美国的承诺（中）

Because in the faces of those young veterans who come back from Iraq and Afghanistan, I see my grandfather, who signed up after Pearl Harbor, marched in Patton's Army, and was rewarded by a grateful nation with the chance to go to college on the GI Bill.

In the face of that young student who sleeps just three hours before working the night shift, I think about my mom, who raised my sister and me on her own while she worked and earned her degree; who once turned to food stamps but was still able to send us to the best schools in the country with the help of student loans and scholarships.

因为在刚从伊拉克和阿富汗回来的士兵们的脸上，我看到了我的祖父，他在珍珠港之后就参军，在巴顿将军麾下作战，后来被感恩的祖国根据《美国士兵法案》回报了一个上大学的机会。在那些上夜班之前只能睡上三个小时的青年学生的脸上，我想起了我的妈妈，她独自养育了我和妹妹，边工作边取得了学位；她有时不得不依靠政府的食物券过活但还是能够依靠学生贷款和奖学金的帮助把我们都送到了这个国家最好的学校读书。

When I listen to another worker tell me that his factory has shut down, I remember all those men and women on the South Side of Chicago who I stood by and fought for two decades ago after the local steel plant closed.

当我听到有一个工人告诉我他的工厂关闭了，我想起所有二十年前在芝加哥South Side（地名）一个当地钢铁厂倒闭后我曾经为之奔走和斗争过的男人和女人。

And when I hear a woman talk about the difficulties of starting her own business, I think about my grandmother, who worked her way up from the secretarial pool to middle-management, despite years of being passed over for promotions because she was a woman. She's the one who taught me about hard work. She's the one who put off buying a new car or a new dress for herself so that I could have a better life. She poured everything she had into me. And although she can no longer travel, I know that she's watching tonight, and that tonight is her night as well.

当我听到一个女人诉说开个自己的公司如何辛苦的时候，我想起了我的祖母，尽管由于性别原因错过了许多年晋升的机会，她还是凭借工作从秘书的上升到中层管理岗位。她是教给我努力工作的人。她是一个为了让我有一个更好的生活而推迟买汽车或新衣服的人。她把她的所有灌输给我。尽管她再也走不动了，我知道今晚她正在看着电视，这个晚上也属于她。

I don't know what kind of lives John McCain thinks that celebrities lead, but this has been mine. These are my heroes. Theirs are the stories that shaped me. And it is on their behalf that I intend to win this election and keep our promise alive as President of the United States.

我不知道麦凯恩觉得明星会过怎样的生活，但这是我的生活。他们是我的英雄。他们的故事塑造了我。正是为了他们的利益我才要赢得这次选举并且作为美国总统让我们的承诺继续。

What is that promise?

It's a promise that says each of us has the freedom to make of our own lives what we will, but that we also have the obligation to treat each other with dignity and respect.

It's a promise that says the market should reward drive and innovation and generate growth, but that businesses should live up to their responsibilities to create American jobs, look out for American workers, and play by the rules of the road.

这个承诺是什么？

这个承诺是说我们每个人都有按照自己意愿生活的自由，但是我们也有义务以尊严和尊重对待彼此。

这个承诺是说市场应该奖励驱动力量和创新并且产生增长，但是那个企业必须实践他们为美国创造就业岗位、关心美国雇员、按照正常规则运作的责任。

Ours is a promise that says government cannot solve all our problems, but what it should do is that which we cannot do for ourselves - protect us from harm and provide every child a decent education; keep our water clean and our toys safe; invest in new schools and new roads and new science and technology.

我们的承诺是说政府不能解决我们所有的问题，但是政府应该做那些我们自己做不了的事情——保护我们不受伤害、给每个孩子一个体面的教育，让我们的水清洁、玩具安全，在新学校、新公路和新科技上投资。

Our government should work for us, not against us. It should help us, not hurt us. It should ensure opportunity not just for those with the most money and influence, but for every American who's willing to work.

我们的政府应该为我们工作，而不是和我们对着干；它应该帮助我们，而不是伤害我们。他应该确保机会不只给那些有钱有势的人，而是给每个愿意工作的美国人准备的。

That's the promise of America - the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise or fall as one nation; the fundamental belief that I am my brother's keeper; I am my sister's keeper.

这就是美国的承诺—— 一个认为我们为自己负责，我们也为这个国家的兴衰负责的信念。基本信念是我是我兄弟的守护者；我是我姊妹的守护者。

That's the promise we need to keep. That's the change we need right now. So let me spell out exactly what that change would mean if I am President.

这是一个我们需要保守的承诺，这是一个我们现在需要的变革。所以现在让我准确地描述一下如果我当总统，变革意味着什么。

Change means a tax code that doesn't reward the lobbyists who wrote it, but the American workers and small businesses who deserve it.

Unlike John McCain, I will stop giving tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas, and I will start giving them to companies that create good jobs right here in America.

I will eliminate capital gains taxes for the small businesses and the start-ups that will create the high-wage, high-tech jobs of tomorrow.

