Obama Faces 100 Days Test

Obama Faces 100 Days Test
奧巴馬白宮百日：善於與民眾溝通

 
 
President Barack Obama is going through a rite of political passage this week - he is marking his first 100 days in office. The significance of the 100 days marker goes back to the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt, who assumed power at the height of the Great Depression in 1933, and his first priority was reassuring the public that better days were ahead.

　

這個星期是奧巴馬總統上任100天的重要日子，這是政治曆程中的一個重要階段。100天這個標誌的重要性是從富蘭克林.羅斯福總統開始的。富蘭克林.羅斯福是在1933年大蕭條最嚴重的時期擔任總統的。當時他的首要任務是向公眾保證，前途是光明的。

"You people must have faith. You must not be stampeded by rumors or guesses. Let us unite in banishing fear," he said.

　

他說：“你們必須有信心，絕不要被流言和猜測所嚇倒。讓我們團結起來驅散恐懼。”

Roosevelt was a master communicator and the first president to make effective use of the radio to build public support.

　

羅斯福很善於和民眾溝通，他是第一位有效地利用廣播來獲取公眾支持的總統。

Roosevelt's ambitious legislative program aimed at reviving the economy and his decisive leadership style remain the gold standard for how a new president takes charge in the first 100 days in office.

　

羅斯福雄心勃勃的振興經濟的立法項目和他果斷的領導作風，至今仍然是衡量一位新總統如何在就職100天裏行使權力的最高標準。

Other presidents had to cope with domestic and foreign policy stumbles in their first 100 days.

　

有的總統不得不在就職後的100天裏應對國內和外交政策上的失誤。

In 1961, President John Kennedy took responsibility for the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion involving U.S.-supported Cuban exiles trying to overthrow the government of Fidel Castro.

　

1961年，約翰.肯尼迪總統為豬灣入侵的災難性後果承擔責任。那次事件涉及在美國支持下的古巴流亡者企圖推翻菲德爾.卡斯特羅的政府。

For Kennedy, it was an early political setback for a president untested on the world stage.

　

肯尼迪當時是一位在世界舞台上還沒有受到考驗的總統，這一事件是他早期遭遇的政治挫折。

"On that unhappy island, as in some many other arenas in the contest for freedom, the news has grown worse instead of better," he said.

　

肯尼迪說：“從那個不幸的島嶼上傳來的消息，就像為爭取自由而鬥爭的許多其他地方一樣，越來越糟，而不是越來越好。”

President Barack Obama faced an incredibly daunting economic situation in his first 100 days in office.

　

巴拉克.奧巴馬總統在就職後的100天裏麵臨一個極為棘手的經濟局麵。

In some ways, Mr. Obama has modeled his initial approach in office on that of Franklin Roosevelt, mindful of Roosevelt's ability to communicate with the public and convey harsh realities and hope at the same time.

　

從某些方麵來說，奧巴馬上任初期的做法是以富蘭克林.羅斯福為表率的，他注意到羅斯福與公眾溝通的能力，在向他們指出嚴酷現實的同時也讓他們抱有希望。

"By no means are we out of the woods just yet. But from where we stand, for the very first time, we are beginning to see glimmers of hope," he said.

　

奧巴馬說：“我們現在還沒有走出困境。但是就目前的情況來說，我們頭一次開始看到了希望的曙光。”

Journalists and political experts are spending a lot of time evaluating Mr. Obama's first 100 days in office, even though many of them acknowledge the 100 days mark is an arbitrary number.

　

新聞記者和政治專家花了很多時間來評估奧巴馬就任總統後100天內的政績，盡管他們中的很多人承認，用100天來衡量是很武斷的。

Stephen Hess is a political scholar at the Brookings Institution in Washington:

　

史蒂芬.赫斯是華盛頓布魯金斯學會的一位政治學者。

"It is a useful way to assess each individual president, not in historical terms, but just looking back and saying how have they gotten off the ground," said Hess.

