ブッシュ(と小泉)が悪いといっても、その下地を作ったのはクリントンで、それについてもオバマは予備選で指摘した。ヒラリーが激怒して言い放った「shame on you」は、ビルのNAFTA問題だったし、当時のサミットでは初めてグローバル化反対のデモが行われたように思う。そう、たった8年でこうなったわけじゃなくて16年でこうなったんだよね。
予備選でいきなりアイオワで勝利を上げたとき、私の確信は少し前進した。ニューハンプシャーでの敗北も、その演説は歴史に残るほど素晴らしいものだった。「Yes We Can」の歌がブームになったところで、もうこれは動かしがたいムーブメントだと思った。その後も接戦の中、ヒラリーの猛攻撃やライト牧師の件で窮地に陥っても完ぺきに自分と選挙戦を制御していた姿に、これができるのは、ほかに誰もいないだろうと思うようになった。
If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.
It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.
It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled – Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.
It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.
It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.
Barack Obama: 'A new dawn of American leadership'
Link to this audio
I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he's fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.
I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the Vice President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.
I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation's next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House. And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.
To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics – you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.
But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to – it belongs to you.
I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington – it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.
It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.
I know you didn't do this just to win an election and I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime – two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor's bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.
The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America – I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you – we as a people will get there.
There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years – block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.
What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek – it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.
So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers – in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.
Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House – a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, "We are not enemies, but friends…though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection." And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn – I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.
And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world – our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down – we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security – we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright – tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.
For that is the true genius of America – that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.
This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing – Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.
She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons – because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.
And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America – the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.
At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.
When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.
When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.
She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes we can.
A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.
America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves – if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?
This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time – to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth – that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:
Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America.
Thank you. Thank you, my friends. Thank you for coming here on this beautiful Arizona evening.
My friends, we have we have come to the end of a long journey. The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly. A little while ago, I had the honour of calling Senator Barack Obama to congratulate him.
(Crowd boos)
Please.
To congratulate him on being elected the next president of the country that we both love.
In a contest as long and difficult as this campaign has been, his success alone commands my respect for his ability and perseverance. But that he managed to do so by inspiring the hopes of so many millions of Americans who had once wrongly believed that they had little at stake or little influence in the election of an American president is something I deeply admire and commend him for achieving.
This is an historic election, and I recognize the special significance it has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight.
I've always believed that America offers opportunities to all who have the industry and will to seize it. Senator Obama believes that, too.
But we both recognise that, though we have come a long way from the old injustices that once stained our nation's reputation and denied some Americans the full blessings of American citizenship, the memory of them still had the power to wound.
A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelt's invitation of Booker T Washington to dine at the White House was taken as an outrage in many quarters.
America today is a world away from the cruel and frightful bigotry of that time. There is no better evidence of this than the election of an African-American to the presidency of the United States.
Let there be no reason now ... Let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on Earth.
Senator Obama has achieved a great thing for himself and for his country. I applaud him for it, and offer him my sincere sympathy that his beloved grandmother did not live to see this day. Though our faith assures us she is at rest in the presence of her creator and so very proud of the good man she helped raise.
Senator Obama and I have had and argued our differences, and he has prevailed. No doubt many of those differences remain.
These are difficult times for our country. And I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face.
I urge all Americans ... I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited.
Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that. John McCain gives his concession speech at a rally in Arizona Link to this audio
It is natural. It's natural, tonight, to feel some disappointment. But tomorrow, we must move beyond it and work together to get our country moving again.
We fought we fought as hard as we could. And though we fell short, the failure is mine, not yours.
(Crowd: "No!")
I am so...
(Crowd begins chanting)
I am so deeply grateful to all of you for the great honour of your support and for all you have done for me. I wish the outcome had been different, my friends.
The road was a difficult one from the outset, but your support and friendship never wavered. I cannot adequately express how deeply indebted I am to you.
I'm especially grateful to my wife, Cindy, my children, my dear mother ... my dear mother and all my family, and to the many old and dear friends who have stood by my side through the many ups and downs of this long campaign.
I have always been a fortunate man, and never more so for the love and encouragement you have given me.
You know, campaigns are often harder on a candidate's family than on the candidate, and that's been true in this campaign.
All I can offer in compensation is my love and gratitude and the promise of more peaceful years ahead.
