奥巴马演讲 关于中产阶级减税和失业保险4(2)
文章来源:未知 文章作者:meng 发布时间:2010-12-13 07:01 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)

Chuck Todd.

Q    Mr. President, what do you say to Democrats1 who say you’re rewarding Republican obstruction2 here?  You yourself used in your opening statement they were unwilling3 to budge4 on this.  A lot of progressive Democrats are saying they’re unwilling to budge, and you’re asking them to get off the fence and budge.  Why should they be rewarding Republican obstruction?

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, let me use a couple of analogies(类比) .  I’ve said before that I felt that the middle-class tax cuts were being held hostage to the high-end tax cuts.  I think it’s tempting5 not to negotiate with hostage-takers, unless the hostage gets harmed.  Then people will question the wisdom of that strategy.  In this case, the hostage was the American people and I was not willing to see them get harmed.

Again, this not an abstract political fight.  This is not isolated6 here in Washington.  There are people right now who, when their unemployment insurance runs out, will not be able to pay the bills.  There are folks right now who are just barely making it on the paycheck that they’ve got, and when that paycheck gets smaller on January 1st, they’re going to have to scramble7(抢夺,争夺) to figure out, how am I going to pay all my bills?  How am I going to keep on making the payments for my child’s college tuition?  What am I going to do exactly?

Now, I could have enjoyed the battle with Republicans over the next month or two, because as I said, the American people are on our side.  This is not a situation in which I have failed to persuade the American people of the rightness of our position.  I know the polls.  The polls are on our side on this.  We weren’t operating from a position of political weakness with respect to public opinion.  The problem is that Republicans feel that this is the single most important thing that they have to fight for as a party.  And in light of that, it was going to be a protracted8(拖延的) battle and they would have a stronger position next year than they do currently.

So I guess another way of thinking about it is that if -- certainly if we had made a determination that the deal was a permanent tax break for high-income individuals in exchange for these short-term things that people need right now, that would have been unacceptable.  And the reason is, is because you would be looking at $700 billion that would be added to the deficit9 with very little on the short term that would help to offset10(抵消,弥补) that.

The deal that we’ve struck here makes the high-end tax cuts temporary, and that gives us the time to have this political battle without having the same casualties for the American people that are my number one concern.

Q    If I may follow, aren’t you telegraphing, though, a negotiating strategy of how the Republicans can beat you in negotiations11 all the way through the next year because they can just stick to their guns, stay united, be unwilling to budge -- to use your words -- and force you to capitulate(认输,屈服) ?

THE PRESIDENT:  I don’t think so.  And the reason is because this is a very unique circumstance.  This is a situation in which tens of millions of people would be directly damaged and immediately damaged, and at a time when the economy is just about to recover.

Now, keep in mind, I’ve just gone through two years, Chuck, where the rap on me was I was too stubborn(顽固的) and wasn’t willing to budge on a whole bunch of issues -- including, by the way, health care where everybody here was writing about how, despite public opinion and despite this and despite that, somehow the guy is going to bulldoze(强迫,恫吓) his way through this thing.

Q    Tell that to the left -- they weren’t happy --

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, but that’s my point.  My point is I don’t make judgments12 based on what the conventional wisdom is at any given time.  I make my judgments based on what I think is right for the country and for the American people right now.

And I will be happy to see the Republicans test whether or not I’m itching13 for a fight on a whole range of issues.  I suspect they will find I am.  And I think the American people will be on my side on a whole bunch of these fights.  But right now I want to make sure that the American people aren’t hurt because we’re having a political fight, and I think that this agreement accomplishes that.

And, as I said, there are a whole bunch of things that they are giving up.  I mean, the truth of the matter is, from the Republican perspective, the Earned Income Tax Credit, the college tuition tax credit, the Child Tax Credit -- all those things that are so important for so many families across the country -- those are things they really opposed.  And so temporarily, they are willing to go along with that, presumably because they think they can beat me on that over the course of the next two years.#p#分页标题#e#

And I’m happy to have that battle.  I’m happy to have that conversation.  I just want to make sure that the American people aren’t harmed while we’re having that broader argument.



点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 democrats 655beefefdcaf76097d489a3ff245f76     
n.民主主义者,民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
  • The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 obstruction HRrzR     
n.阻塞,堵塞;障碍物
参考例句:
  • She was charged with obstruction of a police officer in the execution of his duty.她被指控妨碍警察执行任务。
  • The road was cleared from obstruction.那条路已被清除了障碍。
3 unwilling CjpwB     
adj.不情愿的
参考例句:
  • The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
  • His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。
4 budge eSRy5     
v.移动一点儿;改变立场
参考例句:
  • We tried to lift the rock but it wouldn't budge.我们试图把大石头抬起来,但它连动都没动一下。
  • She wouldn't budge on the issue.她在这个问题上不肯让步。
5 tempting wgAzd4     
a.诱人的, 吸引人的
参考例句:
  • It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
  • It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。
6 isolated bqmzTd     
adj.与世隔绝的
参考例句:
  • His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
  • Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。
7 scramble JDwzg     
v.爬行,攀爬,杂乱蔓延,碎片,片段,废料
参考例句:
  • He broke his leg in his scramble down the wall.他爬墙摔断了腿。
  • It was a long scramble to the top of the hill.到山顶须要爬登一段长路。
8 protracted 7bbc2aee17180561523728a246b7f16b     
adj.拖延的;延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • The war was protracted for four years. 战争拖延了四年。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • We won victory through protracted struggle. 经过长期的斗争,我们取得了胜利。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 deficit tmAzu     
n.亏空,亏损;赤字,逆差
参考例句:
  • The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
  • We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。
10 offset mIZx8     
n.分支,补偿;v.抵消,补偿
参考例句:
  • Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
  • He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。
11 negotiations af4b5f3e98e178dd3c4bac64b625ecd0     
协商( negotiation的名词复数 ); 谈判; 完成(难事); 通过
参考例句:
  • negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
  • Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。
12 judgments 2a483d435ecb48acb69a6f4c4dd1a836     
判断( judgment的名词复数 ); 鉴定; 评价; 审判
参考例句:
  • A peculiar austerity marked his judgments of modern life. 他对现代生活的批评带着一种特殊的苛刻。
  • He is swift with his judgments. 他判断迅速。
13 itching wqnzVZ     
adj.贪得的,痒的,渴望的v.发痒( itch的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • The itching was almost more than he could stand. 他痒得几乎忍不住了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • My nose is itching. 我的鼻子发痒。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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