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 colour 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 harbour 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.
前方的道路很漫长，我们将步履维艰。我们也许无法在一年内，甚至是（我的）一个任期内，达成我们的目标。但是，今晚，我比任何时候都对此更有信心。我承诺，我们所有人将作为一个整体顺利的到达目的地。
我们将不可避免地遭遇许多挫折，也许开头并不会一帆风顺。我们需要弄明白一点，那就是政府无法解决所有的问题，也许有很多人不会同意我上台执政后制定的政策。不过，我将坦诚地接受各方的批评，直面我们的挑战。我将倾听你们的意见，尤其是不同的政见。总之，我邀请各位一同投入到国家的建设中来，用我们勤劳的双手堆砌建设这个国家所需的砖瓦。正是这一方式，使美国在221年的建国道路上不断前行。
我在21个月前的深冬开始为竞选做出的努力并不会在今晚画上句号。我们所追求的并不是这场选举的胜利，这仅仅是为我们提供了一个做出变革的机会。如果回到过去的老路，我们将无法做出任何改变。当然，如果没有你们，一切都无法发生。
所以，让我们一同唤醒自己的爱国心，唤醒为国效力的责任感，我们将一道披星戴月，披荆斩棘向前行进，我们需要照顾的不再只有我们自己，而是每一个人。这次的金融危机让我们认识到一个事实，如果大众受苦受难，华尔街就不可能繁华似锦。我们必须携手与共、共同经历这个国家的荣辱兴衰。
长期以来，两党隔阂以及不成熟的狭隘主义造成了我们现在的失败政策，所以让我们一同抵制住这种倾向，避免回到那条老路。请记住，这个国家有一个民主党人将第一次手扛民主和共和两党旗帜迈向白宫。充满自信，崇尚个人自由，维护国家团结将是我们共同追求的价值观。尽管民主党在今晚取得了压倒性的胜利，但是我们将继续带着谦卑前行，愈合这个国家因分裂受到的创伤。社会的分裂曾经阻碍我们国家前行的脚步。正如林肯总统在1861年的反国家分裂的演说中说到，“我们不是敌人，而是朋友。我们决不能成为敌人。尽管目前的情绪有些紧张，但决不能容许它使我们之间的亲密情感纽带破裂。”我要告诉那些没有将选票投给我的朋友，也许我没有赢得你们的选票，但我将聆听你们的声音，我需要你们的帮助，因为我同样将成为你们的总统。
我要告诉那些在美国大陆以外关注今晚选举的人们，也许你们在一个被世界遗忘的角落通过收音机了解今晚的选举，尽管我们的国情不一样，但是我们的命运是紧紧联系在一起的。一个全新的美国领导层即将呼之欲出。我要告诉那些试图破坏这个世界的人们，我们将打败你们！我要告诉那些追求和平和安全的人们，我们将全力支持你们！我要告诉那些对美国的未来持怀疑态度的人们，今晚，我们再次证明了一个事实，那就是这个国家拥有强大的力量，这并不是因为我们拥有众多的武器和财富。民主、自由、机遇、坚定不屈的希望才是这个国家保持强大的持久力量！
美国强大的真谛在于它能够做出改变，我们的国家可以变得更加完美。我们过去所达到的成就让我们看到了前进的希望。
本届选举创造了多项历史之最，有许多故事将代代相传。但此时此刻，我脑海中想起的是一名来自亚特兰大的选民，这位名叫安妮·尼克松·库珀的女性和千千万万的选民一样，静静地站在投票队伍之中，投出自己的选票，表达自己的声音。不过，与众不同的是，她已经106岁高龄了。在她出生的年代，公路上没有汽车，天空中没有飞机。像她一样的人仅仅因为肤色和性别就被挡在参与投票的大门之外。
今晚，我由此联想到了她一个世纪以来，在美国见证的一切：困苦与希望，奋斗与进步，那是一个让人无能为力的年代，但人们必须不断告诉自己美国的伟大信条：“是的，我们可以！”曾经，女性无法表达自己的意见，她们的希望成为幻影。如今，她终于见证了这一幕，和她一样有着悲惨遭遇的人们成功地投出了自己的选票。是的，我们可以！
当整个美国大陆都笼罩在经济大萧条的绝望之中时，她见证了一个国家战胜自身恐惧，重新崛起，罗斯福总统推行的“新政”不仅给美国带来了新的就业机会，更给美国人民带来了共同的价值观。是的，我们可以！
当敌人的炮弹投向我们的港口，当世界被暴政所威胁，她见证了一个崛起的民族，民主重获新生。是的，我们可以！
她目睹了发生在蒙哥马利巴士上、伯明翰的高压水龙头下、塞尔玛大桥上的种族歧视暴行……而后，来自亚特兰大的民权先驱告诉人们，“我们可以战胜这一切”。是的，我们可以！
而后，人类登月，柏林墙倒塌，世界重新集结在科学和想象力的号角下。现在，在这场选举中，她终于用自己的指尖触碰到投票屏幕，郑重地投下选票。饱经106年的沧桑变化，穿越岁月的风云变迁，她知道美国能做出怎样的改变。是的，我们可以！
美国，我们风雨兼程，一路走来。我们经历了太多，但前方仍有许多梦想等待着我们去实现。今晚，让我们大声地问自己，我们的孩子是否还能看到下一个世纪；我可爱的女儿是否能和安妮·尼克松·库珀一样幸运，享受漫长的人生。他们将看到怎样的变革？我们将取得怎样的进步？
这是我们给出答案的机会。这是属于我们的时刻。这是我们的时代：让人们有事可做；为我们的孩子打开机遇之门；推动世界和平与繁荣；再次锻造美国梦，重申这一不可动摇的事实——虽然我们每个人不尽相同，但我们是一个整体，只要我们呼吸尚存，希望就永不磨灭。我们将用那历经时间考验的不朽信条掷地有声地直面质疑：“是的，我们可以！”
谢谢！上帝保佑你们，保佑美利坚合众国！
(Source: Agencies/中国日报网环球在线 英语点津姗姗编辑)
