Obama is giving a speech.

For all his flourish, President Barack Obama sure falls back on a few familiar phrases.

Make no mistake. Change isn't easy. It won't happen overnight. There will be setbacks and false starts.

Those who routinely listen to the president have come to expect some of those expressions to pop up in almost every speech.

Yet in the portfolio¹ of presidential phrases, none is more pervasive² than Obama's four-word favorite: Let me be clear.

It is his emphatic³ windup for, well, everything.

"Let me be clear," he said in describing his surprise at winning the Nobel Peace Prize(speech). "I do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments⁴, but rather as an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations⁵ held by people in all nations."

"Let me be clear," he said in one of his dozens of pitches for a health insurance overhaul⁶. "If you like your doctor or health care provider, you can keep them."

Presidents talk so much in public that it is not surprising to find rhetorical patterns. Although Obama is known for aflair with the written and spoken word, his hardest mission is often to make complicated matters relevant to the masses.

So clarity, it seems, is of the highest order.

Terrorists? "Now let me be clear: We are indeed at war with Al-Qaida and its affiliates⁷."

Student testing? "Let me be clear: Success should be judged by results, and data is a powerful tool to determine results."

Iran? "Let me be clear: Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile activity poses a real threat, not just to the United States, but to Iran's neighbors and our allies."

Auto⁸ bailouts? "Let me be clear: The United States government has no interest in running GM."

尽管美国总统巴拉克•奥巴马在发表演讲时总是风光无限，不过不管说些什么，他总离不开他那几句口头禅。

如，“不要犯错”、“变革并非易事”、“这不会在一夜之间发生”以及“挫折和失败难以避免”等。

常听总统演讲的人几乎在他的每一次演讲中都能听到其中的一些表达。

不过，在总统的众多口头禅中，使用频率最高的莫过于他最爱的四字表达：我要说明（Let me be clear.）。

无论讲话的内容是什么，奥巴马在最后想表示强调时，都会用到这句话。

奥巴马在发表诺贝尔奖获奖感言时是这样表达自己的惊讶之情的：“我要说明，我不认为这个奖项是对我个人成就的认可，而是对美国为实现各国人民愿望所发挥的领导作用的一种肯定。”

在医疗改革问题的一次游说中，奥巴马说：“我要说明，如果你喜欢你的医生或保健服务提供者，你可以继续留着他们。”

奥巴马所发表的公共演讲不计其数，所以在其中发现一些相同的用语也不足为奇。尽管奥巴马能说会写，但他最艰巨的任务常常是要把复杂的事情向大众说清。

因此，清楚明白似乎就成了头等要事。

恐怖分子？“现在让我把话说明白：我们确实是在和‘基地’组织及其同党作战。”

学生测验？“我要说明：成功应该通过成绩来衡量，而数据则是决定成绩的强有力的工具。”

伊朗？“让我把话说明白：伊朗的核武器和导弹活动确实是一个实质性的威胁，这不仅对于美国而言如此，对于伊朗的邻国和我们的盟国都是如此。”

汽车业救助？“我要说清楚：美国政府对于经营‘通用’没有兴趣。”

Vocabulary:

fall back on: to resort to; to rely on 求助于；依靠（have nothing to fall back on 无可依靠）

false start: a misguided or unsuccessful attempt to begin something 不成功的开始

windup: a concluding part; a conclusion 结束

flair: a natural talent or aptitude（才能；本领）

bailout: a rescue from financial difficulties （援助）