【演讲稿】《美国总统演说》
2014-07-28 11:12阅读：
George W. Bush: 9/11 Address to the Nation
(2001)
Good evening. Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life,
our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and
deadly terrorist acts. The victims were in airplanes, or in their
offices; secretaries, businessmen and women, military and federal
workers; moms and dads, friends and neighbors. Thousands of lives
were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of
terror.
The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires
burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief,
terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger. These acts of mass
murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat.
But they have failed; our country is strong.
A great people has been moved to defend a great nation.
Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest
buildings, but they cannot touch the
foundation of America. These acts shattered steel, but they cannot
dent the steel of American resolve.
America was targeted for attack because we're the brightest
beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will
keep that light from shining.
Today, our nation saw evil, the very worst of human nature.
And we responded with the best of America — with the daring of our
rescue workers, with the caring for strangers and neighbors who
came to give blood and help in any way they could.
Immediately following the first attack, I implemented our
government's emergency response plans. Our military is powerful,
and it's prepared. Our emergency teams are working in New York City
and Washington, D.C. to help with local rescue
efforts.
Our first priority is to get help to those who have been
injured, and to take every precaution to protect our citizens at
home and around the world from further attacks.
The functions of our government continue without
interruption. Federal agencies in Washington which had to be
evacuated today are reopening for essential personnel tonight, and
will be open for business tomorrow. Our financial institutions
remain strong, and the American economy will be open for business,
as well.
The search is underway for those who are behind these evil
acts. I've directed the full resources of our intelligence and law
enforcement communities to find those responsible and to bring them
to justice. We will make no distinction between the terrorists who
committed these acts and those who harbor them.
I appreciate so very much the members of Congress who have
joined me in strongly condemning these attacks. And on behalf of
the American people, I thank the many world leaders who have called
to offer their condolences and assistance.
America and our friends and allies join with all those who
want peace and security in the world, and we stand together to win
the war against terrorism. Tonight, I ask for your prayers for all
those who grieve, for the children whose worlds have been
shattered, for all whose sense of safety and security has been
threatened. And I pray they will be comforted by a power greater
than any of us, spoken through the ages in Psalm 23: 'Even though I
walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for
You are with me.'
This is a day when all Americans from every walk of life
unite in our resolve for justice and peace. America has stood down
enemies before, and we will do so this time. None of us will ever
forget this day. Yet, we go forward to defend freedom and all that
is good and just in our world.
Thank you. Good night, and God bless America.
I Have Sinned
President Bill Clinton - September 11, 1998
Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the
White House and to this day to which Hillary and the vice president
and I look forward so much every year.
This is always an important day for our country, for the
reasons that the vice president said. It is an unusual and, I
think, unusually important day today. I may not be quite as easy
with my words today as I have been in years past, and I was up
rather late last night thinking about and praying about what I
ought to say today. And rather unusual for me, I actually tried to
write it down. So if you will forgive me, I will do my best to say
what it is I want to say to you - and I may have to take my glasses
out to read my own writing.
First, I want to say to all of you that, as you might
imagine, I have been on quite a journey these last few weeks to get
to the end of this, to the rock bottom truth of where I am and
where we all are.
I agree with those who have said that in my first statement
after I testified I was not contrite enough. I don't think there is
a fancy way to say that I have sinned.
It is important to me that everybody who has been hurt know
that the sorrow I feel is genuine: first and most important, my
family; also my friends, my staff, my Cabinet, Monica Lewinsky and
her family, and the American people. I have asked all for their
forgiveness.
But I believe that to be forgiven, more than sorrow is
required - at least two more things. First, genuine repentance - a
determination to change and to repair breaches of my own making. I
have repented. Second, what my bible calls a ''broken spirit''; an
understanding that I must have God's help to be the person that I
want to be; a willingness to give the very forgiveness I seek; a
renunciation of the pride and the anger which cloud judgment, lead
people to excuse and compare and to blame and
complain.
Now, what does all this mean for me and for us? First, I will
instruct my lawyers to mount a vigorous defense, using all
available appropriate arguments. But legal language must not
obscure the fact that I have done wrong. Second, I will continue on
the path of repentance, seeking pastoral support and that of other
caring people so that they can hold me accountable for my own
commitment.
Third, I will intensify my efforts to lead our country and
the world toward peace and freedom, prosperity and harmony, in the
hope that with a broken spirit and a still strong heart I can be
used for greater good, for we have many blessings and many
challenges and so much work to do.
In this, I ask for your prayers and for your help in healing
our nation. And though I cannot move beyond or forget this -
indeed, I must always keep it as a caution light in my life - it is
very important that our nation move forward.