I am also, I am also, of course, very thankful to governor Sarah Palin, one of the best campaigners I've ever seen ... one of the best campaigners I have ever seen, and an impressive new voice in our party for reform and the principles that have always been our greatest strength ... her husband Todd and their five beautiful children ... for their tireless dedication to our cause, and the courage and grace they showed in the rough and tumble of a presidential campaign.
We can all look forward with great interest to her future service to Alaska, the Republican party and our country.
To all my campaign comrades, from Rick Davis and Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter, to every last volunteer who fought so hard and valiantly, month after month, in what at times seemed to be the most challenging campaign in modern times, thank you so much. A lost election will never mean more to me than the privilege of your faith and friendship.
I don't know, I don't know what more we could have done to try to win this election. I'll leave that to others to determine. Every candidate makes mistakes, and I'm sure I made my share of them. But I won't spend a moment of the future regretting what might have been.
This campaign was and will remain the great honour of my life, and my heart is filled with nothing but gratitude for the experience and to the American people for giving me a fair hearing before deciding that Senator Obama and my old friend Senator Joe Biden should have the honour of leading us for the next four years.
(Crowd boos)
Please. Please.
I would not, I would not be an American worthy of the name should I regret a fate that has allowed me the extraordinary privilege of serving this country for a half a century.
Today, I was a candidate for the highest office in the country I love so much. And tonight, I remain her servant. That is blessing enough for anyone, and I thank the people of Arizona for it.
Tonight, tonight, more than any night, I hold in my heart nothing but love for this country and for all its citizens, whether they supported me or Senator Obama, whether they supported me or Senator Obama.
I wish Godspeed to the man who was my former opponent and will be my president. And I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties, but to believe, always, in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here.
Americans never quit. We never surrender.
We never hide from history. We make history.
Thank you, and God bless you, and God bless America. Thank you all very much.
After decades of broken politics in Washington, eight years of failed policies from George Bush, and twenty-one months of a campaign that has taken us from the rocky coast of Maine to the sunshine of California, we are one week away from change in America. 10年にわたるワシントンの壊れた政治、ジョージ・ブッシュの失敗した政策の8年間、そして21ヶ月にわたるメーン州からカリフォルニア州までにわたる選挙戦も、あと残すところ1週間。アメリカが変わる時が来るのです。
In one week, you can turn the page on policies that have put the greed and irresponsibility of Wall Street before the hard work and sacrifice of folks on Main Street. 一週間後、みなさんがめくる政治の1ページは、どん欲で無責任なウォールストリートを、みなさんのハードワークと自己犠牲というメインストリートの前に押し出すのです。
In one week, you can choose policies that invest in our middle-class, create new jobs, and grow this economy from the bottom-up so that everyone has a chance to succeed; from the CEO to the secretary and the janitor; from the factory owner to the men and women who work on its floor. 一週間後、みなさんが選ぶ政策は、中産階級の発展や新しい仕事の創出、そして底辺からの経済浮揚というものです。すべての人が成功をおさめることができるのです。CEOから秘書、そして用務員まで、工場主からフロアで働く男女まで。
In one week, you can put an end to the politics that would divide a nation just to win an election; that tries to pit region against region, city against town, Republican against Democrat; that asks us to fear at a time when we need hope. 一週間後、みなさんは政治を終わらせます。選挙で勝つために国を引き裂き、地域と地域を、大都市と町を戦わせようとし、共和党と民主党を戦わせようとし、希望が必要な時に、恐怖を求める政治を。
