希拉里.克林顿总统竞选退职演讲(英文)

希拉里.克林顿总统竞选退职演讲（英文）

Transcript of Hillary Clinton’s Speech

Hillary Clinton delivered the following remarks in Washington, D.C., on Saturday:

Thank you so much. Thank you all.

Well, this isn’t exactly the party I’d planned, but I sure like the company.

I want to start today by saying how grateful I am to all of you to everyone who poured your hearts and your hopes into this campaign, who drove for miles and lined the streets waving homemade signs, who scrimped and saved to raise money, who knocked on doors and made calls, who talked and sometimes argued with your friends and neighbors, who emailed and contributed online, who invested so much in our common enterprise, to the moms and dads who came to our events, who lifted their little girls and little boys on their shoulders and whispered in their ears, "See, you can be anything you want to be."

To the young people like 13 year-old Ann Riddle from Mayfield, Ohio who had been saving for two years to go to Disney World, and decided to use her savings instead to travel to Pennsylvania with her Mom and volunteer there as well. To the veterans and the childhood friends, to New Yorkers and Arkansans who traveled across the country and telling anyone who would listen why you supported me.

To all those women in their 80s and their 90s born before women could vote who cast their votes for our campaign. I’ve told you before about Florence Steen of South Dakota, who was 88 years old, and insisted that her daughter bring an absentee ballot to her hospice bedside. Her daughter and a friend put an American flag behind her bed and helped her fill out the ballot. She passed away soon after, and under state law, her ballot didn’t count. But her daughter later told a reporter, "My dad’s an ornery old cowboy, and he didn’t like it when he heard mom’s vote wouldn’t be counted. I don’t think he had voted in 20 years. But he voted in place of my mom." To all those who voted for me, and to whom I pledged my utmost, my commitment to you and to the progress we seek is unyielding. You have inspired and touched me with the stories of the joys and sorrows that make up the fabric of our lives and you have humbled me with your commitment to our country.

18 million of you from all walks of life – women and men, young and old, Latino and Asian, African-American and Caucasian, rich, poor and middle class, gay and straight – you have stood strong with me. And I will continue to stand strong with you, every time, every place, and every way that I can. The dreams we share are worth fighting for.

Remember - we fought for the single mom with a young daughter, juggling work and school, who told me, "I’m doing it all to better myself for her." We fought for the woman who grabbed my hand, and asked me, "What are you going to do to make sure I have health care?" and began to cry because even though she works three jobs, she can’t afford insurance. We fought for the young man in the Marine Corps t-shirt who waited months for medical care and said, "Take care of my buddies over there and then, will you please help take care of me?" We fought for all those who’ve lost jobs and health care, who can’t afford gas or groceries or college, who have felt invisible to their president these last seven years.

I entered this race because I have an old-fashioned conviction: that public service is about helping people solve their problems and live their dreams. I’ve had every opportunity and blessing in my own life – and I want the same for all Americans. Until that day comes, you will always find me on the front lines of democracy – fighting for the future.

The way to continue our fight now – to accomplish the goals for which we stand – is to take our energy, our passion, our strength and do all we can to help elect Barack Obama the next President of the United States.

Today, as I suspend my campaign, I congratulate him on the victory he has won and the extraordinary race he has run. I endorse him, and throw my full support behind him. And I ask all of you to join me in working as hard for Barack Obama as you have for me.

I have served in the Senate with him for four years. I have been in this campaign with him for 16 months. I have stood on the stage and gone toe-to-toe with him in 22 debates. I have had a front row seat to his candidacy, and I have seen his strength and determination, his grace and his grit. In his own life, Barack Obama has lived the American Dream. As a community organizer, in the state senate, as a United States Senator - he has dedicated himself to ensuring the dream is realized. And in this campaign, he has inspired so many to become involved in the democratic process and invested in our common future.

Now when I started this race, I intended to win back the White House, and make sure we have a president who puts our country back on the path to peace, prosperity, and progress. And that’s exactly what we’re going to do by ensuring that Barack Obama walks through the doors of the Oval Office on January 20, 2009.

I understand that we all know this has been a tough fight. The Democratic Party is a family, and it’s now time to restore the ties that bind us together and to come together around the ideals we share, the values we cherish, and the country we love.

We may have started on separate journeys – but today, our paths have merged. And we are all heading toward the same destination, united and more ready than ever to win in November and to turn our country around because so much is at stake.