I am very grateful for the many, many people - clergy and
ordinary citizens alike - who have written me with wise counsel. I
am profoundly grateful for the support of so many Americans who
somehow through it all seem to still know that I care about them a
great deal, that I care about their problems and their dreams. I am
grateful for those who have stood by me and who say that in this
case and many others, the bounds of privacy have been excessively
and unwisely invaded. That may be. Nevertheless, in this case, it
may be a blessing, because I still sinned. And if my repentance is
genuine and sustained, and if I can maintain both a broken spirit
and a strong heart, then good can come of this for our country as
well as for me and my family.
The children of this country can learn in a profound way that
integrity is important and selfishness is wrong, but God can change
us and make us strong at the broken places. I want to embody those
lessons for the children of this country - for that little boy in
Florida who came up to me and said that he wanted to grow up and be
President and to be just like me. I want the parents of all the
children in America to be able to say that to their
children.
A couple of days ago when I was in Florida a Jewish friend of
mine gave me this liturgy book called ''Gates of Repentance.'' And
there was this incredible passage from the Yom Kippur liturgy. I
would like to read it to you:
''Now is the time for turning. The leaves are beginning to
turn from green to red to orange. The birds are beginning to turn
and are heading once more toward the south. The animals are
beginning to turn to storing their food for the winter. For leaves,
birds and animals, turning comes instinctively. But for us, turning
does not come so easily. It takes an act of will for us to make a
turn. It means breaking old habits. It means admitting that we have
been wrong, and this is never easy. It means losing face. It means
starting all over again. And this is always painful. It means
saying I am sorry. It means recognizing that we have the ability to
change. These things are terribly hard to do. But unless we turn,
we will be trapped forever in yesterday's ways. Lord help us to
turn, from callousness to sensitivity, from hostility to love, from
pettiness to purpose, from envy to contentment, from carelessness
to discipline, from fear to faith. Turn us around, O Lord, and
bring us back toward you. Revive our lives as at the beginning, and
turn us toward each other, Lord, for in isolation there is no
life.''
I thank my friend for that. I thank you for being here. I ask
you to share my prayer that God will search me and know my heart,
try me and know my anxious thoughts, see if there is any
hurtfulness in me, and lead me toward the life everlasting. I ask
that God give me a clean heart, let me walk by faith and not
sight.
I ask once again to be able to love my neighbor - all my
neighbors - as my self, to be an instrument of God's peace; to let
the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart and, in the
end, the work of my hands, be pleasing. This is what I wanted to
say to you today.
Thank you. God bless you.
Explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger Address to the
Nation
January 28, 1986 by President Ronald W.
Reagan
Ladies and gentlemen, I'd planned to speak to you tonight to
report on the state of the Union, but the events of earlier today
have led me to change those plans. Today is a day for mourning and
remembering.
Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the
shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain with all of the
people of our country. This is truly a national loss.
Nineteen years ago, almost to the day, we lost three
astronauts in a terrible accident on the ground. But we've never
lost an astronaut in flight; we've never had a tragedy like this.
And perhaps we've forgotten the courage it took for the crew of the
shuttle; but they, the Challenger Seven, were aware of the dangers,
but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly. We mourn seven
heroes: Michael Smith, Dick Scobee, Judith Resnik, Ronald McNair,
Ellison Onizuka, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe. We mourn
their loss as a nation together.
For the families of the seven, we cannot bear, as you do, the
full impact of this tragedy. But we feel the loss, and we're
thinking about you so very much. Your loved ones were daring and
brave, and they had that special grace, that special spirit that
says, 'Give me a challenge and I'll meet it with joy.' They had a
hunger to explore the universe and discover its truths. They wished
to serve, and they did. They served all of us.
We've grown used to wonders in this century. It's hard to
dazzle us. But for 25 years the United States space program has
been doing just that. We've grown used to the idea of space, and
perhaps we forget that we've only just begun. We're still pioneers.
They, the members of the Challenger crew, were
pioneers.
And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America
who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's takeoff. I
know it is hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like
this happen. It's all part of the process of exploration and
discovery. It's all part of taking a chance and expanding man's
horizons. The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs
to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future,
and we'll continue to follow them.
I've always had great faith in and respect for our space
program, and what happened today does nothing to diminish it. We
don't hide our space program. We don't keep secrets and cover
things up. We do it all up front and in public. That's the way
freedom is, and we wouldn't change it for a minute.
We'll continue our quest in space. There will be more shuttle
flights and more shuttle crews and, yes, more volunteers, more
civilians, more teachers in space. Nothing ends here; our hopes and
our journeys continue.
I want to add that I wish I could talk to every man and woman
who works for NASA or who worked on this mission and tell them:
'Your dedication and professionalism have moved and impressed us
for decades. And we know of your anguish. We share
it.'