In one week, at this defining moment in history, you can give this country the change we need. 一週間後、歴史を決定づける時、みなさんはこの国に必要な変革をもたらすでしょう。
We began this journey in the depths of winter nearly two years ago, on the steps of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois. Back then, we didn't have much money or many endorsements. We weren't given much of a chance by the polls or the pundits, and we knew how steep our climb would be. 私たちは2年近く前の冬のまっただ中にこの旅(選挙戦)を開始しました。イリノイの古い州都であるスプリングフィールドで。資金も十分ではなく、支持も多くはありませんでした。私たちは世論調査や評論家たちに、多くのチャンスを与えられることもありませんでした。そして、私たちが登ろうとしているこの坂がいかに険しいものかも知っていました。
But I also knew this. I knew that the size of our challenges had outgrown the smallness of our politics. I believed that Democrats and Republicans and Americans of every political stripe were hungry for new ideas, new leadership, and a new kind of politics - one that favors common sense over ideology; one that focuses on those values and ideals we hold in common as Americans. しかしこのことも知っていました。私たちの難題の大きさは、私たちの政治の小ささを大きく育ててくれるものだと。私は信じていました。民主党や共和党や、そしてすべての政治的背景を持つアメリカ人が、新しいアイデア、新しいリーダーシップ、そして新しいタイプの政治に飢えているのだと。イデオロギーよりも共通認識を優先させる政治、アメリカ人として共通に抱く価値や理想に焦点をあてた政治を。
Most of all, I believed in your ability to make change happen. I knew that the American people were a decent, generous people who are willing to work hard and sacrifice for future generations. And I was convinced that when we come together, our voices are more powerful than the most entrenched lobbyists, or the most vicious political attacks, or the full force of a status quo in Washington that wants to keep things just the way they are. ほとんどの人が、変革を起こすことができると私は信じています。アメリカ人は礼儀正しく寛大な人々で、懸命に働き、将来世代への犠牲を払うことを望む人々なのですから。そして、私は確信しています。私たちが結集したとき、私たちの声はより力強くなるでしょう。地位を固めているロビイストや悪意ある政治的攻撃よりも、そして彼らのやり方を保ち続けたいワシントン体制のすべての権力よりも。
status quo = 現状維持、そのままの状態、体制
Twenty-one months later, my faith in the American people has been vindicated. That's how we've come so far and so close - because of you. That's how we'll change this country - with your help. And that's why we can't afford to slow down, sit back, or let up for one day, one minute, or one second in this last week. Not now. Not when so much is at stake. 21ヶ月後、アメリカの人たちに対する私の信念は立証されました。ここまで来られたのも、そしてこんなに近くまでこられたのも、みなさんのおかげなのです。この国を変えるにはみなさんの助けが必要です。私たちはだからこそ、スローダウンしたり傍観したりする余裕はありません。この一週間は、一日でも一分でも一秒でもとどまることはできないのです。今は休むときではありません。こんなに多くのものが懸かっているこの時には。
let up= やむ、和らぐ、弱まる at stake=〜が懸かっている 危機に瀕している
We are in the middle of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. 760,000 workers have lost their jobs this year. Businesses and families can't get credit. Home values are falling. Pensions are disappearing. Wages are lower than they've been in a decade, at a time when the cost of health care and college have never been higher. It's getting harder and harder to make the mortgage, or fill up your gas tank, or even keep the electricity on at the end of the month. 私たちは今、大恐慌以来最悪の経済危機のまっただ中にいます。今年は既に76万人が職を失いました。ビジネスや家族は信用を得られないのです。家の価値は落ちました。年金は消えました。給料はこの10年間で最低となり、そんなとき、医療費や大学の学費はかつてなく高くなっています。住宅ローンを得るのは難しくなるばかりで、ガソリンを満タンにするのも、電気を月末までつけておくのすら難しくなっています。
At a moment like this, the last thing we can afford is four more years of the tired, old theory that says we should give more to billionaires and big corporations and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else. The last thing we can afford is four more years where no one in Washington is watching anyone on Wall Street because politicians and lobbyists killed common-sense regulations. Those are the theories that got us into this mess. They haven't worked, and it's time for change. That's why I'm running for President of the United States. このような時に、私たちが最も避けたいことは、あと4年間もこの疲れた古い理論を信じ続けることです。私たちが億万長者や大企業にもっと与えれば、繁栄がすべての人に流れ落ちてくるという希望を持てという理論を。最も避けたいことは、あと4年間もワシントンでは誰一人ウォールストリートを監視していない状態を続けることです。政治家やロビイストは共通認識である規制をなくしてしまったのです。これらの理論は我々を現在のような混乱に陥れたのです。それらは機能してこなかった。だから今は変えるべきときです。それが私がアメリカ合衆国大統領を目指す理由なのです。
