for the holidays. 这些是我认为我们有真正合作机会的领域。我非常渴望听到共和党人的想法，了解他们认为我们在未来几年可以共同做些什么。当然，今年仍有一些待办事项需要关注。我认为有三个方面我们可以在未来几周、在本届国会休会过节之前共同努力。
First, I’m submitting a request to Congress for funding to ensure that our doctors, scientists, and troops have the resources that they need to combat the spread of Ebola in Africa and to increase our preparedness for any future cases here at home. 首先，我正在向国会提交一项资金请求，以确保我们的医生、科学家和军队拥有所需的资源，来抗击埃博拉在非洲的蔓延，并提高我们对未来国内任何病例的防备能力。
Second, I'm going to begin engaging Congress over a new Authorization to Use Military Force against ISIL. The world needs to know we are united behind this effort, and the men and women of our military deserve our clear and unified support. 其次，我将开始与国会就一项新的针对"伊斯兰国"的军事力量授权进行接触。世界需要知道我们在这一努力上团结一致，我们的男女军人值得我们明确和统一的支持。
Third, back in September, Congress passed short-term legislation to keep the government open and operating into December. That gives Congress five weeks to pass a budget for the rest of the fiscal year. And I hope that they’ll do it in the same bipartisan, drama-free way that they did earlier this year. When our companies are steadily creating jobs -- which they are -- we don’t want to inject any new uncertainty into the world economy and to the American economy. 第三，早在9月份，国会通过了短期立法，让政府持续运作到12月。这给了国会五周时间来通过本财年剩余时间的预算。我希望他们能像今年早些时候那样，以同样的两党合作、没有戏剧性的方式来完成。当我们的企业在稳定创造就业机会时——它们确实在这样做——我们不想给世界经济和美国经济注入任何新的不确定性。
The point is it’s time for us to take care of business. There are things this country has to do that can’t wait another two years or another four years. There are plans this country has to put in place for our future. 关键是，是时候处理正事了。这个国家有一些不能再等两年或四年的事情要做。这个国家有一些必须为我们的未来制定的计划。
And the truth is I’m optimistic about our future. I have good reason to be. I meet Americans all across the country who are determined, and big-hearted, and ask what they can do, and never give up, and overcome obstacles. And they inspire me every single day. So the fact is I still believe in what I said when I was first elected six years ago last night. For all the maps plastered across our TV screens today, and for all the cynics who say otherwise, I continue to believe we are simply more than just a collection of red and blue states. We are the United States. 事实上，我对我们的未来持乐观态度。我有充分的理由这样认为。我在全国各地遇到的美国人都是坚定的、心胸宽广的，他们问自己能做些什么，从不放弃，克服重重障碍。他们每一天都在激励着我。所以事实是，我仍然相信六年前的昨晚我第一次当选时所说的话。尽管今天我们的电视屏幕上贴满了各种选情地图，尽管所有愤世嫉俗者都不这么认为，我仍然相信我们不仅仅是红色州和蓝色州的集合。我们是美利坚合众国。
And whether it's immigration or climate change, or making sure our kids are going to the best possible schools, to making sure that our communities are creating jobs; whether it's stopping the spread of terror and disease, to opening up doors of opportunity to everybody who’s willing to work hard and take responsibility -- the United States has big things to do. We can and we will make progress if we do it together. And I look forward to the work ahead. 无论是移民还是气候变化，无论是确保我们的孩子能上最好的学校，还是确保我们的社区在创造就业机会；无论是阻止恐怖主义和疾病的蔓延，还是为每一个愿意努力工作和承担责任的人打开机会之门——美国都有伟大的事情要做。如果我们共同努力，我们能够并且将会取得进展。我期待着前方的工作。
So, with that, let me take some questions. I think that our team has got my list. And we're going to start with Julie Pace at Associated Press. 好的，下面我来回答一些问题。我想我们的团队已经准备好了名单。我们从美联社的朱莉·佩斯开始。
Question: Thank you, Mr. President. You said during this election that while your name wasn’t on the ballot, your policies were. And despite the optimism that you’re expressing here, last night was a devastating night for your party. Given that, do you feel any responsibility to recalibrate your agenda for the next two years? And what changes do you need to make in your White House and in your dealings with Republicans in order to address the concerns that voters expressed with your administration? 问：谢谢您，总统先生。您在这次选举期间说过，虽然您的名字不在选票上，但您的政策在选票上。尽管您在这里表达了乐观态度，昨晚对您的政党来说是一个毁灭性的夜晚。鉴于此，您是否觉得有责任在未来两年重新调整您的议程？您需要在白宫以及与共和党人的交往中做出哪些改变，以解决选民对您政府表达的担忧？
President Obama: Well, as I said in my opening remarks, the American people overwhelmingly believe that this town doesn’t work well and that it is not attentive to their needs. And as President, they, rightly, hold me accountable to do more to make it work properly. I’m the guy who’s elected by everybody, not just from a particular state or a particular district. And they want me to push hard to close some of these divisions, break through some of the gridlock, and get stuff done. So the most important thing I can do is just get stuff done, and help Congress get some things done. 奥巴马总统：正如我在开场白中所说，美国人民绝大多数认为这座城市运转不佳，而且没有关注他们的需求。作为总统，他们理所当然地要求我承担更多责任，让它正常运转。我是由所有人选举产生的，而不仅仅是来自某个特定州或特定选区。他们希望我努力推动弥合一些分歧，打破一些僵局，把事情做成。所以我能做的最重要的事情就是把事情做成，帮助国会做成一些事情。
In terms of agenda items, though, Julie, if you look, as I just mentioned, to a minimum wage increase, for example, that’s something I talked about a lot during the campaign. Where voters had a chance to vote directly on that agenda item, they voted for it. And so I think it would be hard to suggest that people aren’t supportive of it. We know that the surveys consistently say they want to see that happen. 不过，关于议程项目，朱莉，正如我刚才提到的，比如提高最低工资，这是我在竞选期间经常谈论的事情。当选民有机会直接对这个议程项目投票时，他们投了赞成票。所以我认为很难说人们不支持它。我们知道调查一致显示他们希望看到这一点。
The key is to find areas where the agenda that I’ve put forward, one that I believe will help strengthen the middle class and create more ladders of opportunity into the middle class, and improve our schools, and make college more affordable to more young people, and make sure that we’re growing faster as an economy and we stay competitive -- the key is to make sure that those ideas that I have overlap somewhere with some of the ideas that Republicans have. 关键是要找到我提出的议程——我相信这将有助于加强中产阶级，创造更多进入中产阶级的阶梯，改善我们的学校，让更多年轻人负担得起大学费用，确保我们的经济增长更快并保持竞争力——与共和党人一些想法的重叠之处。
There’s not going to be perfect overlap. I mean, there are going to be some ideas that I’ve got that I think the evidence backs up would be good for the economy; and Republicans disagree. They’re not going to support those ideas. But I’m going to keep on arguing for them because I think they’re the right thing for the country to do. There are going to be some ideas that they’ve got that they believe will improve the economy or create jobs that, from my perspective, isn’t going to help middle-class families improve their economic situation, so I probably won’t support theirs. 不会有完美的重叠。我的意思是，我有一些我认为有证据支持、对经济有益的想法；而共和党人不同意。他们不会支持这些想法。但我会继续为它们辩护，因为我认为它们对国家来说是正确的事情。他们也有一些他们认为会改善经济或创造就业的想法，但在我看来，这些想法不会帮助中产阶级家庭改善他们的经济状况，所以我可能不会支持他们的想法。
But I do think there are going to be areas where we do agree -- on infrastructure, on making sure that we’re boosting American exports. And part of my task then is to reach out to Republicans, make sure that I’m listening to them. I’m looking forward to them putting forward a very specific agenda in terms of what they would like to accomplish. Let’s compare notes in terms of what I’m looking at and what they’re looking at, and let’s get started on those things where we agree. Even if we don’t agree 100 percent, let’s get started on those things where we agree 70, 80, 90 percent. 但我确实认为会有我们达成一致的领域——在基础设施上，在确保我们促进美国出口上。然后我的部分任务就是与共和党人接触，确保我在倾听他们的意见。我期待他们就想要完成的事情提出一个非常具体的议程。让我们就我关注的和他们关注的交换意见，然后让我们从那些我们达成一致的事情开始。即使我们不是百分之百一致，让我们从那些我们有百分之七十、八十、九十一致的事情开始。
And if we can do that, and build up some trust and improve how processes work in Washington, then I think that’s going to give the American people a little bit more confidence that, in fact, their government is looking after them. 如果我们能做到这一点，建立一些信任，改善华盛顿的运作方式，那么我认为这将给美国人民多一点信心，让他们相信事实上他们的政府在照顾他们。
Question: But is there anything specific that you feel like you and your administration need to change given this disastrous election for your party and the message that voters sent? 问：但是，鉴于这次对您的政党来说灾难性的选举以及选民传递的信息，您觉得您和您的政府有什么具体需要改变的吗？
President Obama: Julie, I think every single day I’m looking for, how can we do what we need to do better. Whether that is delivering basic services the government provides to the American people; whether that is our capacity to work with Congress so that they’re passing legislation; whether it’s how we communicate with the American people about what our priorities and vision is -- we are constantly asking ourselves questions about how do we make sure that we’re doing a better job. And that’s not going to stop. 奥巴马总统：朱莉，我认为每一天我都在寻找，我们怎样才能把需要做的事情做得更好。无论是政府向美国人民提供的基本服务；无论是我们与国会合作的能力，以便他们通过立法；还是我们如何与美国人民沟通我们的优先事项和愿景——我们都在不断问自己，如何确保我们做得更好。这不会停止。
I think that every election is a moment for reflection, and I think that everybody in this White House is going to look and say, all right, what do we need to do differently. 我认为每一次选举都是反思的时刻，我认为白宫里的每个人都会审视并说，好吧，我们需要做些什么不同的事情。
But the principles that we’re fighting for, the things that motivate me every single day and motivate my staff every day -- those things aren’t going to change. There’s going to be a consistent focus on how do we deliver more opportunity to more people in this country; how do we grow the economy faster; how do we put more people back to work. 但我们为之奋斗的原则，那些每天激励我和我的团队的东西——这些不会改变。我们将持续关注如何为这个国家的更多人提供更多机会；如何让经济更快增长；如何让更多人重返工作岗位。