There's a coincidence today. On this day 390 years ago, the
great explorer Sir Francis Drake died aboard ship off the coast of
Panama. In his lifetime the great frontiers were the oceans, and an
historian later said, 'He lived by the sea, died on it, and was
buried in it.' Well, today we can say of the Challenger crew: Their
dedication was, like Drake's, complete.
The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the
manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them,
nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for
their journey and waved goodbye and 'slipped the surly bonds of
earth' to 'touch the face of God.'
PRESIDENT NIXON'S RESIGNATION SPEECH
August 8, 1974
Good evening.
This is the 37th time I have spoken to you from this office,
where so many decisions have been made that shaped the history of
this Nation. Each time I have done so to discuss with you some
matter that I believe affected the national interest.
In all the decisions I have made in my public life, I have
always tried to do what was best for the Nation. Throughout the
long and difficult period of Watergate, I have felt it was my duty
to persevere, to make every possible effort to complete the term of
office to which you elected me.
In the past few days, however, it has become evident to me
that I no longer have a strong enough political base in the
Congress to justify continuing that effort. As long as there was
such a base, I felt strongly that it was necessary to see the
constitutional process through to its conclusion, that to do
otherwise would be unfaithful to the spirit of that deliberately
difficult process and a dangerously destabilizing precedent for the
future.
But with the disappearance of that base, I now believe that
the constitutional purpose has been served, and there is no longer
a need for the process to be prolonged.
I would have preferred to carry through to the finish
whatever the personal agony it would have involved, and my family
unanimously urged me to do so. But the interest of the Nation must
always come before any personal considerations.
From the discussions I have had with Congressional and other
leaders, I have concluded that because of the Watergate matter I
might not have the support of the Congress that I would consider
necessary to back the very difficult decisions and carry out the
duties of this office in the way the interests of the Nation would
require.
I have never been a quitter. To leave office before my term
is completed is abhorrent to every instinct in my body. But as
President, I must put the interest of America first. America needs
a full-time President and a full-time Congress, particularly at
this time with problems we face at home and abroad.
To continue to fight through the months ahead for my personal
vindication would almost totally absorb the time and attention of
both the President and the Congress in a period when our entire
focus should be on the great issues of peace abroad and prosperity
without inflation at home.
Therefore, I shall resign the Presidency effective at noon
tomorrow. Vice President Ford will be sworn in as President at that
hour in this office.
As I recall the high hopes for America with which we began
this second term, I feel a great sadness that I will not be here in
this office working on your behalf to achieve those hopes in the
next 21/2 years. But in turning over direction of the Government to
Vice President Ford, I know, as I told the Nation when I nominated
him for that office 10 months ago, that the leadership of America
will be in good hands.
In passing this office to the Vice President, I also do so
with the profound sense of the weight of responsibility that will
fall on his shoulders tomorrow and, therefore, of the
understanding, the patience, the cooperation he will need from all
Americans.
As he assumes that responsibility, he will deserve the help
and the support of all of us. As we look to the future, the first
essential is to begin healing the wounds of this Nation, to put the
bitterness and divisions of the recent past behind us, and to
rediscover those shared ideals that lie at the heart of our
strength and unity as a great and as a free people.
By taking this action, I hope that I will have hastened the
start of that process of healing which is so desperately needed in
America.
I regret deeply any injuries that may have been done in the
course of the events that led to this decision. I would say only
that if some of my Judgments were wrong, and some were wrong, they
were made in what I believed at the time to be the best interest of
the Nation.
To those who have stood with me during these past difficult
months, to my family, my friends, to many others who joined in
supporting my cause because they believed it was right, I will be
eternally grateful for your support.
And to those who have not felt able to give me your support,
let me say I leave with no bitterness toward those who have opposed
me, because all of us, in the final analysis, have been concerned
with the good of the country, however our judgments might
differ.
So, let us all now join together in affirming that common
commitment and in helping our new President succeed for the benefit
of all Americans.
I shall leave this office with regret at not completing my
term, but with gratitude for the privilege of serving as your
President for the past 51/2 years. These years have been a
momentous time in the history of our Nation and the world. They
have been a time of achievement in which we can all be proud,
achievements that represent the shared efforts of the
Administration, the Congress, and the people.
But the challenges ahead are equally great, and they, too,
will require the support and the efforts of the Congress and the
people working in cooperation with the new
Administration.
We have ended America's longest war, but in the work of
securing a lasting peace in the world, the goals ahead are even
more far-reaching and more difficult. We must complete a structure
of peace so that it will be said of this generation, our generation
of Americans, by the people of all nations, not only that we ended
one war but that we prevented future wars.