last thing = 最後にすること 最もしたくないこと
Now, Senator McCain has served this country honorably. And he can point to a few moments over the past eight years where he has broken from George Bush - on torture, for example. He deserves credit for that. But when it comes to the economy - when it comes to the central issue of this election - the plain truth is that John McCain has stood with this President every step of the way. Voting for the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy that he once opposed. Voting for the Bush budgets that spent us into debt. Calling for less regulation twenty-one times just this year. Those are the facts. マケイン上院議員は誠実にこの国に奉仕してきました。そして彼はこの8年で2、3回、ジョージ・ブッシュに反対する場面がありました。拷問の問題などにおいてです。彼はそれについては信用していい人物です。しかし経済となると、この選挙戦の中心的問題となると、ありのままの事実としては、ジョン・マケインは大統領を支持してきたのです。ブッシュの富裕層に対する減税も一度は反対したのに賛成票を投じました。ブッシュの、私たちに負債を負わせる予算にも賛成しました。今年だけで32回も規制緩和を求めました。これが事実なのです。
plain truth=ありのままの事実
And now, after twenty-one months and three debates, Senator McCain still has not been able to tell the American people a single major thing he'd do differently from George Bush when it comes to the economy. Senator McCain says that we can't spend the next four years waiting for our luck to change, but you understand that the biggest gamble we can take is embracing the same old Bush-McCain policies that have failed us for the last eight years. そして今、21ヶ月がすぎ、3回の討論会を行ったあとでも、マケイン上院議員はアメリカの人々にジョージ・ブッシュの経済政策について一つの大きな違いも話してはいません。マケイン上院議員は次の4年を変革の幸運を待って過ごすことはできないと言っていますが、みなさんは最も大きな賭けは古いブッシューマケイン政策と同じものを選ぶことであることを理解されているでしょう。その政策は過去8年間失敗してきたのですから。
It's not change when John McCain wants to give a $700,000 tax cut to the average Fortune 500 CEO. It's not change when he wants to give $200 billion to the biggest corporations or $4 billion to the oil companies or $300 billion to the same Wall Street banks that got us into this mess. It's not change when he comes up with a tax plan that doesn't give a penny of relief to more than 100 million middle-class Americans. That's not change. これは変革ではありません。ジョン・マケインがのぞむフォーチュン500に載るようなCEOのレベルで70万ドルの減税を実施することは。これは変革ではありません。マケインがのぞむ大企業への2000億ドルの支援や、40億ドルの石油会社への支援、3000億ドルのウォールストリートの銀行への支援は。これらは私たちを大混乱に陥れました。これは変革ではありません。マケインの税制は1ペニーの安心も、100万人以上の中流階級のアメリカ人にはもたらさないのです。これは変革ではありません。
come up with =思いつく
Look - we've tried it John McCain's way. We've tried it George Bush's way. Deep down, Senator McCain knows that, which is why his campaign said that "if we keep talking about the economy, we're going to lose." That's why he's spending these last weeks calling me every name in the book. Because that's how you play the game in Washington. If you can't beat your opponent's ideas, you distort those ideas and maybe make some up. If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run away from. You make a big election about small things. 考えてみてください。私たちはジョン・マケインのやり方を既にやってきました。ジョージ・ブッシュのやり方をやってきました。深く落ちました。マケイン上院議員はそれを知っているのです。彼の選挙対策本部は「もし経済について話し続けるならば我々は負けるだろう」と言っていたのですから。それが彼が最後の数週間、私に対するありとあらゆる悪態をついていた理由なのです。それがワシントンにおけるゲームのやり方ですから。もし敵のアイデアをやっつけることができなければ、そのアイデアをゆがめて伝えるか、でっちあげるかするのです。もし走り続けるための記録を持っていなければ、敵がまるで誰かが逃げ出しているかのように仕立て上げるのです。とても重要な選挙を矮小化させるのです。
call ~ every name =悪態をつく in the book = ありとあらゆる make some up=でっちあげる paint someone as =(人)を~に仕立て上げる
Ohio, we are here to say "Not this time. Not this year. Not when so much is at stake." Senator McCain might be worried about losing an election, but I'm worried about Americans who are losing their homes, and their jobs, and their life savings. I can take one more week of John McCain's attacks, but this country can't take four more years of the same old politics and the same failed policies. It's time for something new.
