同胞们：
今天，我站在这里，面对即将肩负的重任，我深感自己的卑微，感谢你们对我的信任，铭记先辈们的所做出的牺牲。感谢布什总统对我们国家所做出的贡献，以及在此次政权交接期间所给予的慷慨合作。
迄今为止，已经有四十四任总统在此宣誓就职，有些总统的宣誓是在国家的和平、繁荣的时期，但更多是在国家处于乌云密布、暴风骤雨之时。在这些危难时期，美国得以继续前进的动力不仅是美国高层领导人的能力和远见，更是我们美国人民对我们先辈们的理想的充分信仰，并忠诚于我们立国之文献。
我们先辈们是如此，我们这一代人也将如此。
我们都知道，我们国家正处于危机之中。我们的国家正与四处曼延的暴力和仇恨作战。我们国家的经济受到严重的削弱，这部分原因是由于一些人的贪婪和不负责任，但更重要的是我们在一些重大问题上决策失误，以及应对新时代准备不足。许多人失去了家园，失去了工作，许多企业倒闭。我们的医疗费太昂贵了，学校的教育让很多人感到失望，而且每天都有更多的证据显示，我们利用能源的方式都在加强我们对手的力量，同时也威胁着我们的星球。
统计数据表明危机的存在，危机到底会怎么样难以测量，但更难以测量的是危机对整个国家人民信心的侵蚀，现在有一种看法，认为美国的衰退是不可避免的，我们的下一代必须低调行事。
今天，我要对你们说，我们确实面临真正的挑战，这种挑战非常严峻，也非常广泛，我们不可能轻易或在短期内战胜这些挑战，但我们要明确，我们，美国人一定能够战胜这些挑战。
今天，我们之所以聚集在此，是因为我们战胜了恐惧选择了希望，是因为我们战胜了冲突和矛盾而选择了团结。
今天，我们要宣布，要为那无谓的摩擦、不实的承诺和指责画上句号，要打破长期以来影响我们政治发展的若干教条。
我们美国仍然是一个年轻的国家，但用《圣经》的话说，抛弃幼稚的时代已经到来，重拾坚韧精神的时代已经到来。我们要为历史做出更好的选择，我们要发扬宝贵的传统，并一代又一代地传递下去，这就是：上帝赋予我们每个人都是平等的，都是自由的，每一个人都有追求幸福快乐的权利。
在我们重拾我们国家伟大精神的同时，我们深知，这种伟大的精神从来就不是上天给予的，而是我们努力赢得的。在我们国家的发展历程中，从来就没有什么捷径，也并不满足于微小的成就。这并不是那些胆怯懦弱的人所走过的路，也不是那些好逸恶劳的人所要走的路，更不是那些只寻求财富和名声的人所走过的路，而是那些敢于冒险、富于实干、能够成事的人所走的路，这些人中，有些名垂青史，但更多的人是些普通的男男女女，他们在默默地工作着，正是这些人带领我们走过这漫长崎岖的历程，带领我们走向繁荣和自由。
为了我们，他们背起微薄的行囊，远渡大洋，寻找新生活。
为了我们，他们在血汗工厂中编织麻布，在条件非常艰苦的西部定居；为了我们，他们忍辱负重，辛勤耕作。
为了我们，他们在康科德、葛底斯堡，在诺曼底、在越南溪山等地英勇作战，为国捐躯。
前人不断地奋斗、牺牲和操劳，一直到他们的双手皮开肉绽，只是为了我人能够过上更好的生活。在他们看来，国家的强盛和伟大远远超过个人的雄心，也超出了个人出身、财富和派系之间的差异。
今天，我们将继续我们先人的行程，我们美国仍然是世界上最繁荣、最强大的国家。我们工人的生产力并不比危机开始时少，我们的大脑并不缺乏发明创造，我们对产品和服务的需求并不比上周或上个月或去年少，我们的能力并没有减少。但墨守成规、保护狭隘利益和对艰难决定犹豫不决的时代已经过去。从今天开始，我们必须重新站起来，弹去身上的灰尘，重新开始工作，重塑美国。
环顾四周，我们所要做的工作无处不在。经济现状要求我们必须大胆而迅速地采取行动，是的，我们将采取行动----不仅要新增就业岗位，而且还有为经济的发展打下新的基础。我们将兴修道路和桥梁，我们将为企业铺设电网和宽带，以便与我们更好地联系在一起。我们将恢复科学原有的地位，广泛使用科学技术，以提高医疗水平，降低医疗费用。我们将利用太阳能、风能和粪便为我们汽车和工厂提供能源。我们将改革我们的中小学和大学，以满足新时代的需要。所有这一切，我们都能够做到，所有这一切，我们都将努力去做。