We all want an economy that sustains the American Dream, the opportunity to work hard and have that work rewarded, to save for college, a home and retirement, to afford that gas and those groceries and still have a little left over at the end of the month. An economy that lifts all of our people and ensures that our prosperity is broadly distributed and shared.

We all want a health care system that is universal, high quality, and affordable so that parents no longer have to choose between care for themselves or their children or be stuck in dead end jobs simply to keep their insurance. This isn’t just an issue for me it is a passion and a cause and it is a fight I will continue until every single American is insured no exceptions, no excuses.

We all want an America defined by deep and meaningful equality from civil rights to labor rights, from women’s rights to gay rights, from ending discrimination to promoting unionization to providing help for the most important job there is: caring for our families.

We all want to restore America’s standing in the world, to end the war in Iraq and once again lead by the power of our values, and to join with our allies to confront our shared challenges from poverty and genocide to terrorism and global warming.

You know, I’ve been involved in politics and public life in one way or another for four decades. During those forty years, our country has voted ten times for President. Democrats won only three of those times. And the man who won two of those elections is with us today.

We made tremendous progress during the 90s under a Democratic President, with a flourishing economy, and our leadership for peace and security respected around the world. Just think how much more progress we could have made over the past 40 years if we had a Democratic president. Think about the lost opportunities of these past seven years on the environment and the

economy, on health care and civil rights, on education, foreign policy and the Supreme Court. Imagine how far we could’ve come, how much we could’ve achieved if we had just had a Democrat in the White House.

We cannot let this moment slip away. We have come too far and accomplished too much.

Now the journey ahead will not be easy. Some will say we can’t do it. That it’s too hard. That we’re just not up to the task. But for as long as America has existed, it has been the American way to reject "can’t do" claims, and to choose instead to stretch the boundaries of the possible through hard work, determination, and a pioneering spirit.

It is this belief, this optimism, that Senator Obama and I share, and that has inspired so many millions of our supporters to make their voices heard.

So today, I am standing with Senator Obama to say: Yes we can.

Together we will work. We’ll have to work hard to get universal health care. But on the day we live in an America where no child, no man, and no woman is without health insurance, we will live in a stronger America. That’s why we need to help elect Barack Obama our President.

We’ll have to work hard to get back to fiscal responsibility and a strong middle class. But on the day we live in an America whose middle class is thriving and growing again, where all Americans, no matter where they live or where their ancestors came from, can earn a decent living, we will live in a stronger America and that is why we must elect Barack Obama our President.

We’ll have to work hard to foster the innovation that makes us energy independent and lift the threat of global warming from our children’s future. But on the day we live in an America fueled by renewable energy, we will live in a stronger America. That’s why we have to help elect Barack Obama our President.

We’ll have to work hard to bring our troops home from Iraq, and get them the support they’ve earned by their service. But on the day we live in an America that’s as loyal to our troops as they have been to us, we will live in a stronger America and that is why we must help elect Barack Obama our President.

This election is a turning point election and it is critical that we all understand what our choice really is. Will we go forward together or will we stall and slip backwards. Think how much progress we have already made. When we first started, people everywhere asked the same questions:

Could a woman really serve as Commander-in-Chief? Well, I think we answered that one. And could an African American really be our President? Senator Obama has answered that one.

Together Senator Obama and I achieved milestones essential to our progress as a nation, part of our perpetual duty to form a more perfect union.

Now, on a personal note when I was asked what it means to be a woman running for President, I always gave the same answer: that I was proud to be running as a woman but I was running because I thought I’d be the best President. But I am a woman, and like millions of women, I know there are still barriers and biases out there, often unconscious.

I want to build an America that respects and embraces the potential of every last one of us. I ran as a daughter who benefited from opportunities my mother never dreamed of. I ran as a mother who worries about my daughter’s future and a mother who wants to lead all children to brighter tomorrows. To build that future I see, we must make sure that women and men alike understand the struggles of their grandmothers and mothers, and that women enjoy equal

opportunities, equal pay, and equal respect. Let us resolve and work toward achieving some very simple propositions: There are no acceptable limits and there are no acceptable prejudices in the twenty-first century.

You can be so proud that, from now on, it will be unremarkable for a woman to win primary state victories, unremarkable to have a woman in a close race to be our nominee, unremarkable to think that a woman can be the President of the United States. And that is truly remarkable.

To those who are disappointed that we couldn’t go all the way especially the young people who put so much into this campaign it would break my heart if, in falling short of my goal, I in any way discouraged any of you from pursuing yours. Always aim high, work hard, and care deeply about what you believe in. When you stumble, keep faith. When you’re knocked down, get right back up. And never listen to anyone who says you can’t or shouldn’t go on.