オハイオのみなさん、私たちはここにこう言うためにいるのです。「今回は違う。この年は違う。こんなに危機に瀕しているときは」と。マケイン上院議員はこの選挙に負けることを恐れているかもしれません。しかし、私はアメリカ人が家を、職を、そして老後の貯蓄を失うことを恐れています。私はあと1週間、ジョン・マケインの攻撃に耐えることができます。しかしこの国はもう4年間、これまでと同じ政治、これまでと同じ間違った政治に耐え続けることはできないのです。今は何か新しいものが必要な時なのです。
The question in this election is not "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" We know the answer to that. The real question is, "Will this country be better off four years from now?"
今回の選挙で問われていることは、「4年前より裕福になったか?」ということではありません。私たちはその答えを知っています。本当に問われていることは「この国は4年後に今より繁栄しているか?」ということなのです。
I know these are difficult times for America. But I also know that we have faced difficult times before. The American story has never been about things coming easy - it's been about rising to the moment when the moment was hard. It's about seeing the highest mountaintop from the deepest of valleys. It's about rejecting fear and division for unity of purpose. That's how we've overcome war and depression. That's how we've won great struggles for civil rights and women's rights and worker's rights. And that's how we'll emerge from this crisis stronger and more prosperous than we were before - as one nation; as one people.
アメリカは今困難な時を迎えていることを私は知っています。しかし以前にもアメリカは困難に直面してきました。アメリカの物語は決して簡単なことばかりではありませんでした。困難な時ほど上昇してきたのです。最も高い山の頂上を、谷底から見ているのです。恐れや団結を故意に阻止する分裂を拒否するのです。それが戦争と恐慌を克服する方法でした。それが市民権や女性の権利や労働者の権利の偉大な戦いに勝利する方法でした。そしてこの危機からより強くより繁栄して浮上する方法なのです。一つの国として、一つの国民として。
Remember, we still have the most talented, most productive workers of any country on Earth. We're still home to innovation and technology, colleges and universities that are the envy of the world. Some of the biggest ideas in history have come from our small businesses and our research facilities. So there's no reason we can't make this century another American century. We just need a new direction. We need a new politics.
思い出してください。私たちは今でも、地球上のどの国よりも最も有能な最も生産的な労働者を持っています。私たちは今でも開発や技術が存在し、大学は世界から羨望の的となっています。歴史上最も重大な発想のいくつかは、私たちの小規模事業や研究施設から生まれたものです。ですから私たちが今世紀を、もう一つのアメリカの世紀にできないという理由はどこにもないのです。私たちはただ、新しい方向が必要なだけなのです。新しい政治が必要なのです。
Now, I don't believe that government can or should try to solve all our problems. I know you don't either. But I do believe that government should do that which we cannot do for ourselves - protect us from harm and provide a decent education for our children; invest in new roads and new science and technology. It should reward drive and innovation and growth in the free market, but it should also make sure businesses live up to their responsibility to create American jobs, and look out for American workers, and play by the rules of the road. It should ensure a shot at success not only for those with money and power and influence, but for every single American who's willing to work. That's how we create not just more millionaires, but more middle-class families. That's how we make sure businesses have customers that can afford their products and services. That's how we've always grown the American economy - from the bottom-up. John McCain calls this socialism. I call it opportunity, and there is nothing more American than that.
私は政府がすべての問題を解決できる、もしくは解決すべきとは考えていません。みなさんもそう思ってはいないでしょう。しかし私は、政府が私たち自身ではできないことをすべきだと信じています。危害から我々を守ったり、まともな教育を子供たちに与えたり、新しい道や新しい科学、技術に投資をしたりということを。それはドライブや革新や自由市場の発展という見返りをもたらすでしょう。しかしそれは、事業者がアメリカの雇用を創造するという責任に従って行動するということを確認せねばなりません。またアメリカの労働者の面倒を見て、その道のルールにそってプレイする必要があります。こうすることで成功は確実になるでしょう。それはお金や権力や影響力のためだけでなく、働く意志のあるアメリカ人一人一人のためでもあります。それはより多くの大金持ちを生み出すだけでなく、より多くの中流階級をうみだす方法なのです。それは、さまざまな事業者にとっても、製品やサービスを買ってくれる顧客を確保する方法なのです。それがこれまでもアメリカの経済を底辺から成長させてきた方法なのです。ジョン・マケインはこれを社会主義と呼びます。私はこれを機会だと呼びます。そしてこれ以上アメリカ的なものはないのです。
live up to=(期待など)に沿う、かなう、〜に従って行動する look out for =〜に目配りする 注意する 面倒をみる
Understand, if we want get through this crisis, we need to get beyond the old ideological debates and divides between left and right. We don't need bigger government or smaller government. We need a better government - a more competent government - a government that upholds the values we hold in common as Americans.
