President-elect Barack Obama has chosen yet another former political rival to join his incoming cabinet. Mr. Obama has announced that New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson will be his Secretary of Commerce and that Richardson will be a key member of his economic team.
美国当选总统奥巴马星期三宣布了他的经济团队的又一位关键人物：新墨西哥州州长比尔.理查森将出任下届政府的商务部长。理查森曾经作为奥巴马的竞争对手角逐过民主党的总统候选人提名。
President-elect Obama announced the Richardson appointment at a news conference in Chicago.
奥巴马在芝加哥举行的一个新闻发布会上宣布了他对理查森的任命。
Mr. Obama said Governor Richardson's experience in Congress and in the cabinet of former President Bill Clinton makes him uniquely qualified to be the top U.S. "economic diplomat" as head of the Commerce Department.
奥巴马表示，理查森州长在美国国会的经历以及他在前总统克林顿内阁中扮演的角色，使他具有独特的资格来担任商务部长，充当美国最高级别的“经济外交官”。
"It is time to not just address our immediate economic threats, but to start laying the groundwork for long-term economic prosperity to help American businesses grow and thrive at home, and expand our efforts to promote American enterprise around the world," he said.
他说：“时至今日，我们不仅需要对付那些迫在眉睫的经济威胁，还要开始为我们长期的经济繁荣奠定基础，帮助美国企业不仅在国内成长壮大，而且要在全世界扩大努力推动美国企业。”
Earlier this year, the 61-year-old Richardson was one of Mr. Obama's political rivals when he sought the Democratic Party's presidential nomination. Richardson dropped out of the race after poor finishes in the early contests and later endorsed Mr. Obama.
今年早些时候，61岁的理查森一度成为奥巴马的政治对手，谋求民主党的总统候选人提名。不过由于在最初的竞选中就连连败北而退出竞选，转而支持奥巴马。
Richardson joins two other former Obama rivals in the incoming administration, Vice President-elect Joe Biden and Secretary of State-designee Hillary Clinton.
其实在下届政府中，由竞选对手变成奥巴马下属的人并不只是理查森，副总统当选人拜登和被任命为国务卿的希拉里.克林顿都曾经致力于入主白宫。
Richardson said he was pleased to join a strong team in the incoming Obama cabinet.
理查森表示，他对加入阵容强大的奥巴马内阁深感欣慰。
"There are some who speak of a team of rivals, but I've never seen it that way," he said. "Past competitors? Yes. But rivals implies something harder edged and less forgiving, and in the worlds of diplomacy and commerce, you open markets and minds not with rivalry, but instead with partnership and innovation and hard work."
“有人说这是一个由对手组成的团队，我可从来没这么看。过去的竞争者？一点不错。然而对手这个词却暗示某种针锋相对、互不相让的意味。就像在外交和商务世界，你并不是以对抗的态度来开放市场和心胸，取而代之的是伙伴精神、创新和勤奋。”
Richardson served in Congress for 15 years before joining the Clinton administration as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and later as Energy Secretary. He was elected New Mexico's governor in 2002 and was re-elected two years ago.
理查森在加入克林顿内阁，先后出任美国驻联合国大使和能源部长之前，曾经担任了差不多15年的国会议员。2002年他被选为新墨西哥州州长，两年前又当选连任。
Richardson has also served as an envoy on several international missions over the years to countries such as Iraq, North Korea, Cuba and Sudan.
在过去的这些年中，他还担任过负责伊拉克、北韩、古巴和苏丹等国际事务的特使。
Richardson is the first Hispanic-American named to the Obama cabinet. Mr. Obama won roughly two-thirds of the Hispanic vote in last month's election.
理查森是奥巴马任命的第一位拉美裔内阁成员。在上个月举行的总统大选中，奥巴马赢得了拉美裔选民三分之二的选票。
Some Richardson supporters had hoped he would be named secretary of state, but Mr. Obama said Richardson will play a key role on his economic team as Secretary of Commerce.
有些理查森的支持者曾经希望他能被任命为国务卿，但是奥巴马说，作为商务部长，理查森将在他的经济团队中扮演一个关键的角色。
"His mixture of diplomatic experience, hands-on experience as a governor, experience in the cabinet and experience in Congress means that he is going to be a key strategist on all of the issues that we work on," he said.
“他的外交经验、作为州长的第一手经验、担任内阁成员的经验和在国会的经验，这些经验加在一起意味着：在我们要努力解决的所有问题上，他都将是一个关键的战略家。”
Since his election on November 4, Mr. Obama has chosen more than half of his cabinet as well as several key White House positions in advance of his inauguration on January 20.
自从11月4日赢得总统大选以来，奥巴马已经任命了一半以上的内阁成员以及一些关键的白宫顾问。他将在明年1月20日宣誓就职。
George Mason University government expert James Pfiffner says Mr. Obama is wise to put his new team in place as soon as possible.
乔治.梅森大学的政府事务专家詹姆斯.菲夫纳教授说，奥巴马的精明之处在于他能刻不容缓地组建新班子。
"The best chance for a president to get things through Congress is in his first several months in office," he said. "And so hitting the ground running is crucial with respect to the policy agenda."
A number of cabinet posts remain to be filled, including the heads of the Departments of Interior, Transportation, Labor, Energy and Education, as well as a Director of National Intelligence and a new chief for the Central Intelligence Agency, the CIA.
奥巴马政府还有几个内阁职位有待填补，其中包括内政部长、交通部长、劳工部长、能源部长和教育部长，以及国家情报总监和中央情报局的新局长。 |