President Barack Obama has now reached the halfway mark in his first 100 days in office, a traditional benchmark when new presidents are evaluated on their progress. Mr. Obama has laid out an ambitious agenda that has focused on reviving the weak U.S. economy. But, some critics and experts wonder if the president is trying to do too much too soon.
奥巴马总统上任已经50天。根据传统，新总统上任到100天时，公众会对他的执政成就进行评估。奥巴马列出了雄心勃勃的执政目标，中心任务是重振美国萎靡不振的经济。但是，一些批评人士和专家担心，奥巴马是否试图在太短的时间内完成太多的任务。
From the very start, beginning with his Inaugural Address, Barack Obama promised an ambitious presidency.
奥巴马从宣誓就职一开始就保证要在任期内大有作为。
"Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real," he said. "They are serious and many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this America, they will be met."
“今天，我要告诉大家，我们面临的挑战是切切实实的。我们的问题很多，也很严峻，它们不会很容易地在短期内得到解决。但是，就我们对美国的了解，这些问题必然会解决的。”
His first and most important priority was dealing with the weak U.S. economy.
奥巴马总统首当其冲的问题就是重振美国目前举步维艰的经济。
But Mr. Obama also moved quickly to begin the process of reining in the cost of health care while at the same time expanding coverage to the uninsured. The new president has also promised to reform education and move the country toward energy independence.
与此同时，奥巴马采取迅速行动，争取让那些没有医疗保险的人能得到保险。新总统还表示要进行教育改革，促进国家的能源独立等。
For some critics like Tennessee Republican Senator Lamar Alexander, it is just too ambitious.
但是，对某些批评人士来说，奥巴马的计划太雄心勃勃了，来自田纳西州的共和党议员亚历山大就是其中之一。
"Presidents have many problems to solve," he said. "But no one ever suggested that the wisest course is to try to solve them all at once."
“各届总统都有很多问题需要解决。但是，从来没有人认为最明智的办法就是一下子就解决所有问题。”
But in marking his first 50 days in office, Mr. Obama gave no indication that he intends to back away from his agenda.
但是，奥巴马在上任50天的时候没有任何后退的迹象。
"I know there are some who believe we can only handle one challenge at a time," he said. "We do not have the luxury of choosing between getting our economy moving now and rebuilding it over the long term."
他说：“我知道有些人认为我们只能一次解决一个问题。但是究竟是现在就让经济马上恢复，还是让经济进行长期重建？我们没有在这两者中进行选择的余地。”
Like presidents before him, Mr. Obama's performance is being measured against that of President Franklin Roosevelt, who came into the White House in the midst of the Great Depression in 1933.
奥巴马现在离上任100天还有一半的时间。就像他的前任们一样，奥巴马的政绩通常是以罗斯福总统为标准来衡量的。罗斯福1933年上台，当时也正好是美国大萧条时期。
"It comes from the first 100 days of Franklin Roosevelt's presidency," said Jeremy Mayer, a presidential expert at George Mason University in Virginia. "He was inaugurated on March 4th, 1933, back when we inaugurated presidents in March instead of January, and it was a whirlwind of activity. Never has so much been done for so many in such a little amount of time."
迈耶是维吉尼亚州乔治·梅森大学研究总统的专家，他说：“罗斯福总统上任100天时也是这样。他是1933年3月4号宣誓就任的。那时候，总统是在3月份宣誓就职，而不是1月。那时候，罗斯福总统迅速地采取了一系列行动。从来没有在如此短的时间内为那么多人完成如此多的任务。”
President Roosevelt set out to tackle a lengthy list of problems right when he took office, from failing banks to an unemployment rate of about 25 percent. Despite Roosevelt's frenetic first 100 days, it took years for the economy to turn around.
罗斯福上任后着手处理一系列问题，从濒临倒闭的银行到高达25%的失业率。尽管罗斯福在上任100天内极度忙碌，但是经济还是经过很多年后才得以恢复。
Of course, President Obama is hoping for a much quicker economic turnaround during his tenure in office.
当然，奥巴马总统希望在他任期内，经济能够比较快地恢复。
Mr. Obama can point to one major achievement while in office, passage of a massive economic-stimulus bill.
奥巴马可以宣称他取得了一项重要成就，那就是通过了大规模经济刺激计划。
Jeremy Mayer says it is a noteworthy achievement.
迈耶说，这是很值得一提的成就。
"Divorced from whether it is a good idea or not, passing that stimulus package politically is a major achievement," he said. "Some presidents go their whole four years without ever doing anything as big as that."
“抛开这是好事还是坏事不说，但是仅仅使得刺激计划获得通过就是政治上的重大成就。有些总统争取了四年也没有通过那样规模的计划。”
Mr. Obama has had less success advancing his goal of bipartisan cooperation with Republicans. They largely reject his economic policies.
"More spending, more taxes and more debt," said Alabama Republican Senator Jeff Sessions. "That is what this budget is."
Some experts question whether the American public will give President Obama enough time for his policies to take effect.
另有一些专家怀疑，美国民众是否会给奥巴马总统足够的时间让他的政策生效。
"We have never shown a great deal of patience as a people," said Stephen Wayne, an expert on government at Georgetown University in Washington. "But on the other hand, Obama remains highly popular, much more so than the Republicans in Congress. If there are any signs of changes in the right direction occurring, I think that will be enough to placate the American people. We are not going to wait indefinitely, but at the moment the bottom line is there are no other options."
华盛顿乔治城大学研究政府事务的专家韦恩说：“美国人从来没有显示有很多的耐心。但是，另一方面，奥巴马仍然非常受欢迎，远远超过国会的共和党人。如果出现任何迹象，显示我们在向好的方向作出改变，我想这就足以安抚美国民众。我们不会无限期地等待，但是，归根结底我们目前没有其他选择。”
Most experts believe President Obama's political fate and eventual success is tied directly to what happens in the years ahead to the U.S. economy.
大多数专家相信，奥巴马总统的政治前途以及最终的胜利和今后几年美国经济的发展有直接的关系。
But the new president has been busy on other fronts as well, including national security and foreign policy.
但是，新总统同时也在忙于解决其他方面的问题，包括国家安全和外交政策。
Mr. Obama has ordered the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp for suspected terrorists, revised interrogation policies for detainees, set a withdrawal date for most U.S. troops from Iraq and has ordered another 17,000 troops sent to Afghanistan.
奥巴马下令关闭关押恐怖分子嫌疑人的关塔纳摩湾，推翻先前的审讯政策，为美国从伊拉克撤军制定时间表，他同时下令向阿富汗增兵1万7千人。 |