いいですか、もし私たちがこの危機を乗り越えられたいのならば、私たちは古いイデオロギーでの議論や右派左派の分裂を超越する必要があります。私たちはより大きい政府もより小さい政府も必要ないのです。より良い政府が必要なのです。より有能な政府が必要なのです。私たちがアメリカ人として共通に抱く価値観を認める政府が必要なのです。
We don't have to choose between allowing our financial system to collapse and spending billions of taxpayer dollars to bail out Wall Street banks. As President, I will ensure that the financial rescue plan helps stop foreclosures and protects your money instead of enriching CEOs. And I will put in place the common-sense regulations I've been calling for throughout this campaign so that Wall Street can never cause a crisis like this again. That's the change we need.
私たちは金融システムの崩壊を許すか、ウォールストリートの銀行の救済に何千億ドルもの税金を投入するかを選択する必要はありません。大統領となった暁には、金融救済政策は差し押さえを停止し、CEOを金持ちにするかわりに、みなさんのお金を守るのに役立つようにします。そして、常識的な規制を導入します。私はこの選挙戦を通しウォールストリートがこのような危機を二度と起こさないようにすべきだと求めてきました。それが私たちに必要な変革なのです。
The choice in this election isn't between tax cuts and no tax cuts. It's about whether you believe we should only reward wealth, or whether we should also reward the work and workers who create it. I will give a tax break to 95% of Americans who work every day and get taxes taken out of their paychecks every week. I'll eliminate income taxes for seniors making under $50,000 and give homeowners and working parents more of a break. And I'll help pay for this by asking the folks who are making more than $250,000 a year to go back to the tax rate they were paying in the 1990s. No matter what Senator McCain may claim, here are the facts - if you make under $250,000, you will not see your taxes increase by a single dime - not your income taxes, not your payroll taxes, not your capital gains taxes. Nothing. Because the last thing we should do in this economy is raise taxes on the middle-class.
今回の選挙における選択は、税金を削減するかしないかの選択ではありません。みなさんが裕福な人だけに見返りを与えるのか、仕事やそれを生み出す人々にも見返りを与えるのかについての選択なのです。私は日々働き、毎週の給料から税が取られているアメリカ人の95%に対し減税を行います。5万ドル以下の収入しかない高齢者への所得税を廃止し、住宅所有者や共働き家庭へはより多くの減税をします。そして私は年収25万ドル以上の人々の税率を1990年代に戻すことで、その財源とします。マケイン上院議員が何を非難したところで、事実はここにあります。もしあなたが年収25万ドル以下の人であれば、あなたは10セントも税金があがることはないでしょう。あなたの所得税も、あなたの給与税も、キャピタルゲイン税もです。一つも上がりません。現在の経済状況で我々がもっとも避けなければならないことは、中流階級の税を上げることなのですから。
When it comes to jobs, the choice in this election is not between putting up a wall around America or allowing every job to disappear overseas. The truth is, we won't be able to bring back every job that we've lost, but that doesn't mean we should follow John McCain's plan to keep giving tax breaks to corporations that send American jobs overseas. I will end those breaks as President, and I will give American businesses a $3,000 tax credit for every job they create right here in the United States of America. I'll eliminate capital gains taxes for small businesses and start-up companies that are the engine of job creation in this country. We'll create two million new jobs by rebuilding our crumbling roads, and bridges, and schools, and by laying broadband lines to reach every corner of the country. And I will invest $15 billion a year in renewable sources of energy to create five million new energy jobs over the next decade - jobs that pay well and can't be outsourced; jobs building solar panels and wind turbines and a new electricity grid; jobs building the fuel-efficient cars of tomorrow, not in Japan or South Korea but here in the United States of America; jobs that will help us eliminate the oil we import from the Middle East in ten years and help save the planet in the bargain. That's how America can lead again.
