Reaction to President Bush's State of the Union address is predictably along partisan lines. Members of his Republican Party praised his leadership and the goals he proposed on domestic and foreign issues, while majority Democrats criticized him on the same issues.
在美国总统布什发表国情咨文演说之后，正如人们所料，不同党派对布什的讲话做出了不同的反应。布什总统所属的共和党人纷纷赞扬他的领导才能以及他提出的各项内政和外交政策目标，而在国会占多数的民主党人则在同样这些议题上对布什提出了批评。
Because the main themes of the address were known well in advance of the president's appearance, reaction began to roll in hours before he spoke to a joint session of Congress.
由于在布什总统发表国情咨文演说之前人们就已经得知他讲话的主题，所以在布什向国会发表演说之前几个小时，各方已经开始发表评论。
Even before the address, Senate Democrat Robert Byrd took aim at the president's assertion that, although Americans are concerned about the economy, they can be confident about long-term economic prospects.
民主党参议员罗伯特.伯德知道布什会在国情咨文中说，尽管美国人民关注经济问题，但他们对经济的远景仍然抱有信心，因此伯德在布什还没有开口之前就批评布什所下的这一结论。
Pointing to the president's call for Congress to make permanent tax cuts passed during his time in office, Byrd said the president presided over sharply increased deficits and debt while, as Byrd put it, "[squandering] billions of dollars every week in Iraq."
针对布什呼吁国会将那些在他任期间通过的减税计划永久化，伯德参议员说，在布什任内美国的财政赤字和国债急剧增加，与此同时，美国每个星期还在伊拉克“浪费”亿万美元。
In the formal Democratic response, Kathleen Sebelius, Democratic governor of the state of Kansas, urged President Bush to work with majority Democrats and to make a change of course in Iraq.
民主党籍的堪萨斯州州长凯斯琳.西贝利厄斯代表民主党对布什的国情咨文做出正式回应。她敦促布什总统跟国会多数党民主党人合作，改变美国在伊拉克的行动方向。
"The last five years have cost us dearly - in lives lost; in thousands of wounded warriors whose futures may never be the same; in challenges not met here at home because our resources were committed elsewhere," she said. "America's foreign policy has left us with fewer allies and more enemies. Join us, Mr. President, and working together with Congress to make tough, smart decisions, we will regain our standing in the world and protect our people and our interests."
西贝利厄斯说：“我们在过去5年中付出了高昂的代价，包括许多生命的丧失，数千名战士受伤，这些受伤战士的未来再也不会像原先所憧憬的那样美好。另外，我们的资源被用在别处，使我们无力应付国内的种种挑战。美国的外交政策令我们失去盟友，却增添了敌手。请总统先生加入我们的行列，和国会一起制定出艰难而明智的决策。使我们重新获得我们在国际上的地位，保护我们的人民和利益。”
Republicans generally praised the president for concentrating on key points of his agenda he believes can be accomplished in coming months, while maintaining his commitment to Iraq.
与此同时，大多数共和党人赞扬布什总统在继续致力于伊拉克的同时，把注意力放在那些他认定在任期内能够完成的关键议题。
"What he has done is a smart thing," said Jack Kingston, a Georgia Republican. "He stuck with his relevant issues and he is going to keep pushing them through, rather than come out here with 11 months to go in his presidency and introduce a whole bunch of new things."
乔治亚州共和党籍议员杰克.金斯顿说：“布什作了一件明智的事。在剩下的11个月任期里，他会继续推动那些他所关心的议题，而不是出台一整套新政策。”
Florida Democrat Debbie Wasserman-Schultz faults the president for what she describes as a lack of vision.
佛罗里达州民主党籍议员黛比.华瑟曼-舒尔兹指责布什缺乏远见。
"The president did not speak to my generation, and the generation of young Americans who are looking for some hope, looking for some vision that will give them the opportunity to move in a new direction, on education, on health care, on bringing our troops home from the war in Iraq that we are hopelessly mired in," she said. "On making sure we can really focus on global warming instead of just saying it's a problem. Let's see some action. Let's see some funding."
“布什总统的演讲不是向我们这一代人讲的。我们这一代美国年轻人寻求的是希望，是能够带给我们机会、带领我们在教育、健康保健问题上走出新的道路，并能够把我们的士兵从无望的伊拉克战争泥淖中撤回国的远见卓识。”
In his address, President Bush said defeating the Taliban and al-Qaida forces fighting American and NATO troops in Afghanistan remains critical to U.S. security, noting the deployment of an additional 3,200 U.S. Marines there.
布什总统在他的国情咨文演说中提到向阿富汗增派3200名美国海军陆战队。他说，打败在阿富汗和美国及北约部队作战的塔利班与基地组织武装对美国的安全仍然至关重要。
But Democratic House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton says the added forces fall far short of numbers needed for a long-term strategy for Afghanistan.
不过，国会众议院军事委员会主席艾克.斯凯尔顿说，增派部队的人数远远不能满足阿富汗长期战略的需求。
The president's final State of the Union address came with his public approval ratings still in the 30 percent range, and with the economy now a top concern.
就在布什总统发表他任期内最后一次国情咨文演说时，他的民众支持率仍然徘徊在30%左右，而且经济是此时人们关注的主要议题。
Tuesday, the House of Representatives is to debate the $150 billion economic stimulus package agreed to by the White House and House Democrats and Republicans, a measure the president warned should not be delayed or derailed.
众议员将于星期二就一项白宫和众议院民主、共和两党领导人共同推出的1千5百亿美元的经济刺激方案展开辩论。布什警告说，这项方案不能拖延，也不能半途而废。
But his other priorities face uphill battles, including a permanent revision of anti-terrorist electronic surveillance legislation, and free trade agreements for Colombia, Panama and South Korea.
然而，布什总统要推动的其它主要法案恐怕会遇到阻力，其中包括永久性修正一项反恐电子监控法案以及美国与哥伦比亚、巴拿马和韩国签署的自由贸易协定。
Some key fiscally-conservative Republicans expressed disappointment with President Bush's pledge to take steps to limit lawmaker's ability to designate millions of additional dollars in legislation for special projects benefiting their own districts - known as earmarks - saying much more needs to be done to bring this spending under control.
一些在财政政策上持保守立场的重要共和党人对布什总统保证要限制国会议员为自己选区的数百万美元特别项目拨款的承诺表示失望。这些共和党人说，布什总统需要作出更大努力来控制这类的特别开支。 |