I will cut taxes - cut taxes - for 95% of all working families. Because in an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle-class.

变革意味着一部税法，它不是奖励写法律的政治说客，而是奖励那些应该得到（减免税）的美国工人以及小企业的。

和麦凯恩不一样，我将停止对那些使工作机会流失海外的企业减免税收，我将把税收减免给那些就在美国本土创造好工作的公司。

我将免除那些小公司以及能创造未来高工资、高技术岗位的创业者的资本收益税。

我将减税——减税——给95%的工人家庭。因为在这样的经济之下，我们应该做的最后一件事是给中产阶级增税。

And for the sake of our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, I will set a clear goal as President: in ten years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East.

为了我们的经济、我们的安全、我们这个星球的未来，作为总统我将制定一个明确的目标：在十年里，我们将最终结束我们对中东石油的依赖。

Washington's been talking about our oil addiction for the last thirty years, and John McCain has been there for twenty-six of them. In that time, he's said no to higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars, no to investments in renewable energy, no to renewable fuels. And today, we import triple the amount of oil as the day that Senator McCain took office.

近三十年来华盛顿都在谈论石油依赖，麦凯恩在那待了其中的26年。在这期间，他曾向高效可更新汽车标准说不，他曾向可再生能源投资说不，他曾想可再生燃料说不。于是今天，我们的石油进口是麦凯恩参议员刚履职时的三倍。

Now is the time to end this addiction, and to understand that drilling is a stop-gap measure, not a long-term solution. Not even close.

现在是向这种依赖说不的时候了，并且要理解钻探石油只是权宜之策，并非长久的解决办法，连接近长久都算不上。

As President, I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power. I'll help our auto companies re-tool, so that the fuel-efficient cars of the future are built right here in America. I'll make it easier for the American people to afford these new cars. And I'll invest 150 billion dollars over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy - wind power and solar power and the next generation of biofuels; an investment that will lead to new industries and five million new jobs that pay well and can't ever be outsourced.

作为总统，我将动用我们的天然气储备、在清洁煤炭技术上投资并且找到安全开发核能的途径。我将帮助我们的汽车公司重组，使得未来的节能汽车在美国本土制造。我将使美国人更容易地购买得起这些新车。我将在未来10年里投资1500亿美元用于开发用得起的可再生能源——风能、太阳能以及下一代生物燃料。这些投资将催生新的产业以及500万个报酬丰厚又永远不会外流的新岗位。

America, now is not the time for small plans.

美利坚，现在是一个需要大手笔的时代。

Now is the time to finally meet our moral obligation to provide every child a world-class education, because it will take nothing less to compete in the global economy. Michelle and I are only here tonight because we were given a chance at an education. And I will not settle for an America where some kids don't have that chance. I'll invest in early childhood education. I'll recruit an army of new teachers, and pay them higher salaries and give them more support. And in exchange, I'll ask for higher standards and more accountability. And we will keep our promise to every young American - if you commit to serving your community or your country, we will make sure you can afford a college education.

现在是一个最终完成我们道义职责、提供给每一个孩子世界级教育的时代，因为要在世界经济中竞争，这些一点都不能少。蜜雪儿和我今晚能在这正是因为我们获得了教育的机会。我将不会接受一个有些孩子还不能得到那种机会的美国。我将在早期幼儿教育方面投资，我将招募一支新教师队伍，付给他们更高的工资、给他们更多的支持。作为交换条件，我将要求更高的教育标准和更多的责任。我们将把我们的承诺兑现给每一个美国青年——如果你投身于服务社区和你的国家，我们将保证你能支付得起大学教育。

Now is the time to finally keep the promise of affordable, accessible health care for every single American. If you have health care, my plan will lower your premiums. If you don't, you'll be able to get the same kind of coverage that members of Congress give themselves. And as someone who watched my mother argue with insurance companies while she lay in bed dying of cancer, I will make certain those companies stop discriminating against those who are sick and need care the most.

现在是兑现让每个美国人都能支付得起而且能够获得的医疗保险这一承诺的时候了。如果你有医疗保险，我的计划将降低你的保险金；如果你没有，那么你将会得到一份投保范围与国会成员们给自己上的医疗保险一样的保单。作为一个看着我正被癌症夺走生命的母亲在病榻上与保险公司争吵的见证者，我将确保那些公司停止歧视那些病人以及最需要保险的人。

Now is the time to help families with paid sick days and better family leave, because nobody in America should have to choose between keeping their jobs and caring for a sick child or ailing parent.

现在是用带薪病假和家庭改善假来来帮助家庭的时候了，因为在美国没有人应该在保留工作和照顾病儿或者老人之间选择。

Now is the time to change our bankruptcy laws, so that your pensions are protected ahead of CEO bonuses; and the time to protect Social Security for future generations.

And now is the time to keep the promise of equal pay for an equal day's work, because I want my daughters to have exactly the same opportunities as your sons.

