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Let’s be clear about something:
首先，我们得明确一下：
Barack Obama has been one of the most consequential presidents in recent American history.
巴拉克·奥巴马是美国历史上最重要的总统之一。
“You can't say it, but you know it's true.”
“你不能这么说，但你知道，这是真的。”
In the past eight years, he has completely transformed the American healthcare system.
在过去的八年中，他彻底改变了美国的医疗体系。
He got tough reforms to Wall Street passed after the biggest financial crisis in decades.
在发生了几十年来最严重的金融危机之后，他让对华尔街艰难的改革方案得以通过。
He appointed two of the 4 women to ever serve on the supreme court,
四名问鼎最高法院的女性有两名都是他任命的，
both of whom were part of the historic decision legalizing same sex marriage.
两人都对同性婚姻合法化这一历史性决定做出了贡献。
He put in place the toughest climate regulations in American history.
他制定了美国历史上最严格的气候法规。
He opened the US to Cuba for the first time in half a century.
他让美国在半个世纪以来首次对古巴开放了。
And he reached a peaceful settlement to the nuclear standoff with Iran that lasted for a decade before he took office.
他和平解决了美国和伊朗之间的，在他上任之前就已经持续了十年之久的核对峙问题。
You can celebrate or bemoan these accomplishments.
你可以为他的这些成就欢呼，也可以为它们哀叹。
Liberals will think they’re great, conservatives will think they’re awful.
自由主义者会认为这些成就很棒，保守派则会觉得它们很糟糕。
But it’s hard to deny that they’re big deals.
但你很难否认这些成就都很了不起。
So….where do we start?
那么......我们从哪里开始说起呢？
Obamacare is a big f.cking deal.
奥巴马医改就是一个非常TM了不起的成就。
For at least 100 years, the big goal of American liberals on domestic policy was to get a national health insurance program done.
至少100年来，美国自由主义者对国内政策最远大的目标就是完成国家健康保险计划。
A lot of countries implemented universal health care in the 20th century — the UK, Canada, France — but the US always lagged behind.
二十世纪，很多国家——英国，加拿大，法国——都推行了全民医疗保健制度，美国却总是落于人后。
There were attempt after attempt after attempt by American progressives of both parties to try to get the US to where everyone else was going.
为了跟上其他国家的步伐，美国两党的进步人士做出了一次又一次，一次又一次的努力。
And each of those attempts failed.
但每次都失败了。
Teddy Roosevelt failed, FDR failed, Truman failed, Nixon failed, Carter failed, Clinton failed… and then Obama succeeded.
泰迪·罗斯福（即老罗斯福）失败了，富兰克林·德兰诺·罗斯福失败了，杜鲁门失败了，尼克松失败了，卡特失败了，克林顿也失败了......但奥巴马成功了。
And he established for the first time in American history that healthcare is a right.
他让医疗保健在美国历史上首次成了一项权利。
The plan still leaves millions uninsured, but it laid a foundation for universal health care.
尽管该项计划仍然没能保护到数百万人，但它为全民医疗保健奠定了基础。
To understand what Obama did for foreign policy, you have to go back to a moment in 2007, this moment in particular:
要了解奥巴马在外交政策方面所做的贡献，你得将时间倒回到2007年的某个时刻，也就是这一时刻：
"Would you be willing to meet separately without preconditions during the first year of administration, in Washington or anywhere else,
为了弥合分裂我们这些国家的差距，
with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba, and North Korea,
你愿意在你任期的第一年，在华盛顿或是其他任何地方，
in order to bridge the gap that divides our countries?”
和伊朗叙利亚，委内瑞拉，古巴和朝鲜的领导人单独会谈吗？”
"I would."
“我愿意。
And the reason is this,
原因是这样，
that the notion that somehow not talking to countries is punishment to them, which has been the guiding diplomatic principle of this administration, is ridiculous."
因为某种原因，不与某些国家对话就是对他们的惩罚——这一直是我们政府外交政策的基本纲领—— 这一观点其实十分可笑。”
So, this was considered a gaffe.