现在，有些人质疑我们的计划是不是太庞大了，他们认为我们国家的经济体系不足以承载如此庞大的计划。他们真的是健忘了，他们忘记了我们这个国家曾经这么做过，忘记了当为了共同目的和所必需的勇气结合在一起时，自由的美国人民所发挥的力量能够完成一切目标。
这些质疑者所不能理解的是，政治现实已经发生变化，长期以来消耗我们精力的无聊的政治争论已经不再适用。我们现在所面临的问题，不是政府规模的大小，而是我们的政府能否起作用，能否帮助家庭找到薪水合适的工作、是否能够提供他们支付得起的医疗服务以及他们是否能够体面地退休。哪个答案是肯定的，我们就采取哪个答案，哪个答案是否定的，我们的计划就将终止。而且，我们这些管理公共资金的人承担起责任，合理支出，改革陋习，光明磊落，尽心歇力，只有这样，我们才能在人民与政府这间恢复至关重要的信任。
摆在我们面前的：市场力量是好还是坏，这并不是一个问题，市场力量在创造财富和拓展自由方面是无可匹敌的，但这场危机提醒我们，如果缺乏有效的监管，那么市场将失去控制，由此，一个只偏向于富人的国家繁荣是不可能长久的。我们经济的成功不仅取决于我们GDP的大小，还取决于我们的财富所能达到的覆盖面，取决于让所有有意的人都有机会获得成功。这不是慈善，而是一条确保我们实现共同利益的路径。
就我们共同防御而言，我反对在我们安全和我们的理想之间做出选择的错误做法。我们的国父们，面对我们无法想象的危险，制定了确保法治和人权的宪章，这份宪章通过一代又一代人的流血牺牲而得以巩固，这些理想至今仍然照亮世界，我们不会以一时权宜而放弃这些理想。所以，我要对今天所有观看我就职典礼的人民和国家说，无论你们是来自伟大的首府还是来自像我父亲出生地那样的小村庄，我都要对你们说：任何一个国家和任何一个男人、女人及儿童，如果你们追求和平和有尊严的未来，那么，美国就是你们的朋友。而且，我们将再一次带领大家一起去追求和平和尊严。
回想我们的先辈们在抵抗法西斯主义和共产主义时，他们所依靠的不仅是导弹和坦克，还有稳固的联盟和坚定的信仰。他们深知，单靠我们的力量并不足以保护我们，他们也知道权力并不能让我们为所欲为，相反，他们知道，我们的力量源于对权力的慎用，我们的安全源于事业的公正、源于榜样的力量、源于我们的谦卑和克制的品质。
我们继承了这份遗产，在这些原则的指引下，我们继续前进。我们将迎接新的威胁，这需要我们做出更大的努力，需要各国之间更广泛的合作和相互理解。我们将负责任地将伊拉克交还给伊拉克人民，并巩固来自不易的阿富汗的和平。我们将与老朋友和对手一起共同努力，消除核威胁，驱走气候变暖的幽灵。我们不会为我们的生活方式而道歉，我们也不会动摇捍卫我们这种生活方式的决心。那些试图通过恐怖威胁和杀害无辜者来达到他们目的的人，我要对你们说，现在，我们的信念更加坚定，不可动摇，你们不可能拖垮我们，我们将击败你们。
因为我们知道，我们多元化的传统并不是弱点而是我们的力量所在，我们是一个基督教、穆斯林教、犹太教、印度教教徒以及非宗教教徒并存的国家。我们吸收了世界各个角落的养份，在各种语言和文化的共同作用下形成了我们自己的语言和文化，而且，还由于我们经受了残酷的内战和种族隔离的洗礼，我们翻过这黑暗的一章，我们变得更加强大和团结。这让我们不得不相信，那古老的仇恨必将成为过去，种族界线终将消失。随着我们这个世界变得越来越小，我们人类共同的品性将自动显现。在新的和平时代到来之际，美国必定会担负起先驱的角色。
对于穆斯林世界而言，我们以共同利益和相互尊重为基础，寻求一种新的前进方式。对于那些播撒冲突而又将他们的社会问题归罪于西方的领袖们，要知道，你们的人民是根据你们能为国家建设些什么而并非毁灭什么来评判你们。对于那些依靠贪污腐败、愚弄欺骗和压制异己来获得权势的人，要知道你们站在历史错误的一边。但只要你们松手，我们就会帮忙。
对于那些贫穷国家的人民，我们保证与你们共同努力，让农业丰收，让清流涌入，喂养饥饿的身躯，抚慰贫乏的心灵。对于那些与我们一样富有的国家，我们要说，我们不能再对我们国境外的人民所遭受的苦难置之不理了，我们不能再对我们消耗了世界上那么多的资源而不心存愧疚了，因为我们这个世界已经发生变化了，我们也要跟着改变。