And I maybe have a naïve confidence that if we continue to focus on the American people, and not on our own ambitions or image or various concerns like that, that at the end of the day, when I look back, I’m going to be able to say the American people are better off than they were before I was President. And that’s my most important goal. 我或许有一种天真的信心，就是如果我们继续关注美国人民，而不是我们自己的野心、形象或诸如此类的各种担忧，那么最终，当我回首往事时，我将能够说，美国人民比我就任总统前过得更好了。这是我最重要的目标。
But the other thing I just want to emphasize is I’m -- I’ve said this before, I want to reiterate it -- if there are ideas that the Republicans have that I have confidence will make things better for ordinary Americans, the fact that the Republicans suggesting it as opposed to a Democrat, that will be irrelevant to me. I want to just see what works. 但我还想强调的另一件事是——我以前说过，我想重申——如果共和党人有一些想法，我有信心能让普通美国人的生活变得更好，那么不管是共和党人还是民主党人提出的，对我来说都无关紧要。我只想看什么有效。
And there are some things like rebuilding our infrastructure or early childhood education that we know works. And I’m hoping that the kind of attitude and approach that Mitch McConnell and John Boehner have already expressed, their desire to get things done, allows us to find some common ground. 有些事情，比如重建我们的基础设施或学前教育，我们知道是有效的。我希望米奇·麦康奈尔和约翰·博纳已经表达出的那种态度和方式，他们想要做成事情的意愿，能让我们找到一些共同点。
Jeff Mason. 杰夫·梅森。
Question: Thank you, Mr. President. In 2010, you called the result of the midterm election “a shellacking.” What do you call this? And can you give us an update on your feelings about the immigration executive order in the result -- in the aftermath of this election? Does the election affect your plans to release it? Will it still -- is it likely to come out before the lame duck session is over? And have you reduced its scope to just a couple million people? 问：谢谢您，总统先生。2010年，您称中期选举结果为"一场惨败"。这次您怎么称呼？另外，您能否介绍一下在选举结果出来后，您对移民行政命令的看法——选举是否影响了您发布它的计划？它是否还会——是否有可能在跛脚鸭会期结束前出台？您是否已经将范围缩小到仅覆盖几百万人？
President Obama: Well, as I said in my opening statement, there’s no doubt that Republicans had a good night. And what we’re going to make sure that we do is to reach out to Mitch McConnell and John Boehner, who are now running both chambers in Congress, and find out what their agenda is. And my hope is, is that they’ve got some specific things they want to do that correspond with some things that we want to get done. 奥巴马总统：正如我在开场白中所说，毫无疑问，共和党人度过了美好的一晚。我们要做的是与米奇·麦康奈尔和约翰·博纳接触——他们现在掌管着国会两院——了解他们的议程是什么。我的希望是，他们有一些具体想做的事情，正好与我们想要完成的事情相契合。
What’s most important to the American people right now, the resounding message not just of this election, but basically the last several is: Get stuff done. Don't worry about the next election. Don't worry about party affiliation. Do worry about our concerns. Worry about the fact that I’m a single mom, and at the end of the month it’s really hard for me to pay the bills, in part because I’ve got these huge child care costs. 对美国人民来说现在最重要的，不仅是这次选举，而且基本上是过去几次选举传递出的响亮信息是：把事情做成。不要担心下一次选举。不要担心党派归属。要担心我们的关切。担心这样一个事实：我是一个单身母亲，月底时付账单真的很困难，部分原因是我要支付巨额的托儿费用。
Do worry about the fact that I’m a young person who’s qualified to go to college, but I’m really worried about taking $50,000 a year out in debt and I don't know how I’d pay that back. 要担心这样一个事实：我是一个有资格上大学的年轻人，但我真的很担心每年要背负五万美元的债务，我不知道该怎么偿还。
Do worry about the fact that I’m a construction worker who has been working all my life, and I know that there’s construction work that should be done, but right now, for some reason, projects are stalled. 要担心这样一个事实：我是一名建筑工人，一辈子都在工作，我知道有建筑工程需要做，但不知什么原因，项目现在都停滞了。
If we're thinking about those folks I think we're, hopefully, going to be able to get some stuff done. 如果我们想着这些人，我想我们有望能够做成一些事情。
In terms of immigration, I have consistently said that it is my profound preference and interest to see Congress act on a comprehensive immigration reform bill that would strengthen our borders; would streamline our legal immigration system so that it works better and we're attracting the best and the brightest from around the world; 在移民问题上，我一直表示，我非常希望并感兴趣看到国会通过一项全面移民改革法案，以加强我们的边境；简化我们的合法移民系统，使其更好地运作，吸引世界各地最优秀、最聪明的人才；
and that we give an opportunity for folks who’ve lived here, in many cases, for a very long time, may have kids who are U.S. citizens, but aren’t properly documented -- give them a chance to pay their back taxes, get in the back of the line, but get through a process that allows them to get legal. 并且给那些在这里生活了很长时间、很多人的孩子可能是美国公民、但没有合法身份的人一个机会——让他们有机会补缴税款，排队等候，但通过一个程序让他们获得合法身份。
The Senate, on a bipartisan basis, passed a good bill. It wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t exactly what I wanted, but it was a sound, smart, piece of legislation that really would greatly improve not just our immigration system but our economy, and would improve business conditions here in the United States -- and make sure that American-born workers aren’t undercut by workers who are undocumented and aren’t always paid a fair wage and, as a consequence, employers who are breaking the rules are able to undercut folks who are doing the right thing. 参议院以两党为基础通过了一项很好的法案。它并不完美，不完全是我想要的，但它是一项健全、明智的立法，不仅会极大地改善我们的移民系统，还会改善我们的经济，改善美国的商业环境——并确保美国本土工人不会被那些无证工人压低工资，因为无证工人并不总能得到公平的工资，因此，违规的雇主能够压低那些守法者的工资。
So we got a bipartisan bill out of the Senate. I asked John Boehner at that point, can we pass this through the House? There’s a majority of votes in the House to get this passed. And Speaker Boehner I think was sincere about wanting to pass it, but had difficulty over the last year trying to get it done. 所以我们从参议院得到了一项两党法案。我当时问约翰·博纳，我们能不能在众议院通过它？众议院有多数票可以通过这项法案。我认为博纳议长想要通过它是真诚的，但在过去一年里他很难把这件事做成。
So when he finally told me he wasn’t going to call it up this year, what I indicated to him is I feel obliged to do everything I can lawfully with my executive authority to make sure that we don't keep on making the system worse, but that whatever executive actions that I take will be replaced and supplanted by action by Congress. You send me a bill that I can sign, and those executive actions go away. 所以当他最终告诉我他今年不会把它提上议程时，我向他表示，我觉得我有义务尽我所能合法地行使我的行政权力，确保我们不会让系统继续恶化，但我采取的任何行政行动都将被国会的行动所取代。你给我送来我能签署的法案，那些行政行动就会取消。
That's a commitment I made not just to the American people -- and to businesses and the evangelical community and the law enforcement folks and everybody who’s looked at this issue and thinks that we need immigration reform -- that's a commitment that I also made to John Boehner, that I would act in the absence of action by Congress. 这是我不仅对美国人民作出的承诺——也是对企业界、福音派社区、执法人员以及所有关注这个问题、认为我们需要移民改革的人作出的承诺——这也是我对约翰·博纳作出的承诺，即在国会不采取行动的情况下我会采取行动。
So before the end of the year, we're going to take whatever lawful actions that I can take that I believe will improve the functioning of our immigration system that will allow us to surge additional resources to the border, where I think the vast majority of Americans have the deepest concern. And at the same time, I’ll be reaching out to both Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, and other Republican as well as Democratic leaders to find out how it is that they want to proceed. 因此，在今年年底之前，我们将采取一切我能采取的合法行动，我相信这些行动将改善我们移民系统的运作，让我们能够向边境增派更多资源——我认为绝大多数美国人最关心的就是边境问题。与此同时，我将与米奇·麦康奈尔、约翰·博纳以及其他共和党和民主党领导人接触，了解他们希望如何推进。
And if they want to get a bill done -- whether it’s during the lame duck or next year -- I'm eager to see what they have to offer. 如果他们想要通过一项法案——无论是在跛脚鸭会期还是明年——我都渴望看到他们的提议。
But what I’m not going to do is just wait. I think it’s fair to say that I’ve shown a lot of patience and have tried to work on a bipartisan basis as much as possible, and I’m going to keep on doing so. But in the meantime, let’s figure out what we can do lawfully through executive actions to improve the functioning of the existing system. 但我不会只是等待。我认为可以公平地说，我已经表现出了极大的耐心，并尽可能地尝试以两党合作的方式来处理，我将继续这样做。但与此同时，让我们看看我们可以通过行政行动合法地做些什么来改善现有系统的运作。
Question: How will you make sure that that executive action has teeth if Republicans try to block it by blocking funding? And can you give us a sense of whether or not you're thinking about -- 问：您如何确保如果共和党人试图通过阻止资金来阻止它，这项行政行动仍然有效力？您能否告诉我们您是否在考虑——
President Obama: Jeff, I think if you want to get into the details of it, I suspect that when I announce that executive action, it will be rife with detail. And I’m sure there will be a lot of follow-up questions. 奥巴马总统：杰夫，我想如果你想了解细节，我估计当我宣布那项行政行动时，会充满细节。我相信届时会有很多后续问题。
Chris Jansing. 克里斯·詹辛。
Question: Thank you, Mr. President. I want to follow up on a couple of things and start with immigration. And are you concerned that if you sign an executive order on immigration before the end of the year it will scuttle whatever chances there may be for there to be some sort of compromise on the issues that you talked about? And I wonder that, given this unhappy electorate, clearly, and they seem to be disappointed with both sides pretty much, why they punished the Democrats more than the Republicans by far. 问：谢谢您，总统先生。我想跟进几个问题，先从移民开始。您是否担心，如果您在年底前签署移民行政命令，会破坏您提到的那些问题上达成妥协的任何可能性？我想知道，鉴于选民显然不满意，而且他们似乎对双方都相当失望，为什么他们惩罚民主党人的程度远远超过共和党人？