We have unlocked the doors that for a quarter of a century
stood between the United States and the People's Republic of
China.
We must now ensure that the one quarter of the world's people
who live in the People's Republic of China will be and remain not
our enemies but our friends.
In the Middle East, 100 million people in the Arab countries,
many of whom have considered us their enemy for nearly 20 years,
now look on us as their friends. We must continue to build on that
friendship so that peace can settle at last over the Middle East
and so that the cradle of civilization will not become its
grave.
Together with the Soviet Union we have made the crucial
breakthroughs that have begun the process of limiting nuclear arms.
But we must set as our goal not just limiting but reducing and
finally destroying these terrible weapons so that they cannot
destroy civilization and so that the threat of nuclear war will no
longer hang over the world and the people.
We have opened the new relation with the Soviet Union. We
must continue to develop and expand that new relationship so that
the two strongest nations of the world will live together in
cooperation rather than confrontation.
Around the world, in Asia, in Africa, in Latin America, in
the Middle East, there are millions of people who live in terrible
poverty, even starvation. We must keep as our goal turning away
from production for war and expanding production for peace so that
people everywhere on this earth can at last look forward in their
children's time, if not in our own time, to having the necessities
for a decent life.
Here in America, we are fortunate that most of our people
have not only the blessings of liberty but also the means to live
full and good and, by the world's standards, even abundant lives.
We must press on, however, toward a goal of not only more and
better jobs but of full opportunity for every American and of what
we are striving so hard right now to achieve, prosperity without
inflation.
For more than a quarter of a century in public life I have
shared in the turbulent history of this era. I have fought for what
I believed in. I have tried to the best of my ability to discharge
those duties and meet those responsibilities that were entrusted to
me.
Sometimes I have succeeded and sometimes I have failed, but
always I have taken heart from what Theodore Roosevelt once said
about the man in the arena, 'whose face is marred by dust and sweat
and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again
and again because there is not effort without error and
shortcoming, but who does actually strive to do the deed, who knows
the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a
worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumphs of high
achievements and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails
while daring greatly.'
I pledge to you tonight that as long as I have a breath of
life in my body, I shall continue in that spirit. I shall continue
to work for the great causes to which I have been dedicated
throughout my years as a Congressman, a Senator, a Vice President,
and President, the cause of peace not just for America but among
all nations, prosperity, justice, and opportunity for all of our
people.
There is one cause above all to which I have been devoted and
to which I shall always be devoted for as long as I
live.
When I first took the oath of office as President 51/2 years
ago, I made this sacred commitment, to 'consecrate my office, my
energies, and all the wisdom I can summon to the cause of peace
among nations.'
I have done my very best in all the days since to be true to
that pledge. As a result of these efforts, I am confident that the
world is a safer place today, not only for the people of America
but for the people of all nations, and that all of our children
have a better chance than before of living in peace rather than
dying in war.
This, more than anything, is what I hoped to achieve when I
sought the Presidency. This, more than anything, is what I hope
will be my legacy to you, to our country, as I leave the
Presidency.
To have served in this office is to have felt a very personal
sense of kinship with each and every American. In leaving it, I do
so with this prayer: May God's grace be with you in all the days
ahead.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation
delivered 8 December 1941, Washington, D.C.
Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the Senate, and
of the House of Representatives:
Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 -- a date which will live in
infamy -- the United States of America was suddenly and
deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of
Japan.
The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the
solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its
government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace
in the Pacific.
Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced
bombing in the American island of Oahu, the Japanese
ambassador to the United States and his colleague
delivered toour
Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American
message. And while this reply stated that it seemed useless to
continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no
threat or hint of war or of armed attack.
It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan
makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days
or even weeks ago. During the intervening time, the Japanese
government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by
false statements and expressions of hope for continued
peace.
The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian islands has caused
severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to
tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addition,
American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas
between San Francisco and Honolulu.
Yesterday, the Japanese government also launched an attack
against Malaya.
Last night, Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.
Last night, Japanese forces attacked Guam.
Last night, Japanese forces attacked the Philippine
Islands.
Last night, the Japanese attacked Wake Island.
And this morning, the Japanese attacked Midway
Island.
Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive
extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday and
today speak for themselves. The people of the United States have
already formed their opinions and well understand the implications
to the very life and safety of our nation.
As Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed
that all measures be taken for our defense. But always will our
whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against
us.
No matter how long it may take us to overcome this
premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might
will win through to absolute victory.
I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of
the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to
the uttermost, but will make it very certain that this form of
treachery shall never again endanger us.
Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our
people, our territory, and our interests are in grave
danger.
With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding
determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph --
so help us God.
I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and
dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7th, 1941, a state of
war has existed between the United States and the Japanese
empire.
