美國第一夫人做民主黨大會開幕演說
First lady Michelle Obama opened the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday with a deeply personal speech showing how the economic struggles of average workers and her own parents shaped the policies of her husband, capping a night that began with sharp attacks on the GOP.
週二，美國第一夫人米歇爾•奧巴馬(Michelle Obama)以一篇非常個人化的演說拉開了民主黨全國代表大會(Democratic National Convention)的序幕。她在演說中談到了工薪階層及其父母所遭遇的經濟困境是如何影響其丈夫的決策的。這篇演說爲這個以尖銳抨擊共和黨開場的夜晚畫上了句號。Her nationally televised address was a portrait of the U.S. economy from the view of working people, including the first lady's father, a city water plant worker with multiple sclerosis. Mrs. Obama used the story of her father, and of Mr. Obama's bank-worker grandmother, to explain the president's support for equal-pay laws, his signature health-insurance law and student loans.
米歇爾這篇在全美範圍內被電視轉播的演講從勞工階層的視角對美國經濟進行了一番描述。演講中提到了她的父親，一位在市自來水廠工作且患有多發性硬化症的普通工人。米歇爾用其父親以及奧巴馬身爲銀行員工的外祖母的故事來解釋奧巴馬支持同工同酬法案、極具其個人風格的醫療保險法案以及反對提高助學貸款利率的原因。Mrs. Obama didn't mention Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, or his party. But her story drew an implicit comparison to Mr. Romney's life of greater privilege. Her speech tried to explain Mr. Obama's governing impulses but did not dwell on tougher questions of his policies at a time of tepid job creation and growing federal debt.
米歇爾在演講中沒有提到共和黨及其總統候選人羅姆尼(Mitt Romney)，但她講述的故事無形中同羅姆尼極爲優越的生活形成了對比。米歇爾的演說試圖解釋奧巴馬國家政策的種種依據，但她的演說沒有具體迴應在眼下就業增長乏力、聯邦債務增加之際對奧巴馬的政策所提出的那些尖銳的問題。
'In the end, for Barack, these issues aren't political─they're personal. Because Barack knows what it means when a family struggles,' Mrs. Obama said.
米歇爾說，對於奧巴馬而言，這些最終都不是政治問題，而是個人問題。因爲他知道一個家庭掙扎度日意味着什麼。Her address capped an opening night to the party's three-day convention that was crafted to make a special appeal to women and Latino voters, two critical parts of the Obama coalition. It included a prime-time address by Mayor Julian Castro of San Antonio, seen as a rising Democratic star.
米歇爾的演說爲開幕當晚的活動畫上了句號。此次爲期三天的民主黨全國代表大會經過設計希望吸引女性和拉丁選民。這兩大羣體是奧巴馬選民基礎的重要組成。會議期間，聖安東尼奧市長朱利安•卡斯特羅(Julian Castro)將在黃金時段發表演說。外界認爲卡斯特羅是民主黨內一顆冉冉上升的政治明星。Ahead of Mrs. Obama's speech, Republicans continued to press the argument that Mr. Obama's leadership of the U.S. economy has fallen short. They seized on the president's comment during an interview Monday with a Colorado TV station that he deserved an 'incomplete'' grade on his performance.
在米歇爾發表演說前，共和黨人還在堅持這樣一種論調，即奧巴馬對經濟的領導並不成功。他們抓住奧巴馬週一接受科羅拉多州一家電視臺採訪時的講話，說就他的工作表現而言，確實該得一個“未完成”的評分。'Four years into a presidency and it's incomplete? The president is asking people just to be patient with him?' Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan said on CBS.
共和黨副總統候選人萊恩(Paul Ryan)在哥倫比亞廣播公司(CBS)的節目上說，當了四年總統，工作還是“未完成”？奧巴馬是叫選民對他再耐心一點嗎？In making the comment, Mr. Obama had said that many of his goals, such as making college more affordable and boosting clean energy, required more time.
奧巴馬在接受科羅拉多州電視臺採訪時曾表示，他需要更多時間去實現他的目標，比如讓更多的人上得起大學以及推進清潔能源的使用。The Republican criticism built on arguments the party laid out in its own convention last week in Tampa. Members of the party argued that Mr. Obama had made few concrete achievements to show he deserved a second term.
共和黨提出的批評建立在該黨上週於坦帕召開的全國代表大會所列出的觀點之上。共和黨代表認爲，奧巴馬沒有取得多少具體成就，無法證明他值得連任。In the convention hall in Charlotte, Democratic delegates echoed the feisty rhetoric on stage with loud cheers as one speaker after the next took the stage to defend Mr. Obama's record in the White House and assail his rivals.
在夏洛特的會議廳裏，民主黨代表在舞臺上高喊着強有力的口號並大聲歡呼。與此同時，登上舞臺的一個個演講人都在捍衛奧巴馬入主白宮以來所取得的政績，並抨擊他的對手。Mrs. Obama speech built on one of her husband's greatest advantages with voters, who have a sense that he understands their problems. Other speakers emphasized progress in the economy since Mr. Obama took office; she related to families who are still struggling.
米歇爾的演講構築在奧巴馬爭取選民的一個最大優勢之上，即選民認爲奧巴馬理解他們面臨的問題。其他發言人強調奧巴馬上臺以來美國經濟所取得的成就，米歇爾則對那些仍在苦苦掙扎的家庭表現出感同身受。She told the story of her father, whose illness made it hard to get out of bed to get to his job at the city water plant, but who rarely missed a day of work. She and her brother mostly paid for college with loans and grants, she said.
米歇爾講述了她父親的故事。疾病令她的父親難以下牀到市自來水廠工作，但她的父親很少請病假。米歇爾和她的弟弟主要是靠貸款和助學金支付大學學費的。She said Mr. Obama had grown up with many of the same sort of challenges: His grandmother woke at dawn to catch the bus to her job as a secretary at a community bank, only to see men no more qualified pass by her.
米歇爾說，奧巴馬的成長過程也曾面臨很多類似的挑戰：他的外祖母是一家社區銀行的祕書，每天天剛亮就得起牀搭巴士去上班，然而結果是資歷不如她的男同事都在她之前獲得了升職。Mrs. Obama said the stories explained husband's record on the auto industry, health care and taxes.
米歇爾說，這些故事解釋了奧巴馬此前在汽車行業、醫療保健和稅收等問題上所採取政策的原因。Convention planners also presented an array of speakers aimed at pressing the party's advantage among women and Hispanic voters. Opening the Democratic convention in his role as chairman, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa spoke Spanish from the stage. 'Si se puede!' he called out, Spanish for 'Yes, it can be done.'
大會組織者同時安排了多位演講人上臺發言，此舉旨在強化民主黨在婦女和拉美裔選民中的優勢。作爲民主黨全國代表大會主席的洛杉磯市長維拉戈沙(Antonio Villaraigosa)給大會開幕。他在舞臺上用西班牙語說：是的，可以做到(Si se puede)。While Mrs. Obama stirred clear of partisan jabs, other Democrats delivered sharp attacks at the Republican ticket. 'Mitt Romney quite simply doesn't get it,' Mr. Castro said, suggesting he was out of touch with everyday economic struggles. 'He just has no idea how good he's had it.'
雖然米歇爾在演說中沒有挑起黨派之爭，但其他民主黨人則猛烈抨擊共和黨總統候選人。卡斯特羅說，羅姆尼根本不瞭解民情。他不知道自己的生活有多麼優越。卡斯特羅此話暗指羅姆尼和民衆脫節，不瞭解普羅大衆在經濟上每天面臨的掙扎。