As we gather here today in this historic magnificent building, the 50th woman to leave this Earth is orbiting overhead. If we can blast 50 women into space, we will someday launch a woman into the White House.

Although we weren’t able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it’s got about 18 million cracks in it. And the light is shining through like never before, filling us all with the hope and the sure knowledge that the path will be a little easier next time. That has always been the history of progress in America.

Think of the suffragists who gathered at Seneca Falls in 1848 and those who kept fighting until women could cast their votes. Think of the abolitionists who struggled and died to see the end of slavery. Think of the civil rights heroes and foot-soldiers who marched, protested and risked their lives to bring about the end to segregation and Jim Crow.

Because of them, I grew up taking for granted that women could vote. Because of them, my daughter grew up taking for granted that children of all colors could go to school together. Because of them, Barack Obama and I could wage a hard fought campaign for the Democratic nomination. Because of them, and because of you, children today will grow up taking for granted that an African American or a woman can yes, become President of the United States.

When that day arrives and a woman takes the oath of office as our President, we will all stand taller, proud of the values of our nation, proud that every little girl can dream and that her dreams can come true in America. And all of you will know that because of your passion and hard work you helped pave the way for that day.

So I want to say to my supporters, when you hear people saying or think to yourself "if only" or "what if," I say, "please don’t go there." Every moment wasted looking back keeps us from moving forward.

Life is too short, time is too precious, and the stakes are too high to dwell on what might have been. We have to work together for what still can be. And that is why I will work my heart out to make sure that Senator Obama is our next President and I hope and pray that all of you will join me in that effort.

To my supporters and colleagues in Congress, to the governors and mayors, elected officials who stood with me, in good times and in bad, thank you for your strength and leadership. To my friends in our labor unions who stood strong every step of the way I thank you and pledge my support to you. To my friends, from every stage of my life your love and ongoing commitments sustain me every single day. To my family especially Bill and Chelsea and my mother, you mean the world to me and I thank you for all you have done. And to my extraordinary staff, volunteers

and supporters, thank you for working those long, hard hours. Thank you for dropping everything leaving work or school traveling to places you’d never been, sometimes for months on end. And thanks to your families as well because your sacrifice was theirs too.

All of you were there for me every step of the way. Being human, we are imperfect. That’s why we need each other. To catch each other when we falter. To encourage each other when we lose heart. Some may lead; others may follow; but none of us can go it alone. The changes we’re working for are changes that we can only accomplish together. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are rights that belong to each of us as individuals. But our lives, our freedom, our happiness, are best enjoyed, best protected, and best advanced when we do work together.

That is what we will do now as we join forces with Senator Obama and his campaign. We will make history together as we write the next chapter in America’s story. We will stand united for the values we hold dear, for the vision of progress we share, and for the country we love. There is nothing more American than that.

And looking out at you today, I have never felt so blessed. The challenges that I have faced in this campaign are nothing compared to those that millions of Americans face every day in their own lives. So today,I’m going to count my blessings and keep on going. I’m going to keep doing what I was doing long before the cameras ever showed up and what I’ll be doing long after they’re gone: Working to give every American the same opportunities I had, and working to ensure that every child has the chance to grow up and achieve his or her God-given potential.

I will do it with a heart filled with gratitude, with a deep and abiding love for our country and with nothing but optimism and confidence for the days ahead. This is now our time to do all that we can to make sure that in this election we add another Democratic president to that very small list of the last 40 years and that we take back our country and once again move with progress and commitment to the future.

Thank you all and God bless you and God bless America.

希拉里告别总统竞选演讲

非常谢谢大家，谢谢你们。

今天的聚会我可没事先准备的啊，不过很高兴有你们在！

今天一开始我想对大家说声衷心的感谢，感谢那些为（我的）竞选尽心尽力的人们，感谢那些开车过来，站在街道两旁举着自制的标语的人们，感谢大家能省吃省喝踊跃筹款，还有登门拜访的，打电话来的，（为支持我）和朋友邻居发生争执的，还有那些写email的和上网捐款的的人们，是你们给了我们活动太多太多支持，我在此一并向大家表示感谢。看到爸爸妈妈带着孩子也加入进来，父母小声对肩膀上的孩子们说：“看见没，有梦想就能实现。” 我也应该感谢像安这样的年轻人们，她今年刚13岁，来自俄亥俄州的梅菲尔得市，她决定把过去两年中本为去迪士尼攒下的钱用来去宾夕法尼亚和妈妈一起充当志愿者。还有那些退伍老兵，孩提时的朋友，以及纽约和阿肯色地区的人们，你们不远万里来到这里，并转告其他任何人，相信他们同你们一样支持我。

