waited tables. He worked construction. Their first child, Jack, was on the way. They were young and in love in America. And it doesn’t get much better than that. “If only we had known,” Rebekah wrote to me last spring, “what was about to happen to the housing and construction market.”

首先让我们谈谈经济。七年前，明尼阿波利斯的瑞贝卡和本-艾勒是一对新婚夫妇。瑞贝卡是饭店服务员，艾勒在建筑工地上班，他们当时即将迎来第一个孩子杰克。他们很年轻，在美国相爱，没有什么比这更好的了。瑞贝卡去年春天写信给我称：“如果我们当时知道住房和建筑市场将发生什么就好了。”

As the crisis worsened, Ben’s business dried up, so he took what jobs he could find, even if they kept him on the road for long stretches of time. Rebekah took out student loans and enrolled in community college, and retrained for a new career. They sacrificed for each other. And slowly, it paid off. They bought their first home. They had a second son, Henry. Rebekah got a better job and then a raise. Ben is back in construction -- and home for dinner every night.

随着危机恶化，本的生意逐步消失，他只能做他能找到的工作，即便这些工作让他花非常多的时间在路上。瑞贝卡办理了学生贷款，在社区大学上学，为一份新的职业生涯培训。他们为彼此牺牲。慢慢地，他们的努力得到了回报，他们买了首套房子，他们有了第二个儿

子亨利。瑞贝卡找到了一份更好的工作，还加了薪。本也重返建筑业，每天晚上能回家吃晚餐。

“It is amazing,” Rebekah wrote, “what you can bounce back from when you have to…we are a strong, tight-knit family who has made it through some very, very hard times.” We are a strong, tight-knit family who has made it through some very, very hard times.

瑞贝卡写道：“这是令人惊奇的，你在被迫的情况下东山再起，我们是一个强有力的、关系密切的家庭，我们一起熬过了一段非常非常艰难的时刻。”

America, Rebekah and Ben’s story is our story. They represent the millions who have worked hard and scrimped, and sacrificed and retooled. You are the reason that I ran for this office. You are the people I was thinking of six years ago today, in the darkest months of the crisis, when I stood on the steps of this Capitol and promised we would rebuild our economy on a new foundation. And it has been your resilience, your effort that has made it possible for our country to emerge stronger.

美国同胞们，瑞贝卡和本的故事就是我们的故事，他们代表着那些努力工作，精打细算，作出牺牲，重新培训的数百万人。你们是我竞选总统职位的原因，你们是我六年前的那一天所想到的人们。在危机最黑暗的数个月里，当我站在国会山的台阶上，承诺我们将在一

个新的基石上重建我们的经济。你们的努力和坚韧，使美国在危机过后更加强大成为可能。

We believed we could reverse the tide of outsourcing and draw new jobs to our shores. And over the past five years, our businesses have created more than 11 million new jobs. (Applause.)

我们相信，我们能够扭转外包的趋向，将新就业机会带回国内。在以往五年期间，我国企业创造了1100多万个新就业机会。

We believed we could reduce our dependence on foreign oil and protect our planet. And today, America is number one in oil and gas. America is number one in wind power. Every three weeks, we bring online as much solar power as we did in all of 2008. (Applause.) And thanks to lower gas prices and higher fuel standards, the typical family this year should save about $750 at the pump. (Applause.)

我们相信，我们能够降低对外国石油的依赖并保护我们这个星球。如今，美国的石油和天然气产量位居世界第一。美国的风力发电量位居世界首位。我国每三个星期并网的太阳能，就相当于2008年的总量。由于石油价格下跌和燃料标准提高，一般每个家庭今年会节省750美元油费。

We believed we could prepare our kids for a more competitive world. And today, our younger students have earned

the highest math and reading scores on record. Our high school graduation rate has hit an all-time high. More Americans finish college than ever before. (Applause.)

我们相信，我们能够使我们的孩子们为面对一个更具有竞争性的世界做好准备。现在，我国年轻学生们的数学和阅读分数都达到了前所未有的水平。我国的高中生毕业率也达到历史新高。美国大学毕业生的人数超过了以往任何一个时期。

We believed that sensible regulations could prevent another crisis, shield families from ruin, and encourage fair competition. Today, we have new tools to stop taxpayer-funded bailouts, and a new consumer watchdog to protect us from predatory lending and abusive credit card practices. And in the past year alone, about 10 million uninsured Americans finally gained the security of health coverage. (Applause.)

我们相信，明智的规章能够避免另一场危机，使家庭免于被毁，并鼓励公平竞争。如今，我们拥有新手段，不再使用纳税人的钱来救助企业;我们拥有新的消费者监管机构，保护我们免受掠夺性借贷和信用卡违规行为之害。仅在去年一年，就有大约一千万没有医保的美国人终于得到医疗保险。

At every step, we were told our goals were misguided or too ambitious; that we would crush jobs and explode deficits. Instead, we’ve seen the fastest economic growth in over a