　

他說：“這是評估每一位總統行之有效的方法，不是從曆史的角度來評估，而隻是回顧一下他們上任後是怎麽開始執政的。”

Political analyst Stuart Rothenberg says the president's early and continuing popularity is in large part due to Mr. Obama's ability to convince voters that he is willing to tackle the nation's economic problems head-on.

　

政治分析人士羅騰伯格說，奧巴馬總統之所以能在早期，以致持續深得民心，主要是因為他能讓選民相信他願意毫不含糊地處理美國的經濟問題。

"You have to say the one thing that he has done is he has brought a fresh spirit to the American public, a sense of at least partial relief that the government is trying to turn the economy around, is hands-on, understands people's problems, and that is really important," Rothenberg said.

　

他說：“你不得不承認他做到了一件事情：那就是在美國公眾間振奮人心，至少讓公眾的情緒放鬆了一些，使他們感到政府正在努力扭轉經濟局麵、正在著手處理問題，而且政府理解人民的難處，那的確相當重要。”

Opposition Republicans accuse the president of wanting to follow a far-left economic and social agenda, and they warn that his government spending plans will result in a huge jump in the national debt.

　

反對黨共和黨人指責奧巴馬總統遵循極左的經濟和社會方針，他們還警告說，奧巴馬的政府預算計劃將導致國家債台高築。

But analyst Rothenberg says so far, Mr. Obama has been able to deflect some of the partisan criticism.

　

但是分析人士羅騰伯格說，迄今為止，奧巴馬一直能轉移反對派對他提出的批評。

"The strengths are clearly his personal ability to communicate with people, to communicate with the American public and to motivate and to change the mood in the country. And he has done a good job, I think, in trying to reach out to all Americans and not running a particularly partisan presidency, at least in rhetoric," he added.

　

他說：“顯然他個人的人際交流能力是力量的源泉，也就是他和與美國公眾的交流、調動積極因素並改變國內民眾情緒的能力。他幹得最出色的是設法和各界美國人民接觸，不單純從黨派立場來執政，至少在口頭上是如此。”

But Republicans also complain that Mr. Obama has so far failed to follow through on his campaign promise to change the political tone in Washington and reach out to the opposition party.

　

但是共和黨人仍然在抱怨奧巴馬到目前為止還沒兌現自己改變華盛頓政治氣氛並聯合反對黨的競選承諾。

That complaint may be highlighted in the next 100 days and beyond as the president moves to tackle politically divisive issues like health care reform and energy independence.

　

那種抱怨可能在今後的100天或者更長的時間裏更為突顯，因為奧巴馬總統要采取步驟處理具有政治分歧性的醫療改革和能源獨立問題。

Brookings Institution expert Stephen Hess says Mr. Obama should push as much of his agenda as he can early on to maximize his political leverage.

　

布魯金斯學會的專家赫斯說，奧巴馬應當及早全力以赴地推動自己的議程，以便充分利用他的政治優勢。

"This is a good way to proceed because a president is never as popular and never has as much public support as when he first gets elected, otherwise it's like an hourglass with the sand running out, so take advantage of that honeymoon knowing full well that you are not nearly going to get all that you propose," he said.

　

他說：“這是取得進展的好辦法，因為一位總統在剛當選時期往往最深得民心、他的公眾支持率也是最高的。反過來說，就像一個沙漏，隨著時間的推移沙子逐漸漏失，所以務必抓緊蜜月時機，而且要明白你所提出的建議不會全部通過的。”

President Obama enjoys solid public support as he marks his first 100 days in office. The latest New York Times-CBS News poll shows his approval rating at 68 percent, while a Washington Post-ABC News poll registered his approval at 69 percent.

　

奧巴馬總統上任100天，他享有相當高的公眾支持率。最近紐約時報和哥倫比亞廣播公司新聞節目的民調結果顯示，他的支持率為68%，而華盛頓郵報和美國廣播公司新聞節目的民調結果是，他享有69%的支持率。