President Obama: Well, as I said, when it comes to the political analysis, that’s your job. But what is also true is I am the President of the United States, and I think, understandably, people are going to ask for greater accountability and more responsibility from me than from anybody else in this town. Appropriately so, and I welcome that. And the commitment that I will make to the American people and the way I’ve tried to conduct myself throughout this presidency is that I’m going to wake up every single day doing my absolute best to deliver for them. 奥巴马总统：正如我所说，说到政治分析，那是你们的工作。但同样真实的是，我是美国总统，我认为，人们理所当然地会要求我承担比这座城市里其他任何人更大的责任和更多的义务。理应如此，我也欢迎这一点。我将对美国人民作出的承诺，以及我在整个总统任期内努力行事的方式，就是我每天醒来都会尽我最大努力为他们服务。
And there are areas where we’ve made real progress. I think economically, I can look back and there is no doubt that almost -- on almost every measure, we are better off economically than we were when I took office. But what is also true is there are still a lot of folks out there who are anxious and are hurting and are having trouble making ends meet, or are worried about their children’s future. And it’s my job to give them some confidence that this town can work to respond to some of those worries that folks have. 在一些领域，我们已经取得了实实在在的进展。我认为在经济上，我可以回顾过去，几乎在每一项指标上，我们的经济状况都比我上任时要好。但同样真实的是，仍然有很多人感到焦虑，受到伤害，难以维持生计，或者担心他们孩子的未来。我的工作是给他们一些信心，让他们相信这座城市能够回应人们的一些担忧。
And we haven’t done a good enough job convincing them of that. And I understand that. They’ve been watching Washington over the last two, four years. What they’ve seen is a lot of arguing and a lot of gridlock, but not a lot of concrete actions, at least legislatively, that have made a difference in their lives. And so we’ve got to make sure that we do a better job, and I’m committed to doing that. 我们在说服他们这一点上做得还不够好。我理解这一点。他们在过去两年、四年里一直在观察华盛顿。他们看到的是大量的争吵和僵局，但没有多少具体行动，至少在立法层面没有多少能改变他们生活的行动。所以我们必须确保我们做得更好，我承诺会做到这一点。
On immigration, I know that concerns have been expressed that, well, if you do something through executive actions, even if it’s within your own authorities, that that will make it harder to pass immigration reform. I just have to remind everybody I’ve heard that argument now for a couple of years. This is an issue I actually wanted to get done in my first term, and we didn’t see legislative action. And in my second term, I made it my top legislative priority, and we got really good work done by a bipartisan group of senators, but it froze up in the House. 在移民问题上，我知道有人表示担忧，即如果你通过行政行动做一些事情，即使是在你自己的权限范围内，也会让通过移民改革变得更加困难。我只想提醒大家，我已经听这个论点听了好几年了。这个问题实际上我想在第一任期内就完成，但我们没有看到立法行动。在我的第二任期，我把它作为我的首要立法优先事项，我们让一个两党参议员小组做了非常好的工作，但它在众议院被冻结了。
And I think that the best way if folks are serious about getting immigration reform done is going ahead and passing a bill and getting it to my desk. And then the executive actions that I take go away. They’re superseded by the law that has passed. 我认为，如果人们真的想完成移民改革，最好的办法就是通过一项法案并送到我的办公桌上。这样我采取的行政行动就会取消。它们将被已通过的法律所取代。
And I will engage any member of Congress who’s interested in this in how we can shape legislation that will be a significant improvement over the existing system. But what we can’t do is just keep on waiting. There is a cost to waiting. There’s a cost to our economy. It means that resources are misallocated. 我将与任何对此感兴趣的国会议员接触，探讨我们如何制定立法，使其比现有系统有重大改进。但我们不能只是继续等待。等待是有代价的。我们的经济要付出代价。这意味着资源被错误配置了。
When the issue of unaccompanied children cropped up during this summer, there was a lot of folks who perceived this as a major crisis in our immigration system. Now, the fact is, is that those numbers have now come down and they’re approximately where they were a year ago or two years ago or a year before that. But it did identify a real problem in a certain portion of the border where we got to get more resources. 当今年夏天出现无人陪伴儿童的问题时，有很多人认为这是我们移民系统的一场重大危机。现在，事实是，这些数字已经下降，大约与一年前、两年前或更早的时候持平。但它确实暴露了边境某一地区的一个真正问题，我们需要在那里获得更多资源。
But those resources may be misallocated, separating families right now that most of us, most Americans would say probably we’d rather have them just pay their back taxes, pay a fine, learn English, get to the back of the line, but we’ll give you a pathway where you can be legal in this country. 但这些资源可能被错误配置了，现在正在拆散家庭——我们大多数人，大多数美国人会说，我们宁愿让他们补缴税款、缴纳罚款、学习英语、排队等候，但我们会给你一条途径，让你在这个国家合法居住。
So where I’ve got executive authorities to do that, we should get started on that. But I want to emphasize once again, if, in fact, Republican leadership wants to see an immigration bill passed, they now have the capacity to pass it. And hopefully engaging with me and Democrats in both the House and the Senate, it’s a bill that I can sign because it addresses the real concerns that are out there. And the sooner they do it, from my perspective, the better. 因此，在我有行政权力做到这一点的地方，我们应该开始行动。但我想再次强调，如果共和党领导层真的希望看到一项移民法案获得通过，他们现在有能力通过它。希望他们能与我以及参众两院的民主党人合作，达成一项我可以签署的法案，因为它解决了现实存在的关切。在我看来，他们越早做这件事越好。
Jonathan Karl. 乔纳森·卡尔。
Question: Thank you, Mr. President. Mitch McConnell has been the Republican Leader for six years, as long as you’ve been President. But his office tells me that he has only met with you one-on-one once or twice during that entire six-year period. So I’m wondering, as somebody who came to Washington promising to end the hyper-partisanship that was here long before you became President but has gotten worse since you got here, was it a mistake for you to do so little to develop relationships with Republicans in Congress? 问：谢谢您，总统先生。米奇·麦康奈尔担任共和党领袖已有六年，和您担任总统的时间一样长。但他的办公室告诉我，在整整六年时间里，他只与您单独会见过一两次。所以我想知道，作为一个来到华盛顿承诺结束极端党派对立的人——这种对立在您上任前就存在，但在您上任后变得更糟了——您是否认为您在与国会共和党人建立关系方面做得太少是一个错误？
President Obama: I think that every day I’m asking myself, are there some things I can do better. And I’m going to keep on asking that every single day. The fact is that most of my interactions with members of Congress have been cordial and they’ve been constructive. Oftentimes, though, we just haven’t been able to actually get what’s discussed in a leadership meeting through caucuses in the House and the Senate to deliver a bill. 奥巴马总统：我认为我每天都在问自己，有没有什么事情我可以做得更好。我会每天都继续问自己这个问题。事实是，我与国会议员的大多数互动都是友好的，也是有建设性的。不过，通常情况下，我们只是无法真正将领导层会议上讨论的内容通过参众两院的党团会议来达成法案。
The good news is that now Mitch McConnell and John Boehner are from the same party; I think they can come together and decide what their agenda is. They’ve got sufficient majorities to make real progress on some of these issues. And I’m certainly going to be spending a lot more time with them now because that’s the only way that we’re going to be able to get some stuff done. 好消息是，现在米奇·麦康奈尔和约翰·博纳来自同一个政党；我认为他们可以共同决定他们的议程是什么。他们有足够的多数席位，可以在其中一些问题上取得真正的进展。我肯定会花更多时间与他们相处，因为这是我们能够做成一些事情的唯一途径。
And I take them at their word that they want to produce. They’re in the majority; they need to present their agenda. I need to put forward my best ideas. I think the American people are going to be able to watch us and they’re paying attention to see whether or not we’re serious about actually compromising and being constructive. And my commitment to them -- and I’ve said this when I spoke to them -- is, is that anywhere where we can find common ground, I’m eager to pursue it. 我相信他们想要做出成绩的承诺。他们是多数党；他们需要提出他们的议程。我需要提出我最好的想法。我认为美国人民将能够观察我们，他们会关注我们是否真的在认真对待妥协和建设性。我对他们的承诺——我在与他们交谈时也说过——就是，在任何我们能找到共同点的地方，我都渴望去推进。
Question: Are you going to have that drink with Mitch McConnell now that you joked about at the White House Correspondents Dinner? 问：您现在要和米奇·麦康奈尔喝一杯吗？就像您在白宫记者协会晚宴上开玩笑说的那样？
President Obama: You know, actually, I would enjoy having some Kentucky bourbon with Mitch McConnell. I don’t know what his preferred drink is, but -- my interactions with Mitch McConnell, he has always been very straightforward with me. To his credit, he has never made a promise that he couldn’t deliver. And he knows the legislative process well. He obviously knows his caucus well -- he has always given me, I think, realistic assessments of what he can get through his caucus and what he can’t. And so I think we can have a productive relationship. 奥巴马总统：你知道吗，实际上，我很乐意和米奇·麦康奈尔一起喝点肯塔基波本威士忌。我不知道他喜欢喝什么，但是——我与米奇·麦康奈尔的交往中，他对我一直非常坦率。值得称赞的是，他从不承诺他做不到的事情。他非常了解立法程序。他显然非常了解他的党团——他总是给我，我认为，关于他能让他的党团通过什么、不能通过什么的现实评估。所以我认为我们可以建立一种富有成效的关系。
Phil Mattingly. 菲尔·马丁利。
Question: Thank you, Mr. President. Another deadline coming up is your negotiators by November 24th have to figure out if they’re going to reach a deal with Iran on a nuclear area, a nuclear agreement. I’m interested what your current perspective is on how those negotiations are going. Also if it is your feeling that you have the power to implement any type of agreement that's reached without any action from Congress? And then, also I just wanted to quickly touch on the AUMF that you mentioned earlier. 问：谢谢您，总统先生。另一个即将到来的截止日期是，您的谈判代表必须在11月24日前弄清楚他们是否会与伊朗达成核领域的协议。我想了解您目前对这些谈判进展的看法。还有，您是否认为您有权在没有国会采取任何行动的情况下实施任何达成的协议？另外，我想快速谈谈您刚才提到的军事力量授权（AUMF）。
Is that going to be more of a codification of the limits that you've put in place for the mission up to this point? Or what should we be looking for on that when you send it to the Hill? Thank you. 它会更多地是对您到目前为止为任务设定的限制的一种编纂吗？或者当您把它送到国会山时，我们应该期待什么？谢谢。
President Obama: On the AUMF, the leaders are going to be coming here on Friday. It will be an expanded group, not just the four leaders, but a larger group who all have an interest in the issues we're discussing today. And I’m actually going to invite Lloyd Austin, the CENTCOM Commander, to make a presentation about how our fight against ISIL is proceeding and I think to answer questions and assure that Congress is fully briefed on what we're doing there. 奥巴马总统：关于军事力量授权，领导层周五会来这里。这将是一个扩大的小组，不仅仅是四位领导人，而是一个更大的小组，他们都对我们今天讨论的问题感兴趣。实际上，我将邀请中央司令部司令劳埃德·奥斯汀就我们打击"伊斯兰国"的进展情况做一个介绍，我认为他会回答问题，并确保国会充分了解我们在那里正在做的事情。