要对那些80后和90后的女选民们说声谢谢，她们还不到投票年龄，但是很多人还是给我们投了票。另外我曾给大家提起过一个人，她叫弗朗斯?斯汀，南达卡达州人，当时88岁的她坚持让自己女儿把一张缺席选举人票拿到了病床前，女儿和一个朋友把一面美国旗放到妈妈躺的床后面，并帮她填写了选票。然后没过多久就去世了，根据国家法律，这一票不能计入最后结果。但是女孩后来对记者说到：“我爸性子很倔，听说妈妈的投票没被采用，当时就不高兴了，他二十年都没投过一次票，这次算是替妈妈投了一票。”

我亲爱的选民们，我曾经承诺过的人们，我感谢你们，虽然结果不尽如人意，可很感谢

你们能陪我坚持现在，你们的快乐与悲伤激励了我，也感动了我，完整了我们的生命，在你们对国家的承诺上，我的承诺相比逊色不少。

1800万的你们来自社会的角角落落：男男女女，老老少少，拉丁人亚洲人，美国黑人高加索人，有富人有穷人，有中产阶级有同性恋者，也有非同性恋者。你们都和我并肩作战，我将继续和你们大家共同战斗，无论何时何地，尽我一切所能。我们拥有同样的梦想，我们一起为之奋斗，为之拼搏。

记住—让我们奋斗起来，为了带着女儿，又是公司又是学校的单身妈妈，她曾告诉我，我做的一切都是让我这个母亲更称职；让我们奋斗起来，为了抓住我的手的妇女，她问我，怎么样才能保证我能载上健康保险啊，听到这我哭了，因为即使她做三份工，也是无济于事的；让我们奋斗起来，为了等候接受医疗保障的海军陆战队队员，他说，照顾好我的兄弟，还能照顾下我吗。让我们站起来，为那些失去工作和保险的人们，为那些不能支付得起加油费，日常支出和大学的费用的人们而奋斗，而他们的总统在过去七年中对其却视若不见。 我进入这次竞选是因为我既传统又坚定地认为，公共事业本是为帮助人民解决问题，实现梦想的。我的一生得到过无数次机会和祝福的垂青，同样也希望所有的机遇与祝福会垂青所有美国人。等到了那一天，你总能看到我站在民主的最前线—为未来而战。如今我们继续我们的战斗，继续我们待完成的目标，怎么做呢，就让我收拾好精力与热情，凝聚我们的力量尽我们一切所能推举巴拉克?奥巴马成为下界美国总统。

今天，在我停止竞选之际，我庆祝他获得的胜利，也为其献上的绝妙竞选而叫好。我支持他，倾全力支持他的胜利，同时我要求诸位和我一道为巴拉克?奥巴马努力争取，就像支持我一样支持他。

我们一起在参议院工作四年，竞选中和他打了16个月口水仗，然后接二连三地和他进行过22次辩论，我很了解他的竞选状态，同样也在他身上看到了力量与决心，优雅与胆识。巴拉克一生都在实现美国梦，从一个社区组织人做起，到国会参议院，再到美国参议员，每走下的一步都确保着梦的实现。这次竞选中，他鼓励很多人参与到民主进程中来，并激励他们为我们共同的将来出力献策。

说起来，我在一开始竞选的时候，目的只有一个，那就是赢回白宫，保证我们中走出一名总统，把我们的国家带回到和平，繁荣和发展的轨道上来。这就是我们为什么要力挺奥巴马2009年1月20日入主椭形办公室的原因。

我懂得，我们大家都知道这场战斗是多么艰难，民主党人亲如一家，现在是时候重修情意了，让我们联起手来，相聚在共同的理想和价值之下，相聚在深爱的祖国之下。

过去我们一度产生过分歧，但是今天，我们融合成了一个集体，朝向相同的方向前行，以一种以往所未曾见的团结一致来获得九月的胜利，改造我们的国家，毕竟我们经历的危险太多了。人民需要的是能实现美国梦的经济：努力工作的机会以及劳有所得，攒钱上大学，维持家庭，应对退休；负担得起汽油费和其他生活用品开支，并在月底有所结余。广泛接受的经济是能满足人民需求，保证人民生活富裕的经济。