现在是更改我们破产的法律以使得你的养老金排在公司老总们的奖金之前受到保护的时候了，也是为未来的几代人保护社会保险的时候了。

Now, many of these plans will cost money, which is why I've laid out how I'll pay for every dime - by closing corporate loopholes and tax havens that don't help America grow. But I will also go through the federal budget, line by line, eliminating programs that no longer work and making the ones we do need work better and cost less - because we cannot meet twenty-first century challenges with a twentieth century bureaucracy.

现在，这些计划里好多都要花钱，这就是我为什么罗列出我如何能给出每一美金——依靠堵塞企业漏洞和关闭那些不能给美国带来增长的税收场所的手段。但是我也将仔细审查联邦预算，一行一行查，砍去那些不再有效的规划并且让那些我们切实需要的规划能够更高效更节约——因为我们不能用二十世纪的官僚机构来应对二十一世纪的挑战。

 

And Democrats, we must also admit that fulfilling America's promise will require more than just money. It will require a renewed sense of responsibility from each of us to recover what John F. Kennedy called our "intellectual and moral strength." Yes, government must lead on energy independence, but each of us must do our part to make our homes and businesses more efficient. Yes, we must provide more ladders to success for young men who fall into lives of crime and despair. But we must also admit that programs alone can't replace parents; that government can't turn off the television and make a child do her homework; that fathers must take more responsibility for providing the love and guidance their children need.

民主党同仁们，我们必须承认，兑现美国承诺需要的不仅是金钱，它需要我们每个人都具有重振肯尼迪总统称为“智力和道德力量”的全新责任感。是的，政府就是要领导能源独立，但是我们每个人必须做我们那一部分，使家庭和企业都都更节能高效。是的，我们必须为那些落入犯罪和绝望生活中的青年提供阶梯，但是我们也必须承认，扶助项目本身代替不了父母，政府不能关掉电视让孩子做作业，父亲不许肩负起更多为孩子提供他们需要的爱和引导的责任

Individual responsibility and mutual responsibility - that's the essence of America's promise.

个人责任和相互责任——这是美国诺言的精髓。

And just as we keep our keep our promise to the next generation here at home, so must we keep America's promise abroad. If John McCain wants to have a debate about who has the temperament, and judgment, to serve as the next Commander-in-Chief, that's a debate I'm ready to have.

在我们在美国为下一代践行美国承诺的时候，在国外我们也要践行美国承诺，如果麦凯恩愿意辩论谁更具有担任下一个三军统帅的性情和判断力，我愿意奉陪。

For while Senator McCain was turning his sights to Iraq just days after 9/11, I stood up and opposed this war, knowing that it would distract us from the real threats we face. When John McCain said we could just "muddle through" in Afghanistan, I argued for more resources and more troops to finish the fight against the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11, and made clear that we must take out Osama bin Laden and his lieutenants if we have them in our sights. John McCain likes to say that he'll follow bin Laden to the Gates of Hell - but he won't even go to the cave where he lives.

当麦凯恩参议员在911刚过几天就把目光转向了伊拉克，我站出来反对这场战争，因为我知道这会分散我们对所面临的真正威胁的关注。当麦凯恩说我们可以把阿富汗应付过去，我则为争取更多的用以恐怖分子的资源和更多的军队据理力争，这些恐怖分子才是真正在911中袭击我们的元凶，我明确表示如果我们有本拉登和他的下属的踪迹时，一定会把他们抓住。麦凯恩愿意说他将追本拉登一直到地狱的门口——然而他连拉登住的山洞都不去。

 

And today, as my call for a time frame to remove our troops from Iraq has been echoed by the Iraqi government and even the Bush Administration, even after we learned that Iraq has a $79 billion surplus while we're wallowing in deficits, John McCain stands alone in his stubborn refusal to end a misguided war.

今天，当我的限期从伊拉克撤军的提议得到了伊拉克政府甚至是布什政府的回应的时候，甚至当我们知道伊拉克790亿美元盈余而我们深陷财政亏空时，麦凯恩还是一意孤行地拒绝结束这场被误导了的战争。

That's not the judgment we need. That won't keep America safe. We need a President who can face the threats of the future, not keep grasping at the ideas of the past.

这不是我们需要的判断力，这不会使美国安全。我们需要一个能面对未来威胁而不是抓住过去的想法不放的总统。

You don't defeat a terrorist network that operates in eighty countries by occupying Iraq. You don't protect Israel and deter Iran just by talking tough in Washington. You can't truly stand up for Georgia when you've strained our oldest alliances. If John McCain wants to follow George Bush with more tough talk and bad strategy, that is his choice - but it is not the change we need.

你不会因为占领了伊拉克而挫败在80个国家活动的恐怖分子网络，你不会因为在华盛顿措辞强硬而保护以色列或者威慑住伊朗，当你和我们的老盟友们关系紧张时你不能真正为格鲁吉亚撑腰。如果麦凯恩愿意追随乔治·布什的强硬措辞和失败策略，那时他的选择，但这不是我们需要的变革。