With respect to the AUMF, we’ve already had conversations with members of both parties in Congress, and the idea is to right-size and update whatever authorization Congress provides to suit the current fight, rather than previous fights. 关于军事力量授权，我们已经与国会两党成员进行了对话，其想法是调整和更新国会提供的任何授权，以适应当前的战斗，而不是过去的战斗。
In 2001, after the heartbreaking tragedy of 9/11, we had a very specific set of missions that we had to conduct, and the AUMF was designed to pursue those missions. With respect to Iraq, there was a very specific AUMF. 2001年，在令人心碎的9·11悲剧之后，我们有一系列非常具体的任务需要执行，而军事力量授权就是为执行这些任务而设计的。关于伊拉克，有一个非常具体的军事力量授权。
We now have a different type of enemy. The strategy is different. How we partner with Iraq and other Gulf countries and the international coalition -- that has to be structured differently. So it makes sense for us to make sure that the authorization from Congress reflects what we perceive to be not just our strategy over the next two or three months, but our strategy going forward. 我们现在面对的是不同类型的敌人。战略是不同的。我们如何与伊拉克和其他海湾国家以及国际联盟合作——必须以不同的方式来构建。因此，我们有必要确保国会的授权反映出我们认为不仅是未来两三个月的战略，而且是我们未来的战略。
And it will be a process of listening to members of Congress, as well as us presenting what we think needs to be the set of authorities that we have. And I’m confident we're going to be able to get that done. And that may just be a process of us getting it started now. It may carry over into the next Congress. 这将是一个听取国会议员意见的过程，同时我们也会提出我们认为需要的权力范围。我有信心我们能够完成这件事。这可能只是我们现在启动的一个过程。它可能会延续到下一届国会。
On Iran, because of the unprecedented sanctions that we put in place that really did have a crippling effect on Iran’s economy, they’ve come to the table and they’ve negotiated seriously around providing assurances that they're not developing a nuclear weapon for the first time. And they have abided by the interim rules. We have been able to freeze their program, in some cases reduce the stockpile of nuclear material that they already had in hand. And the discussions, the negotiations have been constructive. 关于伊朗，由于我们实施了前所未有的制裁，这些制裁确实对伊朗经济造成了毁灭性影响，他们来到了谈判桌前，并首次就提供他们不发展核武器的保证进行了认真谈判。他们遵守了临时规则。我们已经能够冻结他们的计划，在某些情况下减少了他们已有的核材料储备。讨论和谈判是建设性的。
The international community has been unified and cohesive. There haven’t been a lot of cracks in our alliance. Even countries where we have some differences, like Russia, have agreed with us and have worked with us cooperatively in trying to find ways to make sure that we can verify and have confidence going forward that Iran doesn't have the capacity to develop a nuclear weapon that could not only threaten friends of ours like Israel, trigger a nuclear arms race in the region, but could over the long term, potentially threaten us. 国际社会保持了统一和团结。我们的联盟没有出现很多裂痕。即使是我们有一些分歧的国家，比如俄罗斯，也同意我们的观点，并与我们合作，努力寻找方法确保我们能够核实并有信心地认为，伊朗没有能力发展核武器，这种核武器不仅会威胁我们的朋友如以色列，引发地区核军备竞赛，而且从长远来看，可能会威胁到我们。
Whether we can actually get a deal done, we’re going to have to find out over the next three to four weeks. We have presented to them a framework that would allow them to meet their peaceful energy needs. And if, in fact, what their leadership says, that they don’t want to develop a nuclear a weapon -- if that is, in fact, true, then they’ve got an avenue here to provide that assurance to the world community, and in a progressive, step-by-step, verifiable way, allow them to get out from under sanctions so that they can reenter as full-fledged members of the international community. 我们是否真的能达成协议，我们将在未来三到四周内找到答案。我们已经向他们提出了一个框架，允许他们满足其和平能源需求。如果事实上，正如他们的领导人所说，他们不想发展核武器——如果这是真的，那么他们在这里有一条途径向国际社会提供这种保证，并以渐进的、逐步的、可核查的方式，让他们摆脱制裁，以便他们能够作为国际社会的正式成员重新加入。
But they have their own politics, and there’s a long tradition of mistrust between the two countries. And there’s a sizeable portion of the political elite that cut its teeth on anti-Americanism and still finds it convenient to blame America for every ill that there is. And whether they can manage to say yes to what clearly would be better for Iran, better for the region, and better for the world, is an open question. We’ll find out over the next several weeks. 但他们有自己的政治，两国之间有着长期的互不信任传统。有相当一部分政治精英靠反美主义起家，至今仍觉得把一切弊病归咎于美国很方便。他们是否能够设法对明显对伊朗、对地区、对世界都更好的事情说"是"，这是一个悬而未决的问题。我们将在未来几周内找到答案。
Question: Sir, on whether or not you have the power unilaterally to relax sanctions to implement an agreement? 问：先生，关于您是否有权单方面放松制裁以实施协议的问题？
President Obama: There are a series of different sanctions. There are multilateral sanctions; there are U.N. sanctions; there are sanctions that have been imposed by us, this administration, unilaterally. And I think it’s different for each of those areas. 奥巴马总统：有一系列不同的制裁。有多边制裁；有联合国制裁；有我们本届政府单方面实施的制裁。我认为每个领域的情况都不同。
But I don’t want to put the cart before the horse. What I want to do is see if we, in fact, have a deal. If we do have a deal that I have confidence will prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and that we can convince the world and the public will prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, then it will be time to engage in Congress. And I think that we’ll be able to make a strong argument to Congress that this is the best way for us to avoid a nuclear Iran; that it will be more effective than any other alternatives we might take, including military action. 但我不想本末倒置。我想做的是看看我们是否真的能达成协议。如果我们确实达成了一项我有信心能防止伊朗获得核武器的协议，并且我们能说服世界和公众它将防止伊朗获得核武器，那么届时就该与国会接触了。我认为我们将能够向国会提出有力的论点，说明这是我们避免伊朗核问题的最佳途径；它将比我们可能采取的任何其他替代方案，包括军事行动，都更有效。
But that requires it being a good deal. And I’ve said consistently that I’d rather have no deal than a bad deal -- because what we don’t want to do is lift sanctions and provide Iran legitimacy but not have the verifiable mechanisms to make sure that they don’t break out and produce a nuclear weapon. 但这要求它是一项好的协议。我一直表示，我宁愿没有协议也不要一项糟糕的协议——因为我们不想做的是解除制裁并给予伊朗合法性，但却没有可核查的机制来确保他们不会突破并生产核武器。
Ed Henry. I missed you guys. I haven't done this in a while. 埃德·亨利。我想念你们大家。我有一段时间没做这个了。
Question: I know, I’ve missed you. Thank you, Mr. President. I haven't heard you say a specific thing during this news conference that you would do differently. You’ve been asked it a few different ways. I understand you’re going to reach out, but you’ve talked about doing that before. It’s almost like you’re doubling down on the same policies and approach you’ve had for six years. So my question is, why not pull a page from the Clinton playbook and admit you have to make a much more dramatic shift in course for these last two years? 问：我知道，我也想念您。谢谢您，总统先生。我在这次新闻发布会上没有听到您说一件您会做不同的具体事情。您已经被以几种不同的方式问到了这个问题。我理解您会主动接触，但您以前也谈过要这样做。这几乎就像您在加倍坚持您六年来一直持有的相同政策和方法。所以我的问题是，为什么不从克林顿的剧本中借鉴一页，承认您必须在这最后两年做出更剧烈的转变？
And on ISIS, there was pretty dramatic setback in the last few days with it appearing that the Syrian rebels have been routed. There are some Gitmo detainees who have rejoined the battlefield, helping ISIS and other terror groups, is what the reports are suggesting. So my question is, are we winning? 还有关于"伊斯兰国"，过去几天出现了相当戏剧性的挫折，叙利亚反对派似乎被击溃了。有一些关塔那摩的在押人员重新加入了战场，帮助"伊斯兰国"和其他恐怖组织，报告是这样暗示的。所以我的问题是，我们在赢吗？
President Obama: Well, I think it’s too early to say whether we are winning, because as I said at the outset of the ISIL campaign, this is going to be a long-term plan to solidify the Iraqi government, to solidify their security forces, to make sure that in addition to air cover that they have the capacity to run a ground game that pushes ISIL back from some of the territories that they had taken, that we have a strong international coalition that we’ve now built, 奥巴马总统：我认为现在说我们是否在赢还为时过早，因为正如我在"伊斯兰国"行动开始时所说，这将是一项长期计划，以巩固伊拉克政府，巩固他们的安全部队，确保除了空中掩护外，他们有能力开展地面行动，将"伊斯兰国"从他们占领的一些领土上击退，我们已经建立了一个强大的国际联盟，
but that they are on the ground providing the training, providing the equipment, providing the supplies that are necessary for Iraqis to fight on behalf of their territory. 但他们在地面上提供培训、提供装备、提供伊拉克人为保卫自己领土而战所需的物资。
And what I also said was that in Syria that’s been complicated and that’s not going to be solved any time soon. Our focus in Syria is not to solve the entire Syria situation, but rather to isolate the areas in which ISIL can operate. And there is no doubt that because of the extraordinary bravery of our men and women in uniform, and the precision of our pilots and the strikes that have taken place, that ISIL is in a more vulnerable position and it is more difficult for them to maneuver than it was previously. 我还说过，在叙利亚，情况很复杂，不会很快得到解决。我们在叙利亚的重点不是解决整个叙利亚局势，而是隔离"伊斯兰国"可以运作的地区。毫无疑问，由于我们男女军人的非凡勇气，以及我们飞行员的精准打击和已经进行的空袭，"伊斯兰国"处于更脆弱的境地，他们比以前更难机动。
Now, there’s a specific issue about trying to get a moderate opposition in Syria that can serve as a partner with us on the ground. That’s always been the hardest piece of business to get done. There are a lot of opposition groups in Syria along a spectrum from radical jihadists who are our enemies to folks who believe in inclusive democracy, and everything in between. They fight among each other. They are fighting the regime. 现在，有一个具体问题是试图在叙利亚建立一个温和的反对派，可以作为我们在地面上的伙伴。这一直是最难完成的事情。叙利亚有很多反对派团体，从激进的圣战分子（他们是我们的敌人）到信仰包容性民主的人士，以及介于两者之间的各种团体。他们互相争斗。他们在与政权作战。