他的这一言论被人们认为是失态的表现。
The safe thing that you’re supposed to say is
保险的说法而且是他应该给大家的说法是，
"yeah, diplomacy’s great, we’ll talk to some people, but there have to be preconditions. No preconditions is silly."
“我愿意，外交是不错的手段，我们会和大家展开对话，但必须是有前提条件的，没有前提条件就展开对话是很愚蠢的。”
And this is what other Democrats did say at the time .
其他民主党人当时也的确是这么说的。
But he didn’t accept that.
但他拒绝接受这一说法。
And with two of the countries listed in that question — Iran and Cuba —
而且，针对该问题中提到的两个国家——伊朗和古巴——
Obama led some of the biggest changes to those diplomatic relationships in recent history.
奥巴马促成了近年来美国同两国外交关系最为重大的部分变化。
I’d be remiss in not mentioning the importance of the fact that Obama is the first black president.
如果不提奥巴马是我们国家的首位黑人总统这一事实的重要性的话，那我就太大意了。
After 8 years it seems obvious to point out,
八年过去了，这一点似乎很明显了，
but the history of America is a history of learning to deal with racial diversity, and with the legacy of white supremacy.
但美国的历史就是一部美国人民学着面对种族多样性，面对白人至上这一历史遗留问题的历史。
In a very real way the history of America is the history of race relations.
我们能真切地感受到美国的历史就是一部种族关系史。
There’s a famous photo that still hangs in the White House
有一张著名的照片现在还挂在白宫里，
of a black toddler in the White House who asked to touch president Obama’s hair
照片中是白宫里来了个刚开始学走路的黑人小孩儿，他请求摸一摸奥巴马总统的头发，
because he thought it was great that the president had hair that looked like his.
因为他非常自豪自己长了一头跟总统一样的头发。
It seems cheesy, but it really is a big deal that a generation of black children are going to grow up knowing that they could be the president.
看起来可能会有点儿俗气，但这张照片也十分了不起，因为它会让一代黑人小孩儿在长大的时候明白他们也能当总统。
Overall it’s a pretty extensive track record.
总的来说，这是一张信息量非常大的照片。
So you can generally divide American presidents into two camps.
我们通常可以把美国总统划分成两个阵营。
There are the ones who were maybe a little good, maybe a little bad, but are sorta forgettable:
一种是或许还算不错，或许有点儿糟糕，但要是忘了也就忘了的总统：
Grover Cleveland, Benjamin Harrison, Zachary Taylor, William Howard Taft, Bill Clinton.
格罗弗·克利夫兰，本杰明·哈里森，扎卡里·泰勒，威廉·霍华德·塔夫脱，比尔·克林顿都属于这一类。
And then there are the ones who were hugely consequential
另一类则是极为重要的总统，
either for good: FDR (ending the depression, winning WWII), Lincoln (winning the civil war), George Washington (establishing what a president is),
无论是从好的方面来看：FDR（结束了大萧条，赢得了二战），林肯（赢得了内战），乔治·华盛顿（确定了总统的职责），
or for ill: Andrew Johnson, destroying reconstruction and subjugating black people for a century.
还是从坏的方面来看：打破了重建工作，还奴役黑人长达一个世纪的安德鲁·约翰逊。
Andrew Jackson committing genocide or ethnic cleansing against the Southeast Indians.
还有对东南印第安人实行了种族灭绝或种族清洗的安德鲁·杰克逊。
I think it’s hard to argue that Obama is in the sorta iffy, "eh” camp rather than the big consequential camp.
在我看来，我们很难说奥巴马是属于那个可疑的阵营而不属于十分重要的那个阵营。
He did a lot, he accomplished a lot.
他做了很多事情，也取得了很多成就。
And I think in the next 10 or 20 years when we have a bunch more presidents, many more of whom are alright or slightly bad but ultimately forgettable.
而且,我认为,在接下来的10年，20年里，我们还会有更多的总统，其中很多应该都会是那种不错或者稍微有点儿糟糕但总体来看还是会令人难忘的总统。
We’re going to look back and realize what a rare thing a presidency that active and that accomplished is.
回头来看，我们将发现，像奥巴马那么充满活力，那么富有成就的总统是多么难得。