在我们思考如何通向我们前方的路时，我们以谦卑、感激的心情铭记那些在正在沙漠和山区作战的美国勇士，他们今天有话要对我说，就和躺在阿林顿国家公墓中的英雄们轻声诉说一样。我们尊敬他们，不仅因为他们是我们自由的捍卫者，还因为他们是服务精神的化身，他们自愿追求比自身价值更伟大的价值，而且，此时此刻，在这个即将塑造一代人的时刻，我们正需要这种精神。
政府能做多少，就一定要做多少，但美国的立国之本最终建立在美国人民的信念和决心上，这是当防涝大堤决堤时勇敢去救人的善举，这是工人们在经济不景气时宁愿削减自己的工作时间而不愿意看到别人失去工作的忘我精神，这是消防队员冒着浓烟冲进火场救的人的勇气，这是父母抚养孩子的责任。正是这些决定了我们的命运。
也许，我们所面临的挑战是新的，也许我们迎接挑战所采取的措施也是新的，但我们成功所依靠的这些价值：诚实和辛勤劳动、勇气和公平竞争、宽容和充满好奇、忠诚和热爱祖国，这些可都是古已有之，这些价值是可行的，他们是推动国家发展的无声力量。我们所需要的就是回归这些古老的价值观。现在，我们所需要的是一个负责任的新时代，对此，所有美国人都应该认识到这一点，我们要对我们自己负责，要对世界负责。我们的负责不能是勉强的，而应该是快乐的。我们要坚定地认识到：没有什么比我们全身心投入到一项艰巨工作中更加锻练我们的性格，更能满足我们的精神需求。
这就是公民的义务和承诺。
这就是我们信心的源泉---认识到上帝号召我们把握自己的命运。
这就是我们自由和信仰的意义，也就是为什么无数不同种族、不同信仰的人聚集在此参加这个盛典，这也就是为什么我现在能够站在你们面前宣誓就任美国总统，而在六十年前，我的父亲甚至还不能成为当地饭店里的一名服务生。
所以，让我们铭记这一天，让我们记住我们是谁，让我们记住我们走了多远。在美国诞生的那个年代，在那最寒冷的年月，一批垂死的爱国者围着篝火在冰封的河边取暖。首都丢了，敌人在进逼，雪染上了血。此时，我们的革命正处于最受质疑的时刻，我们的国父们对人民这样说：
“我们要让未来的世界知道，…在这深冬的严寒里，唯有希望和美德才能得以生存，…面对共同的危险，我们的城镇和乡村要勇敢向前。”
今天，美国也在严寒的冬天共同面对着危险，让我们记住先辈们这些永恒的话语，带着希望和美德，再一次勇敢地迎接寒流，去战胜可能来的暴风雪。让我们的子孙后代记住，在我们面临考验时，我们没有让我们国家的行程中止，我们没有后退，也没有犹豫，我们眼望前方，坚定信仰，我们一直秉承自由这一伟大的礼物，并安全地将它交给了下一代。
My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sanh.
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience’s sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society’s ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter’s courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent’s willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America’s birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
"Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."
America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
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