And what we’re trying to do is to find a core group that we can work with that we have confidence in, that we’ve vetted, that can help in regaining territory from ISIL, and then ultimately serve as a responsible party to sit at the table in eventual political negotiations that are probably some ways off in the future. 我们正在努力做的是找到一个我们可以合作的核心团体，我们对他们有信心，我们已经审查过，他们可以帮助从"伊斯兰国"手中夺回领土，然后最终作为负责任的一方坐在谈判桌前，进行可能还需要一段时间的政治谈判。
That’s always been difficult. As you know, one of the debates has consistently been, should the Obama administration provide more support to the opposition? Could that have averted some of the problems that are taking place in Syria? And as I’ve said before, part of the challenge is it’s a messy situation. This is not a situation where we have one single unified, broad-based, effective, reliable -- 这一直很困难。如你所知，其中一个争论一直是，奥巴马政府是否应该向反对派提供更多支持？这是否可以避免叙利亚正在发生的一些问题？正如我之前所说，部分挑战在于这是一个混乱的局面。这不是我们有一个单一、统一、基础广泛、有效、可靠的——
Question: -- the idea that maybe we have to have -- 问：——也许我们必须有——
President Obama: Let me answer the question, Ed. And so what we are going to continue to test is, can we get a more stable, effective, cohesive, moderate opposition? 奥巴马总统：让我回答这个问题，埃德。所以我们将继续测试的是，我们能否建立一个更稳定、更有效、更有凝聚力的温和反对派。
But that’s not the sole measure of whether we are “winning” or not. Remember, our first focus, Ed, here is to drive ISIL out of Iraq. And what we’re doing in Syria is, first and foremost, in service of reducing ISIL’s capacity to resupply and send troops, and then run back over the Syrian border -- to eventually reestablish a border between Iraq and Syria so that slowly Iraq regains control of its security and its territory. That is our number-one mission. That is our number-one focus. 但这不是衡量我们是否"赢了"的唯一标准。记住，埃德，我们在这里的首要重点是把"伊斯兰国"赶出伊拉克。我们在叙利亚所做的，首先也是最重要的，是为了削弱"伊斯兰国"重新补给和派遣部队的能力，然后越过叙利亚边境返回——最终重新建立伊拉克和叙利亚之间的边界，以便伊拉克慢慢重新获得对其安全和领土的控制。这是我们的首要任务。这是我们的首要重点。
There are aspects of what’s going on in Syria that we’ve got to deal with in order to reduce the scope of ISIL’s operations. So, for example, our support for Kurds in Kobani, where they’ve been able to hold off ISIL and where we’ve been able to effectively strike ISIL positions consistently -- that’s not just because we’re trying to solve a Syria problem. That’s also because it gives us an opportunity to further weaken ISIL so that we can meet our number-one mission, which is Iraq. 叙利亚局势的一些方面我们必须处理，以缩小"伊斯兰国"的行动范围。例如，我们对科巴尼库尔德人的支持，他们在那里成功抵御了"伊斯兰国"，我们也能够持续有效地打击"伊斯兰国"的阵地——这不仅仅是因为我们试图解决叙利亚问题。这也是因为它给了我们一个进一步削弱"伊斯兰国"的机会，以便我们能够完成我们的首要任务，也就是伊拉克。
In terms of things to do differently, I guess, Ed, the question you’re asking is one actually I think I have answered. If you’re asking about personnel, or if you’re asking about position on issues, or what have you, then it’s probably premature because I want to hear what -- 关于要做不同的事情，我想，埃德，你问的问题实际上我认为我已经回答了。如果你问的是人事，或者你问的是对问题的立场，或者诸如此类的事情，那可能还为时过早，因为我想听听——
Question: Your leadership. Is there something about your leadership -- 问：您的领导。关于您的领导是否有什么——
President Obama: Ed, what I’d like to do is to hear from the Republicans to find out what it is that they would like to see happen. And what I’m committing to is making sure that I am open to working with them on the issues where they think that there’s going to be cooperation. 奥巴马总统：埃德，我想做的是听听共和党人的意见，了解他们希望看到发生什么。我承诺的是确保我愿意与他们合作处理他们认为可以合作的问题。
Now, that isn’t a change, because I’ve suggested to them before that where they think there’s areas of cooperation, I’d like to see us get some things done. But the fact that they now control both chambers of Congress I think means that perhaps they have more confidence that they can pass their agenda and get a bill on my desk. It means that negotiations end up perhaps being a little more real because they have larger majorities, for example, in the House and they may be able to get some things through their caucuses that they couldn’t before. 现在，这不是一个改变，因为我以前就向他们建议过，在他们认为有合作领域的地方，我希望看到我们做成一些事情。但事实是，他们现在控制着国会两院，我认为这意味着也许他们更有信心能够通过他们的议程并把法案送到我的办公桌上。这意味着谈判可能会变得更加真实，因为他们在众议院有更大的多数席位，例如，他们可能能够让一些以前无法通过的事情通过他们的党团会议。
But the bottom line that the American people want to know and that I’m going to repeat here today is that my number-one goal -- because I’m not running again, I’m not on the ballot, I don’t have any further political aspirations -- my number-one goal is just to deliver as much as I can for the American people in these last two years. 但美国人民想知道的底线，也是我今天要在这里重申的，是我的首要目标——因为我不再竞选，我不在选票上，我没有进一步的政治抱负——我的首要目标就是在这最后两年里，尽可能多地为美国人民服务。
And wherever I see an opportunity, no matter how large or how small, to make it a little bit easier for a kid to go to college, make it a little more likely that somebody is finding a good-paying job, make it a little more likely that somebody has high-quality health care -- even if I’m not getting a whole loaf, I’m interested in getting whatever legislation we can get passed that adds up to improved prospects and an improved future for the American people. 无论我在哪里看到机会，无论大小，让孩子上大学更容易一点，让某人找到一份高薪工作的可能性更大一点，让某人拥有高质量医疗保健的可能性更大一点——即使我得不到一整条面包，我也有兴趣获得任何我们可以通过的立法，这些立法加起来就能改善美国人民的前景和未来。
Sam Stein. 山姆·斯坦。
Question: Thank you, Mr. President. Following the elections, congressional Republicans are pushing once again for major reforms to your health care act. In the past, you’ve said you’re open to good ideas but you don’t want to undermine the bill. Can you tell us what specific ideas you’re ruling out? Have the election results changed your calculus on reforming the law? And how confident are you heading into the second enrollment period? And on a totally unrelated matter -- have you settled on a nominee to replace Attorney General Eric Holder, and if so, who is it? 问：谢谢您，总统先生。选举之后，国会共和党人再次推动对您的医疗保健法案进行重大改革。过去，您说过您对好的想法持开放态度，但您不想破坏该法案。您能告诉我们您排除了哪些具体想法吗？选举结果是否改变了您对改革该法律的考量？您对第二个投保期有多大信心？还有一个完全不相关的问题——您是否已经确定了接替司法部长埃里克·霍尔德的提名人选，如果是的话，是谁？
President Obama: You guys want to spread out your news a little bit, don’t you? You don’t want it all in just one big bang. 奥巴马总统：你们这些家伙想把你们的新闻分散一点，不是吗？你们不想一下子全放出来。
On the attorney general, we have a number of outstanding candidates who we’re taking a look at now, and in due course I will have an announcement. And you’ll be there, Sam, when that’s announced. But I’m confident that we’ll find somebody who is well-qualified, will elicit the confidence of the American people, will uphold their constitutional obligations and rule of law, and will get confirmed by the Senate. 关于司法部长，我们有许多杰出的候选人，我们现在正在考虑，届时我会有一个宣布。山姆，宣布的时候你会在场的。但我有信心我们会找到一个合格的人选，能赢得美国人民的信任，会履行他们的宪法义务和法治，并将获得参议院的确认。
On health care, there are certainly some lines I’m going to draw. Repeal of the law I won’t sign. Efforts that would take away health care from the 10 million people who now have it and the millions more who are eligible to get it we're not going to support. In some cases there may be recommendations that Republicans have for changes that would undermine the structure of the law, and I’ll be very honest with them about that and say, look, the law doesn't work if you pull out that piece or that piece. 关于医疗保健，我肯定会划一些红线。废除该法律我不会签署。会夺走现在拥有医疗保险的1000万人和另外数百万有资格获得保险的人的医疗保健的努力，我们不会支持。在某些情况下，共和党人可能会提出一些会破坏法律结构的修改建议，我会非常诚实地告诉他们，说，看，如果你把那块或那块抽掉，法律就不起作用了。
On the other hand, what I have said is there’s no law that's ever been passed that is perfect. And given the contentious nature in which it was passed in the first place, there are places where, if I were just drafting a bill on our own, we would have made those changes back then, and certainly as we’ve been implementing, there are some other areas where we think we can do even better. 另一方面，我所说的是，没有任何一项通过的法律是完美的。考虑到它最初通过时的争议性质，有些地方，如果我只是自己起草法案，我们当时就会做出那些改变，当然在我们实施的过程中，还有一些其他领域我们认为我们可以做得更好。
So if, in fact, one of the items on Mitch McConnell’s agenda and John Boehner’s agenda is to make responsible changes to the Affordable Care Act to make it work better, I’m going to be very open and receptive to hearing those ideas. But what I will remind them is that despite all the contention, we now know that the law works. You've got millions of people who have health insurance who didn't have it before. You've got states that have expanded Medicaid to folks who did not have it before, including Republican governors who’ve concluded this is a good deal for their state. 所以，如果事实上，米奇·麦康奈尔和约翰·博纳议程上的项目之一是对《平价医疗法案》做出负责任的修改，使其运作得更好，我会非常开放和乐于听取这些想法。但我要提醒他们的是，尽管有所有的争议，我们现在知道这项法律是有效的。数以百万计的人有了以前没有的医疗保险。一些州已经将医疗补助扩大到以前没有的人，包括那些认为这对他们的州来说是一笔好交易的共和党州长。
And despite some of the previous predictions, even as we’ve enrolled more people into the Affordable Care Act and given more people the security of health insurance, health care inflation has gone done every single year since the law passed, so that we now have the lowest increase in health care costs in 50 years, which is saving us about $180 billion in reduced overall costs to the federal government in the Medicare program. 尽管之前有一些预测，甚至随着我们让更多人加入《平价医疗法案》并让更多人获得医疗保险的保障，自该法律通过以来，医疗保健通胀每年都在下降，所以我们现在的医疗保健成本增长是50年来最低的，这在联邦政府医疗保险计划的总体成本上为我们节省了约1800亿美元。
So we are I think really proud of the work that's been done. But there’s no doubt that there are areas where we can improve it. So I’ll look forward to see what list they’ve got of improvements. 所以我认为我们对已经完成的工作感到非常自豪。但毫无疑问，有些领域我们可以改进。所以我期待着看到他们有哪些改进清单。
