President Barack Obama is going through a rite of political passage this week - he is marking his first 100 days in office. The significance of the 100 days marker goes back to the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt, who assumed power at the height of the Great Depression in 1933, and his first priority was reassuring the public that better days were ahead.
这个星期是奥巴马总统上任100天的重要日子，这是政治历程中的一个重要阶段。100天这个标志的重要性是从富兰克林.罗斯福总统开始的。富兰克林.罗斯福是在1933年大萧条最严重的时期担任总统的。当时他的首要任务是向公众保证，前途是光明的。
"You people must have faith. You must not be stampeded by rumors or guesses. Let us unite in banishing fear," he said.
他说：“你们必须有信心，绝不要被流言和猜测所吓倒。让我们团结起来驱散恐惧。”
Roosevelt was a master communicator and the first president to make effective use of the radio to build public support.
罗斯福很善于和民众沟通，他是第一位有效地利用广播来获取公众支持的总统。
Roosevelt's ambitious legislative program aimed at reviving the economy and his decisive leadership style remain the gold standard for how a new president takes charge in the first 100 days in office.
罗斯福雄心勃勃的振兴经济的立法项目和他果断的领导作风，至今仍然是衡量一位新总统如何在就职100天里行使权力的最高标准。
Other presidents had to cope with domestic and foreign policy stumbles in their first 100 days.
有的总统不得不在就职后的100天里应对国内和外交政策上的失误。
In 1961, President John Kennedy took responsibility for the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion involving U.S.-supported Cuban exiles trying to overthrow the government of Fidel Castro.
1961年，约翰.肯尼迪总统为猪湾入侵的灾难性后果承担责任。那次事件涉及在美国支持下的古巴流亡者企图推翻菲德尔.卡斯特罗的政府。
For Kennedy, it was an early political setback for a president untested on the world stage.
肯尼迪当时是一位在世界舞台上还没有受到考验的总统，这一事件是他早期遭遇的政治挫折。
"On that unhappy island, as in some many other arenas in the contest for freedom, the news has grown worse instead of better," he said.
肯尼迪说：“从那个不幸的岛屿上传来的消息，就像为争取自由而斗争的许多其他地方一样，越来越糟，而不是越来越好。”
President Barack Obama faced an incredibly daunting economic situation in his first 100 days in office.
巴拉克.奥巴马总统在就职后的100天里面临一个极为棘手的经济局面。
In some ways, Mr. Obama has modeled his initial approach in office on that of Franklin Roosevelt, mindful of Roosevelt's ability to communicate with the public and convey harsh realities and hope at the same time.
从某些方面来说，奥巴马上任初期的做法是以富兰克林.罗斯福为表率的，他注意到罗斯福与公众沟通的能力，在向他们指出严酷现实的同时也让他们抱有希望。
"By no means are we out of the woods just yet. But from where we stand, for the very first time, we are beginning to see glimmers of hope," he said.
奥巴马说：“我们现在还没有走出困境。但是就目前的情况来说，我们头一次开始看到了希望的曙光。”
Journalists and political experts are spending a lot of time evaluating Mr. Obama's first 100 days in office, even though many of them acknowledge the 100 days mark is an arbitrary number.
新闻记者和政治专家花了很多时间来评估奥巴马就任总统后100天内的政绩，尽管他们中的很多人承认，用100天来衡量是很武断的。
Stephen Hess is a political scholar at the Brookings Institution in Washington:
史蒂芬.赫斯是华盛顿布鲁金斯学会的一位政治学者。
"It is a useful way to assess each individual president, not in historical terms, but just looking back and saying how have they gotten off the ground," said Hess.
他说：“这是评估每一位总统行之有效的方法，不是从历史的角度来评估，而只是回顾一下他们上任后是怎么开始执政的。”
Political analyst Stuart Rothenberg says the president's early and continuing popularity is in large part due to Mr. Obama's ability to convince voters that he is willing to tackle the nation's economic problems head-on.
政治分析人士罗腾伯格说，奥巴马总统之所以能在早期，以致持续深得民心，主要是因为他能让选民相信他愿意毫不含糊地处理美国的经济问题。
"You have to say the one thing that he has done is he has brought a fresh spirit to the American public, a sense of at least partial relief that the government is trying to turn the economy around, is hands-on, understands people's problems, and that is really important," Rothenberg said.
他说：“你不得不承认他做到了一件事情：那就是在美国公众间振奋人心，至少让公众的情绪放松了一些，使他们感到政府正在努力扭转经济局面、正在着手处理问题，而且政府理解人民的难处，那的确相当重要。”
Opposition Republicans accuse the president of wanting to follow a far-left economic and social agenda, and they warn that his government spending plans will result in a huge jump in the national debt.
反对党共和党人指责奥巴马总统遵循极左的经济和社会方针，他们还警告说，奥巴马的政府预算计划将导致国家债台高筑。
But analyst Rothenberg says so far, Mr. Obama has been able to deflect some of the partisan criticism.
但是分析人士罗腾伯格说，迄今为止，奥巴马一直能转移反对派对他提出的批评。
"The strengths are clearly his personal ability to communicate with people, to communicate with the American public and to motivate and to change the mood in the country. And he has done a good job, I think, in trying to reach out to all Americans and not running a particularly partisan presidency, at least in rhetoric," he added.
他说：“显然他个人的人际交流能力是力量的源泉，也就是他和与美国公众的交流、调动积极因素并改变国内民众情绪的能力。他干得最出色的是设法和各界美国人民接触，不单纯从党派立场来执政，至少在口头上是如此。”
But Republicans also complain that Mr. Obama has so far failed to follow through on his campaign promise to change the political tone in Washington and reach out to the opposition party.
但是共和党人仍然在抱怨奥巴马到目前为止还没兑现自己改变华盛顿政治气氛并联合反对党的竞选承诺。
That complaint may be highlighted in the next 100 days and beyond as the president moves to tackle politically divisive issues like health care reform and energy independence.
那种抱怨可能在今后的100天或者更长的时间里更为突显，因为奥巴马总统要采取步骤处理具有政治分歧性的医疗改革和能源独立问题。
Brookings Institution expert Stephen Hess says Mr. Obama should push as much of his agenda as he can early on to maximize his political leverage.
布鲁金斯学会的专家赫斯说，奥巴马应当及早全力以赴地推动自己的议程，以便充分利用他的政治优势。
"This is a good way to proceed because a president is never as popular and never has as much public support as when he first gets elected, otherwise it's like an hourglass with the sand running out, so take advantage of that honeymoon knowing full well that you are not nearly going to get all that you propose," he said.
他说：“这是取得进展的好办法，因为一位总统在刚当选时期往往最深得民心、他的公众支持率也是最高的。反过来说，就像一个沙漏，随着时间的推移沙子逐渐漏失，所以务必抓紧蜜月时机，而且要明白你所提出的建议不会全部通过的。”
President Obama enjoys solid public support as he marks his first 100 days in office. The latest New York Times-CBS News poll shows his approval rating at 68 percent, while a Washington Post-ABC News poll registered his approval at 69 percent.
奥巴马总统上任100天，他享有相当高的公众支持率。最近纽约时报和哥伦比亚广播公司新闻节目的民调结果显示，他的支持率为68%，而华盛顿邮报和美国广播公司新闻节目的民调结果是，他享有69%的支持率。 |