人民需要一种普世的健康保障体系，高效不超出支付能力以外。这样，父母们就不必为自己和孩子的保险而犹豫不决了，也省去了为交保险费去做短工的麻烦。对我来说，这不单单是件事情，是热情，是理由，是斗争，斗争到每个美国人都享有保险，无一例外，没有借口。

人民需要一个充满真正意义上公平的美国，从人权到劳动权，从妇女权到同性恋权，从结束歧视到促进工会制，再到为我们的重中之重伸以援手，那就是爱护家庭。

我们都期望恢复美国在世界上的地位，结束伊拉克战争，再次以价值的力量领导全球，与我们的盟友一起面对来自贫穷，种族灭绝，恐怖主义和全球变暖的挑战。我直接或间接地参政议政已有已有四十年了。四十年里，国家选举产生过十位总统，其中民主党人只赢得了

三次，今天那赢得两次胜利的人（译注：指丈夫克林顿）就在场。在这位民主党总统的领导下，90年代我们突飞猛进，经济空前繁荣，成功主导了世界的安全与和平，得到全世界的尊重。不难想象，我们在他的领导下，或许能做出更大的成绩。倒过来想，过去的七年中我们又丧失了多少机会，环境的，经济的，医疗健康的，公民权力的，还有教育和外交政策的，和立法的。或许我们能走的更远，能取得的更多，只要白宫里住上民主党人。

现在不能再与之失之交臂了，我们走的太远了，付出的也太多了。

不过面前的路并非坦途，有人会说，太难了做不到，还不够格。我要说的是，只要美国在地球还存在，说这种话的人就不配做美国人，真正的美国人将历经辛苦工作，坚韧的信心和开拓精神，不遗余力地跨域任何可能的疆域。

这种信念，这份乐观，激励了我和奥巴马；这种信念，这份乐观，激励了百万的你们，让支持的声音响彻太空。

所以今天，我和参议院奥巴马并肩站立，高喊：“我们能”

这次的竞选是一次转折，关键是我们需要知道真正的选择是什么，我们是要一往无前，还是却步不前，我们到底走了多远，竞选伊始，到处有人在问同样的问题：

一个女人能当司令吗？这个，我想大家给出了完美的答案。

那么一个美国黑人可以当上总统吗？参议员奥巴马给出了另一个完美的答案。

如今回想起来我过去，有人问我一个女人竞选总统会是什么样子，对此我的回答总是，竞选总统我感到很自豪，竞选总统是因为我会是最好的总统。不过最为女人，和千千万万的女人一样，我深知还存在好多障碍和偏见，很多都不被人察觉。

从今以后，可以骄傲地宣称，女人赢得初选胜利不可思议，女人最靠近党内候选人不可思议，女人能成为美国总统不可思议，事实上一切都可思议。今天我们相聚在这历史的庄严的大楼里，可知道现在已是第五十名女性在太空行走。如果能把50个女人送上太空，将来把一名女性送进白宫又有何难。

尽管这次我们没能把这个厚厚的，重重的紧箍咒打碎（译注：指限制女性职场发展的瓶颈(世界经理人博客http://blog.icxo.com)，这里做了归化处理），但是感谢大家，我已经看到了1800万个裂缝怎样的分裂着它，从未有这样一缕光照进来，照的我们充满希望，充满确信，相信这道光会越照越亮。美国的历史总是这样发展着的。

生命苦短，时间乃贵。付出却换来风险无数。让我们为着希望而努力，这就是为什么我全心全意确保奥巴马成为国家总统的原因，在此也希望你们能和我一起为他加油，为他争取。 看着你们，我从未如此感到幸福。竞选中遇到的挫折与万万千千的美国人民遇到的挫折相比算不得什么，所以今天我要细数我的祝福，并继续下去。离开镁光灯，做那个以前的我；离开公众的视野，做那个将来的我，努力给每个美国人带来我拥有过的机会，保证每个孩子都能茁壮成长，发挥自身潜力。

我将怀揣一颗感恩的心前行，怀揣一种对国家深深的爱而努力，怀揣一份自信乐观的态度迎接明日。现在我们是时候尽一切所能确保这次竞选另一位民主党人的名字可以出现在那四十年不遇的总统候选人名单中。同样，我们将再次收回我们的国家，带着对未来的期盼与承诺向前进！

谢谢大家，上帝保佑你们，保佑美国。