Question: Is the individual mandate one of those lines you can't cross? 问：个人强制参保是您不能跨越的红线之一吗？
President Obama: The individual mandate is a line I can't cross because the concept, borrowed from Massachusetts, from a law instituted by a former opponent of mine, Mitt Romney, understood that if you're providing health insurance to people through the private marketplace, then you've got to make sure that people can't game the system and just wait until they get sick before they go try to buy health insurance. You can't ensure that people with preexisting conditions can get health insurance unless you also say, while you're healthy, before you need it, you've got to get health insurance. 奥巴马总统：个人强制参保是我不能跨越的红线，因为这个概念借鉴自马萨诸塞州，出自我的前对手米特·罗姆尼推行的一项法律，它理解的是，如果你通过私人市场向人们提供医疗保险，那么你必须确保人们不能钻制度的空子，等到生病了才去买医疗保险。你不能保证有既往病史的人能获得医疗保险，除非你也说，在你健康的时候，在你需要它之前，你必须参加医疗保险。
And obviously, there are hardship exemptions. We understand that there are some folks who, even with the generous subsidies that have been provided, still can't afford it. But that's a central component of the law. 显然，有困难豁免。我们理解，有些人即使有了慷慨的补贴，仍然负担不起。但这是法律的核心组成部分。
In terms of enrollment, we’ll do some additional announcements about that in the days to come. Starting in the middle of this month, people can sign up again. I think there are a number of people who the first time around sat on the sidelines in part because of our screw-ups on healthcare.gov. 关于投保情况，我们将在未来几天发布一些额外的公告。从本月中旬开始，人们可以再次注册。我认为有很多人第一次选择观望，部分原因是我们在医疗保健网站上搞砸了。
That's one area, Ed, by the way, that's very particular. We're really making sure the website works super well before the next open enrollment period. We're double and triple-checking it. And so I think a lot of people who maybe initially thought we're not sure how this works, let’s wait and see -- they're going to have an opportunity now to sign up. And what’s been terrific is to see how more private insurers have come into the marketplace so that there’s greater competition in more markets all around the country. 顺便说一下，埃德，这是一个非常特殊的领域。我们真的在确保网站在下一个开放投保期之前运作得非常好。我们在进行双重和三重检查。所以我认为很多最初可能认为我们不确定这是怎么回事，让我们等着看的人——他们现在将有机会注册。而且很棒的是看到更多的私人保险公司进入市场，这样全国各地的更多市场就有了更大的竞争。
The premiums that have come in that are available to people and the choices that are available are better than a lot of people I think had predicted. 人们可以获得的保费和可以选择的方案比很多人预期的要好。
So the law is working. That doesn’t mean it can’t be improved. 所以这项法律正在发挥作用。这并不意味着它不能改进。
Major Garrett. 梅杰·加勒特。
Question: Thank you, Mr. President. And if you do miss us, allow me to humbly suggest we do this every week. 问：谢谢您，总统先生。如果您真的想念我们，请允许我谦恭地建议我们每周都这样做。
President Obama: We might. Who knows. I’m having a great time. 奥巴马总统：可能吧。谁知道呢。我玩得很开心。
Question: Let me go back to immigration. Moments before you walked out here, sir, Mitch McConnell said -- and I quote -- that if you in fact use your executive authority to legalize a certain number of millions of undocumented workers, it would “poison the well” -- direct quote -- and it would be “like waving a red flag in front of a bull.” Do you not believe that is the considered opinion of the new Republican majority in the House and Senate? 问：让我回到移民问题。先生，就在您走出来之前，米奇·麦康奈尔说——我引用他的话——如果您事实上使用您的行政权力使一定数量的数百万无证工人合法化，那将"毒化井水"——直接引语——而且这将"像在公牛面前挥舞红旗一样"。您难道不认为这是参众两院新共和党多数派的深思熟虑的意见吗？
And do you also not believe what they have said in the aftermath of last night’s results that the verdict rendered by voters should stop you or should prevent you from taking this action because it was a subtext in many of the campaigns? Let me ask you a couple of specifics. Republicans haven’t made a mystery about some of the things they intend to say -- 您难道也不相信他们在昨晚结果之后所说的话，即选民作出的裁决应该阻止您或防止您采取这一行动，因为这是许多竞选活动中的一个潜台词？让我问您几个具体问题。共和党人并没有对他们打算说的一些事情保密——
President Obama: Do I have to write all of these down? 奥巴马总统：我得把这些都写下来吗？
Question: You’re very well familiar with these. These will not be mysteries to you. 问：您对这些非常熟悉。这些对您来说不会是什么谜。
President Obama: No, but I -- 奥巴马总统：不，但是我——
Question: Keystone XL pipeline -- they will send you legislation on that. They will ask you to repeal the medical device tax as a part of a funding mechanism of the Affordable Care Act. And they have said they would like to repatriate some maybe $2 trillion of offshore revenue at the corporate level by reforming the corporate tax code without touching the individual tax code. To use your words, Mr. President, are any of those three lines you cannot cross and also deal with what you perceive to be Republican attitudes about immigration? 问：Keystone XL输油管道——他们会给您送去相关立法。他们会要求您废除医疗器械税，作为《平价医疗法案》的一部分资金机制。他们还表示，他们希望通过改革公司税法而不触及个人税法，将约2万亿美元的海外企业收入汇回国内。总统先生，用您的话说，这三项中有任何一项是您不能跨越的红线吗？也请谈谈您对共和党人在移民问题上态度的看法。
President Obama: All right. I think, Major, that I answered the question on immigration. I have no doubt that there will be some Republicans who are angered or frustrated by any executive action that I may take. Those are folks, I just have to say, who are also deeply opposed to immigration reform in any form and blocked the House from being able to pass a bipartisan bill. 奥巴马总统：好的。梅杰，我想我已经回答了移民问题。我毫不怀疑，一些共和党人会对我可能采取的任何行政行动感到愤怒或沮丧。我只能说，这些人也深深反对任何形式的移民改革，并阻止了众议院通过一项两党法案。
I have said before that I actually believe that John Boehner is sincere about wanting to get immigration reform passed, which is why for a year I held off taking any action beyond what we had already done for the so-called DREAM kids, and did everything I could to give him space and room to get something done. And what I also said at the time was, if, in fact, Congress -- if this Congress could not get something done, then I would take further executive actions in order to make the system work better, understanding that any bill that they pass will supplant the executive actions that I take. 我以前说过，我实际上认为约翰·博纳想要通过移民改革是真诚的，这就是为什么有一年时间我没有采取任何除了我们已经为所谓的"梦想生"所做的之外的行动，我尽我所能给他空间和余地来做成一些事情。我当时还说，如果事实上国会——如果本届国会不能做成一些事情，那么我将采取进一步的行政行动，以使系统运作得更好，同时理解他们通过的任何法案都将取代我采取的行政行动。
So I just want to reemphasize this, Major -- if, in fact, there is a great eagerness on the part of Republicans to tackle a broken immigration system, then they have every opportunity to do it. My executive actions not only do not prevent them from passing a law that supersedes those actions, but should be a spur for them to actually try to get something done. And I am prepared to engage them every step of the way with their ideas. 所以我只想再次强调这一点，梅杰——如果事实上共和党人非常渴望解决一个支离破碎的移民系统，那么他们完全有机会这样做。我的行政行动不仅不会阻止他们通过一项取代这些行动的法律，而且应该成为他们真正努力做成一些事情的动力。我准备好与他们一步步接触，听取他们的想法。
I think we should have further broad-based debate among the American people. As I’ve said before, I do think that the episode with the unaccompanied children changed a lot of attitudes. I think what may also change a lot of attitudes is when the public now realizes that that was a very temporary and isolated event, and that, in fact, we have fewer illegal immigrants coming in today than we did five years ago, 10 years ago or 20 years go, but that what we also have is a system that is not serving our economy well. 我认为我们应该在美国人民中进行进一步的广泛辩论。正如我之前所说，我确实认为无人陪伴儿童的事件改变了很多态度。我认为也可能改变很多态度的是，当公众现在意识到那是一个非常短暂和孤立的事件，而且事实上，我们今天的非法移民比五年前、十年前或二十年前都要少，但我们也有一个不能很好地服务于我们经济的系统。
Question: -- Republicans who say the election was a referendum, at least in part, on your intentions to use executive authority for immigration. 问：——共和党人说，这次选举至少部分是对您使用行政权力处理移民问题意图的一次公投。
President Obama: As I said before, I don’t want to try to read the tea leaves on election results. What I am going to try to do as President is to make sure that I’m advancing what I think is best for the country. And here’s an opportunity where I can use my administrative authorities, executive authorities, and lawfully try to make improvements on the existing system, understanding that that’s not going to fix the entire problem, and we’re much better off if we go ahead and pass a comprehensive bill. And I hope that the Republicans really want to get it passed. 奥巴马总统：正如我之前所说，我不想试图解读选举结果的茶叶。作为总统，我要努力做的是确保我在推进我认为对国家最有利的事情。这里有一个机会，我可以使用我的行政当局、行政权力，合法地尝试对现有系统进行改进，同时理解这不会解决整个问题，如果我们继续通过一项全面法案，我们的境况会好得多。我希望共和党人真的想要通过它。
If they do, they’re going to have a lot of cooperation from me. 如果他们这样做，他们会得到我的很多合作。
So let me just tick off -- on Keystone, there’s an independent process. It’s moving forward. And I’m going to let that process play out. I’ve given some parameters in terms of how I think about it: Ultimately, is this going to be good for the American people? Is it going to be good for their pocketbook? Is it going to actually create jobs? Is it actually going to reduce gas prices that have been coming down? And is it going to be, on net, something that doesn’t increase climate change that we’re going to have to grapple with? 让我快速说一下——关于Keystone，有一个独立的程序。它正在推进中。我会让这个程序顺其自然。我已经给出了一些我如何考虑它的参数：最终，这对美国人民有好处吗？这对他们的钱包有好处吗？这真的会创造就业机会吗？这真的会降低一直在下降的汽油价格吗？总的来说，它会不会增加我们必须应对的气候变化？
There’s a pending case before a Nebraska judge about some of the citing. The process is moving forward. And I’m just going to gather up the facts. 内布拉斯加州的一名法官正在审理一起关于选址的未决案件。程序正在推进中。我只是要收集事实。