仕事についていえば、この選挙はアメリカの周りに壁を設けるか、すべての仕事が海外に消えていくのを許すかの選択ではありません。本当のところは、私たちが失った仕事をすべて取り戻すことなどできないでしょう。しかしそれはジョン・マケインのプランに賛成すべきという意味でもありません。アメリカ人の仕事を海外に送ってしまう企業に税控除をし続けるというプランなのですから。私は大統領としてこれらをやめます。そして私はアメリカのビジネスに3000ドルの税還付を行います。仕事がアメリカ国内で生み出されたのであれば。スモールビジネスや立ち上げたばかりの企業向けにキャピタルゲイン税を撤廃します。こうしたビジネスはこの国の雇用創出のエンジンなのです。私たちは200万の新しい雇用を創出するでしょう。崩壊する道路や橋や学校を再建し、ブロードバンド回線を国の津々浦々まで敷設することによって。そして年間150億ドルの投資を再生可能エネルギーに投じ、次お10年間で500万人の新エネルギーに関する雇用を生み出します。その仕事は給料もよく、海外移転もされません。それはソーラーパネルや風車や新しい電力系統を作る仕事です。効率のよい次世代自動車を作る仕事です。次世代自動車を日本や韓国でなく、アメリカ合衆国の中で作るのです。こうした仕事は中東から輸入する石油をなくすことになるでしょう。さらに地球をも救うことになるでしょう。これはアメリカが再びリードするための方法なのです。
in the bargain=おまけに さらに
When it comes to health care, we don't have to choose between a government-run health care system and the unaffordable one we have now. If you already have health insurance, the only thing that will change under my plan is that we will lower premiums. If you don't have health insurance, you'll be able to get the same kind of health insurance that Members of Congress get for themselves. We'll invest in preventative care and new technology to finally lower the cost of health care for families, businesses, and the entire economy. And as someone who watched his own mother spend the final months of her life arguing with insurance companies because they claimed her cancer was a pre-existing condition and didn't want to pay for treatment, I will stop insurance companies from discriminating against those who are sick and need care most.
When it comes to giving every child a world-class education so they can compete in this global economy for the jobs of the 21st century, the choice is not between more money and more reform - because our schools need both. As President, I will invest in early childhood education, recruit an army of new teachers, pay them more, and give them more support. But I will also demand higher standards and more accountability from our teachers and our schools. And I will make a deal with every American who has the drive and the will but not the money to go to college: if you commit to serving your community or your country, we will make sure you can afford your tuition. You invest in America, America will invest in you, and together, we will move this country forward.
And when it comes to keeping this country safe, we don't have to choose between retreating from the world and fighting a war without end in Iraq. It's time to stop spending $10 billion a month in Iraq while the Iraqi government sits on a huge surplus. As President, I will end this war by asking the Iraqi government to step up, and finally finish the fight against bin Laden and the al Qaeda terrorists who attacked us on 9/11. I will never hesitate to defend this nation, but I will only send our troops into harm's way with a clear mission and a sacred commitment to give them the equipment they need in battle and the care and benefits they deserve when they come home. I will build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century, and I will restore our moral standing, so that America is once again that last, best hope for all who are called to the cause of freedom, who long for lives of peace, and who yearn for a better future.
I won't stand here and pretend that any of this will be easy - especially now. The cost of this economic crisis, and the cost of the war in Iraq, means that Washington will have to tighten its belt and put off spending on things we can afford to do without. On this, there is no other choice. As President, I will go through the federal budget, line-by-line, ending programs that we don't need and making the ones we do need work better and cost less.
But as I've said from the day we began this journey all those months ago, the change we need isn't just about new programs and policies. It's about a new politics - a politics that calls on our better angels instead of encouraging our worst instincts; one that reminds us of the obligations we have to ourselves and one another.
Part of the reason this economic crisis occurred is because we have been living through an era of profound irresponsibility. On Wall Street, easy money and an ethic of "what's good for me is good enough" blinded greedy executives to the danger in the decisions they were making. On Main Street, lenders tricked people into buying homes they couldn't afford. Some folks knew they couldn't afford those houses and bought them anyway. In Washington, politicians spent money they didn't have and allowed lobbyists to set the agenda. They scored political points instead of solving our problems, and even after the greatest attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor, all we were asked to do by our President was to go out and shop.