I will note, while this debate about Canadian oil has been raging -- keep in mind this is Canadian oil, this isn’t U.S. oil -- while that debate has been raging, we’ve seen some of the biggest increases in American oil production and American natural gas production in our history. We are closer to energy independence than we’ve ever been before -- or at least as we’ve been in decades. We are importing less foreign oil than we produce for the first time in a very long time. 我要指出的是，在这场关于加拿大石油的辩论激烈进行的同时——请记住这是加拿大石油，不是美国石油——在那场辩论激烈进行的同时，我们看到了美国石油产量和美国天然气产量历史上最大的一些增长。我们比以往任何时候都更接近能源独立——或者至少是几十年来最接近的。我们进口的外国石油比我们生产的还少，这是很长时间以来的第一次。
We’ve got a 100-year supply of natural gas that if we responsibly tap puts us in the strongest position when it comes to energy of any industrialized country around the world. 我们有100年的天然气供应，如果我们负责任地开采，将使我们在能源方面处于世界上所有工业化国家中最强有力的地位。
When I travel to Asia or I travel to Europe, their biggest envy is the incredible homegrown U.S. energy production that is producing jobs and attracting manufacturing, because locating here means you’ve got lower energy costs. 当我去亚洲或欧洲旅行时，他们最羡慕的就是美国本土惊人的能源生产，它正在创造就业机会并吸引制造业，因为在这里设厂意味着你有更低的能源成本。
So our energy sector is booming. And I’m happy to engage Republicans with additional ideas for how we can enhance that. I should note that our clean energy production is booming as well. And so Keystone I just consider as one small aspect of a broader trend that’s really positive for the American people. 所以我们的能源部门正在蓬勃发展。我很乐意与共和党人探讨如何进一步增强这一点的其他想法。我应该指出，我们的清洁能源生产也在蓬勃发展。所以Keystone我只是认为是更广泛趋势中的一个小方面，这个趋势对美国人民来说确实是积极的。
And let’s see -- okay, medical device tax. I’ve already answered the question. We are going to take a look at whatever ideas -- let me take a look comprehensively at the ideas that they present. Let’s give them time to tell me. I’d rather hear it from them than from you. 让我们看看——好的，医疗器械税。我已经回答了这个问题。我们会研究他们提出的任何想法——让我全面研究一下他们提出的想法。让我们给他们时间告诉我。我宁愿从他们那里听到，而不是从你那里听到。
Question: For example -- 问：比如——
President Obama: Major -- 奥巴马总统：梅杰——
Question: I’m just telling you what they said. 问：我只是在告诉你他们说过的话。
President Obama: Conceivably, I could just cancel my meeting on Friday because I’ve heard everything from you. I think I’d rather let Mitch McConnell -- 奥巴马总统：按理说，我可以直接取消周五的会议，因为我已经从你这里听到了一切。我想我还是让米奇·麦康奈尔——
Question: I just asked if it was a line you couldn’t cross. 问：我只是问这是不是您不能跨越的红线。
President Obama: I’d rather hear from Mitch McConnell and John Boehner what ideas they’d like to pursue, and we’ll have a conversation with them on that. 奥巴马总统：我宁愿从米奇·麦康奈尔和约翰·博纳那里听到他们想要推行什么想法，我们将在周五与他们就这个问题进行对话。
On repatriation, I said in my opening remarks that there is an opportunity for us to do a tax reform package that is good for business, good for jobs, and can potentially finance infrastructure development here in the United States. 关于利润汇回，我在开场白中说过，我们有机会推出一个税收改革方案，这对企业有利，对就业有利，并有可能为美国的基础设施发展提供资金。
Now, the devil is in the details. So I think, conceptually, it’s something where we may have some overlap, and I’m very interested in pursuing ideas that can put folks to work right now on roads and bridges and waterways and ports, and a better air traffic control system. If we had one, by the way, we would reduce delays by about 30 percent. We could reduce fuel costs for airlines by about 30 percent. And hopefully that would translate into cheaper airline tickets, which I know everybody would be interested in. 现在，问题在于细节。所以我认为，从概念上讲，这是我们可能有一些重叠的地方，我非常感兴趣推行能够让人们立即在道路、桥梁、水道和港口以及更好的空中交通管制系统上工作的想法。顺便说一下，如果我们有一个的话，我们将减少约30%的延误。我们可以将航空公司的燃料成本降低约30%。希望这将转化为更便宜的机票，我知道每个人都会对此感兴趣。
So there’s all kind of work we can do on our infrastructure. This may be one mechanism that Republicans are comfortable in financing those kinds of efforts. So that will be part of the discussion that I think we’re prepared for on Friday and then in the weeks to come leading into the new Congress. 所以我们可以在我们的基础设施上做各种各样的工作。这可能是共和党人愿意为这些努力提供资金的一种机制。所以这将是我们准备在周五以及未来几周进入新国会时讨论的一部分。
Whew. Major works me, man. 呼。梅杰可真能折腾我啊。
Jim Acosta. 吉姆·阿科斯塔。
Question: Thank you, Mr. President. I know you don’t want to read the tea leaves, but it is a fact that your party rejected you in these midterms. By and large, they did not want you out on the campaign trail in these key battleground states. How do you account for that? And your aides have said that this is the fourth quarter of your administration, but I don’t know if you saw the morning talk shows, but there were several potential candidates for 2016 who are out there already. Is the clock ticking? Are you running out of time? How much time do you have left? 问：谢谢您，总统先生。我知道您不想解读茶叶，但事实是您的政党在这次中期选举中拒绝了您。总的来说，他们不希望您在这些关键的摇摆州进行竞选活动。您如何解释这一点？您的助手说这是您政府的第四节，但我不知道您是否看了早间脱口秀节目，已经有几位2016年的潜在候选人在外面活动了。时钟在滴答作响吗？您的时间不多了吗？您还有多少时间？
And what do you make of the notion that you’re now a lame duck? 您对自己现在是跛脚鸭的说法有什么看法？
President Obama: Well, traditionally, after the last midterm of the two-term presidency, since I can’t run again, that’s the label that you guys apply. 奥巴马总统：嗯，传统上，在两届总统任期的最后一次中期选举之后，由于我不能再竞选，这就是你们给的标签。
Here’s what I tell my team -- I told them this last week and I told them this this morning -- we had this incredible privilege of being in charge of the most important organization on Earth, the U.S. government and our military, and everything that we do for good around the world. 这是我告诉我的团队的——我上周告诉他们，今天早上也告诉他们——我们有这个令人难以置信的特权，掌管着地球上最重要的组织，美国政府和我们的军队，以及我们在世界各地所做的一切好事。
And there’s a lot of work to be done to make government work better, to make Americans safer, to make opportunity available to more people, for us to be able to have a positive influence in every corner of the globe -- the way we're doing right now in West Africa. And I’m going to squeeze every last little bit of opportunity to help make this world a better place over these last two years. 还有很多工作要做，让政府运转得更好，让美国人更安全，让更多人有机会，让我们能够在全球每个角落产生积极影响——就像我们现在在西非做的那样。我将在这最后两年里，榨取每一丝机会来帮助让这个世界变得更美好。
And some of that is going to be what we can do administratively, and simple things like how do we make customer service better in every agency. Are there things we can do to streamline how our veterans access care? Are there better ways that we can make businesses understand the programs that are available to them to promote their business or exports? 其中一些将是我们可以通过行政方式做的事情，比如简单的事情，比如我们如何让每个机构的客户服务变得更好。我们能做些什么来简化我们的退伍军人获得护理的方式？我们有什么更好的方法可以让企业了解可用于促进他们业务或出口的项目？
So there’s a whole bunch of stuff to do on that front. And as I said before, there’s going to be opportunities to work with Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill to get laws done. And if you look at the history of almost every President, those last two years, all kinds of stuff happens; in some cases, stuff that we couldn’t predict. 所以在这方面有一大堆事情要做。正如我之前所说，将会有机会与国会山的民主党人和共和党人合作完成立法。如果你看看几乎每一位总统的历史，最后两年里会发生各种各样的事情；在某些情况下，是我们无法预测的事情。
So the one thing I’m pretty confident about, Jim, is I’m going to be busy for the next two years. And the one thing that I want the American people to be confident about is that every day I’m going to be filling up my time trying to figure out how I can make their lives better. And if I’m doing that, at the end of my presidency, I’ll say, we played that fourth quarter well. And we played the game well. 所以吉姆，我相当有信心的一件事是，我在接下来的两年里会很忙。我希望美国人民有信心的一件事是，我每天都会把我的时间用在想办法让他们的生活变得更好上。如果我做到了这一点，在我总统任期结束时，我会说，我们第四节打得很好。我们整场比赛都打得很好。
And the only difference between I guess basketball and politics is that the only score that matters is how did somebody else do, not how you did. And that's the score I’m keeping. Am I going to be able to look back and say, are more people working? Are there bank accounts better? Are more kids going to college? Has housing improved? Is the financial system more stable? Are younger kids getting a better education? Do we have greater energy independence? Is the environment cleaner? Have we done something about climate change? 我想篮球和政治之间唯一的区别是，唯一重要的比分是别人做得怎么样，而不是你做得怎么样。这就是我在记的比分。我能不能回顾过去说，更多人有工作了？银行账户余额更高了？更多孩子上大学了？住房改善了吗？金融体系更稳定了吗？年幼的孩子得到了更好的教育吗？我们有更大的能源独立性吗？环境更清洁了吗？我们在气候变化上有所作为了吗？
Have we dealt with an ongoing terrorist threat and helped to bring about stability around the world? And those things -- every single day I’ve got an opportunity to make a difference on those fronts, which is -- 我们应对了持续的恐怖主义威胁并帮助实现了世界各地的稳定吗？这些事情——每一天我都有机会在这些方面有所作为，这就是——
Question: And you're not satisfied with where you are now? 问：您对现在的状况不满意吗？
President Obama: Absolutely not. I wouldn’t be satisfied as long as I’m meeting somebody who has a -- doesn’t have a job and wants one. I’m not going to be satisfied as long as there’s a kid who writes me a letter and says, I got $60,000 worth of debt and I don’t know how to pay it back. 奥巴马总统：当然不满意。只要我遇到一个——没有工作但想要工作的人，我就不会满意。只要有一个孩子给我写信说，我有6万美元的债务，我不知道怎么偿还，我就不会满意。
And the American people aren’t satisfied. So I want to do everything I can to deliver for them. 美国人民也不满意。所以我想尽我所能为他们服务。
Question: And how about Democrats, the fact that they kept you out of these battleground states? Does that kind of bug you a little bit? 问：那么民主党人呢，他们不让您去这些摇摆州的事实？这有没有让您有点不爽？