That is why what we have lost in these last eight years cannot be measured by lost wages or bigger trade deficits alone. What has also been lost is the idea that in this American story, each of us has a role to play. Each of us has a responsibility to work hard and look after ourselves and our families, and each of us has a responsibility to our fellow citizens. That's what's been lost these last eight years - our sense of common purpose; of higher purpose. And that's what we need to restore right now.
Yes, government must lead the way on energy independence, but each of us must do our part to make our homes and our businesses more efficient. Yes, we must provide more ladders to success for young men who fall into lives of crime and despair. But all of us must do our part as parents to turn off the television and read to our children and take responsibility for providing the love and guidance they need. Yes, we can argue and debate our positions passionately, but at this defining moment, all of us must summon the strength and grace to bridge our differences and unite in common effort - black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American; Democrat and Republican, young and old, rich and poor, gay and straight, disabled or not.
In this election, we cannot afford the same political games and tactics that are being used to pit us against one another and make us afraid of one another. The stakes are too high to divide us by class and region and background; by who we are or what we believe.
Because despite what our opponents may claim, there are no real or fake parts of this country. There is no city or town that is more pro-America than anywhere else - we are one nation, all of us proud, all of us patriots. There are patriots who supported this war in Iraq and patriots who opposed it; patriots who believe in Democratic policies and those who believe in Republican policies. The men and women who serve in our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and Independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America - they have served the United States of America.
It won't be easy, Ohio. It won't be quick. But you and I know that it is time to come together and change this country. Some of you may be cynical and fed up with politics. A lot of you may be disappointed and even angry with your leaders. You have every right to be. But despite all of this, I ask of you what has been asked of Americans throughout our history.
I ask you to believe - not just in my ability to bring about change, but in yours.
I know this change is possible. Because I have seen it over the last twenty-one months. Because in this campaign, I have had the privilege to witness what is best in America.
I've seen it in lines of voters that stretched around schools and churches; in the young people who cast their ballot for the first time, and those not so young folks who got involved again after a very long time. I've seen it in the workers who would rather cut back their hours than see their friends lose their jobs; in the neighbors who take a stranger in when the floodwaters rise; in the soldiers who re-enlist after losing a limb. I've seen it in the faces of the men and women I've met at countless rallies and town halls across the country, men and women who speak of their struggles but also of their hopes and dreams.
I still remember the email that a woman named Robyn sent me after I met her in Ft. Lauderdale. Sometime after our event, her son nearly went into cardiac arrest, and was diagnosed with a heart condition that could only be treated with a procedure that cost tens of thousands of dollars. Her insurance company refused to pay, and their family just didn't have that kind of money.
In her email, Robyn wrote, "I ask only this of you - on the days where you feel so tired you can't think of uttering another word to the people, think of us. When those who oppose you have you down, reach deep and fight back harder."
Ohio, that's what hope is - that thing inside us that insists, despite all evidence to the contrary, that something better is waiting around the bend; that insists there are better days ahead. If we're willing to work for it. If we're willing to shed our fears and our doubts. If we're willing to reach deep down inside ourselves when we're tired and come back fighting harder.
Hope! That's what kept some of our parents and grandparents going when times were tough. What led them to say, "Maybe I can't go to college, but if I save a little bit each week my child can; maybe I can't have my own business but if I work really hard my child can open one of her own." It's what led immigrants from distant lands to come to these shores against great odds and carve a new life for their families in America; what led those who couldn't vote to march and organize and stand for freedom; that led them to cry out, "It may look dark tonight, but if I hold on to hope, tomorrow will be brighter."
That's what this election is about. That is the choice we face right now.
Don't believe for a second this election is over. Don't think for a minute that power concedes. We have to work like our future depends on it in this last week, because it does.
In one week, we can choose an economy that rewards work and creates new jobs and fuels prosperity from the bottom-up.
In one week, we can choose to invest in health care for our families, and education for our kids, and renewable energy for our future.
In one week, we can choose hope over fear, unity over division, the promise of change over the power of the status quo.
In one week, we can come together as one nation, and one people, and once more choose our better history.
That's what's at stake. That's what we're fighting for. And if in this last week, you will knock on some doors for me, and make some calls for me, and talk to your neighbors, and convince your friends; if you will stand with me, and fight with me, and give me your vote, then I promise you this - we will not just win Ohio, we will not just win this election, but together, we will change this country and we will change the world. Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless America.