President Obama: Listen, as I think some of you saw when I was out on the campaign trail, I love campaigning. I love talking to ordinary people. I love listening to their stories. I love shaking hands and getting hugs and just seeing the process of democracy and citizenship manifest itself during an election. 奥巴马总统：听着，我想你们中的一些人在我外出竞选时看到了，我热爱竞选。我喜欢和普通人交谈。我喜欢倾听他们的故事。我喜欢握手和拥抱，看着民主和公民意识的过程在选举中展现出来。
But I’m also a practical guy. And ultimately, every candidate out there had to make their own decisions about what they thought would be most helpful for them. And I wanted to make sure that I’m respectful of their particular region, their particular state or congressional district, and if it was more helpful for them for me to be behind the scenes, I’m happy to do it. 但我也是一个务实的人。最终，每位候选人都必须自己决定他们认为什么对他们最有帮助。我想确保我尊重他们特定的地区、他们特定的州或国会选区，如果我在幕后更有帮助，我很乐意这样做。
Question: You don't think it was a mistake? 问：您不认为这是一个错误吗？
President Obama: I don’t have -- I’ll let other people analyze that. But what I will emphasize is that one of the nice things about being in the sixth year of your presidency is you’ve seen a lot of ups and downs and you’ve gotten more than your fair share of attention. And I’ve had the limelight, and there have been times where the request for my appearances were endless. There have been times where, politically, we were down -- and it all kind of evens out, which is why what’s most important I think is keeping your eye on the ball, and that is are you actually getting some good done. 奥巴马总统：我没有——我会让其他人分析这一点。但我要强调的是，在你总统任期的第六年，一件美好的事情是你见过很多起起落落，你得到的关注已经超过了应得的份额。我曾是聚光灯下的焦点，有时候要求我出席的请求源源不断。有时候，在政治上，我们处于低谷——一切都会趋于平衡，这就是为什么我认为最重要的是专注于正事，也就是你是否真的在做一些好事。
Scott Horsley, last question. 斯科特·霍斯利，最后一个问题。
Question: Thank you, Mr. President. You mentioned that where your policies actually were on the ballot they often did better than members of your party. Does that signal some shortcoming on your part or on the party’s part in framing this election and communicating to the American people what it is that Democrats stand for? 问：谢谢您，总统先生。您提到，在您的政策实际上在选票上的地方，它们的表现往往比您党内的成员更好。这是否表明您或民主党在构建这次选举以及向美国人民传达民主党代表什么方面存在一些不足？
President Obama: I do think that one area where I know we’re constantly experimenting and trying to do better is just making sure that people know exactly what it is that we’re trying to accomplish and what we have accomplished in clear ways that people can -- that understand how it affects them. And I think the minimum wage I talked about a lot on the campaign trail, but I’m not sure it penetrated well enough to make a difference. 奥巴马总统：我确实认为，我知道我们一直在不断尝试并努力做得更好的一个领域，就是确保人们确切地知道我们想要完成什么，以及我们已经完成了什么，以人们能够理解的清晰方式——理解这如何影响他们。我认为最低工资是我在竞选期间经常谈论的话题，但我不确定它是否足够深入人心以产生影响。
Part of what I also think we’ve got to look at is that two-thirds of people who were eligible to vote just didn’t vote. One of the things that I’m very proud of in 2008 and 2012 when I ran for office was we got people involved who hadn’t been involved before. We got folks to vote who hadn’t voted before, particularly young people. 我认为我们还必须看到的另一部分是，有三分之二有资格投票的人根本没有投票。我在2008年和2012年竞选时非常自豪的一件事是，我们让以前没有参与过的人参与进来。我们让以前没有投票的人投票，特别是年轻人。
And that was part of the promise and the excitement was if you get involved, if you participate, if you embrace that sense of citizenship, then things change -- and not just in abstract ways, they change in concrete ways. Somebody gets a job who didn’t have it before. Somebody gets health care who didn’t have it before. Or a student is able to go to college who couldn’t afford it before. And sustaining that, especially in midterm elections, has proven difficult; sustaining that sense of, if you get involved and if you vote then there is going to be big change out there. 这就是承诺和兴奋的一部分——如果你参与进来，如果你参与投票，如果你拥抱那种公民意识，那么事情就会改变——而且不仅仅是抽象的改变，它们会以具体的方式改变。以前没有工作的人找到了工作。以前没有医疗保险的人有了医疗保险。或者一个以前负担不起的学生能够上大学了。而维持这一点，特别是在中期选举中，已经证明是困难的；维持那种"如果你参与进来，如果你投票，那么就会有巨大的变化"的感觉是困难的。
And partly I think when they look at Washington, they say, nothing is working and it’s not making a difference, and there’s just a constant slew of bad news coming over the TV screen, then you can understand how folks would get discouraged. 我认为部分原因是，当他们看着华盛顿时，他们会说，什么都不管用，这没有什么区别，电视屏幕上不断传来一连串的坏消息，那么你就能理解人们为什么会感到沮丧。
But it’s my job to figure this out as best I can. And if the way we are talking about issues isn’t working, then I’m going to try some different things. If the ways that we’re approaching the Republicans in Congress isn’t working, I’m going to try different things -- whether it’s having a drink with Mitch McConnell or letting John Boehner beat me again at golf, or weekly press conferences -- I don’t know if that would be effective. Whatever I think might make a difference in this, I’m going to be trying out up until my last day in office. 但我的工作是尽我所能弄清楚这一点。如果我们谈论问题的方式不起作用，那么我会尝试一些不同的事情。如果我们与国会共和党人接触的方式不起作用，我会尝试不同的事情——无论是和米奇·麦康奈尔喝一杯，还是让约翰·博纳在高尔夫球上再赢我一次，或者每周新闻发布会——我不知道那会不会有效。无论我认为可能会对此产生什么影响，我都会在我任内的最后一天之前不断尝试。
But I’ll close with what I said in my opening statement. I am really optimistic about America. I know that runs counter to the current mood, but when you look at the facts, our economy is stronger than just about anybody’s. Our energy production is better than just about anybody’s. We’ve slashed our deficit by more than half. More people have health insurance. Our businesses have the strongest balance sheets that they’ve had in decades. 但我要用我在开场白中说的话来结束。我真的对美国持乐观态度。我知道这与当前的情绪相悖，但当你看事实时，我们的经济比几乎任何人都强。我们的能源生产比几乎任何人都好。我们已经将赤字削减了一半以上。更多人有了医疗保险。我们的企业拥有几十年来最强劲的资产负债表。
Our young people are just incredibly talented and gifted, and more of them are graduating from high school, and more of them are going on to college, and more women are getting degrees and entering into the workforce. 我们的年轻人非常有才华和天赋，更多的人从高中毕业，更多的人进入大学，更多的女性获得学位并进入劳动力市场。
And part of the reason I love campaigning is you travel around the country, folks are just good. They're smart and they're hardworking. And they're not always paying a lot of attention to Washington, and in some cases they’ve given up on Washington. But their impulses are not sharply partisan, and their impulses are not ideological. They're really practical, good, generous people. 我热爱竞选的部分原因是你在全国各地旅行，人们都很善良。他们聪明，他们勤奋。他们并不总是非常关注华盛顿，在某些情况下，他们已经对华盛顿失去了信心。但他们的冲动不是强烈的党派性的，他们的冲动也不是意识形态的。他们真的是务实、善良、慷慨的人。
And we continue to be a magnet for the best and brightest from all around the world. We have all the best cards relative to every other country on Earth. Our armed forces, you talk to them -- I had a chance this morning to just call some of our health service that is operating in Liberia, and the amount of hope and professionalism that they’ve brought has galvanized the entire country, and has built -- they’ve built a platform effectively for other countries suddenly to start coming in. 我们继续吸引着来自世界各地最优秀、最聪明的人。相对于地球上的其他国家，我们拥有所有最好的牌。我们的武装部队，你和他们交谈——今天早上我有机会给一些在利比里亚工作的我们的卫生服务人员打电话，他们带来的希望和专业精神激励了整个国家，并建立了——他们实际上建立了一个平台，让其他国家突然开始加入进来。
And we're seeing real progress in fighting the disease in a country that just a month or a month and a half ago was desperate and had no hope. 我们在抗击这种疾病方面看到了真正的进展，而就在一个月或一个半月前，这个国家还处于绝望之中，没有希望。
So all that makes me optimistic. And my job over the next couple of years is to do some practical, concrete things -- as much as possible with Congress; where it’s not possible with Congress, on my own -- to show people why we should be confident, and to give people a sense of progress and a sense of hope. 所以所有这些都让我感到乐观。我在未来几年的工作是做一些实际的、具体的事情——尽可能与国会合作；在无法与国会合作的地方，靠我自己——向人们展示为什么我们应该有信心，给人们一种进步感和希望感。
That doesn't mean there aren’t going to be ongoing nagging problems that are stubborn and can't be solved overnight. And probably the biggest one is the fact that despite economic growth, wages and income have still not gone up. And that's a long-term trend that we’ve seen for 10, 20, 30 years. And it makes people worried about not just their own situation, but whether their kids are going to be doing better than they did, which is the essence of the American Dream. I think there are some concrete things we can do to make sure that wages and incomes do go up. 这并不意味着不会有持续的、顽固的、不能一夜之间解决的棘手问题。也许最大的问题是，尽管经济增长，工资和收入仍然没有上升。这是我们已经看到了10年、20年、30年的长期趋势。这让人们不仅担心自己的处境，还担心他们的孩子是否会比他们做得更好，而这正是美国梦的精髓。我认为我们可以做一些具体的事情来确保工资和收入确实上升。
Minimum wage in those five states was a good start. 那五个州的最低工资是一个好的开始。
But I think more than anything what I want to communicate over these next two years is the promise and possibility of America. This is just an extraordinary country. And our democracy is messy. And we're diverse and we're big. And there are times where you're a politician and you're disappointed with election results. But maybe I’m just getting older -- I don't know. It doesn't make me mopey. It energizes me because it means that this democracy is working. And people in America were restless and impatient, and we want to get things done. 但我认为，在接下来的两年里，我最想传达的是美国的承诺和可能性。这是一个非凡的国家。我们的民主是混乱的。我们是多样化的，我们是庞大的。有时候，作为一名政治家，你会对选举结果感到失望。但也许我只是变老了——我不知道。这不会让我闷闷不乐。这让我充满活力，因为这意味着这个民主在运转。美国人民躁动不安，缺乏耐心，我们想要把事情做成。
And even when things are going good, we want them to do better. And that's why this is the greatest country on Earth. That's why I’m so privileged to have a chance to be President for the next couple years. 即使在一切顺利的时候，我们也希望它们变得更好。这就是为什么这是地球上最伟大的国家。这就是为什么我有特权在未来几年担任总统。
All right? Thank you, everybody. 好吗？谢谢大家。
