尼克松辞职英语演讲稿

　　Good evening:

　　This is the 37th time I have spoken to you from this office, where so many decisions have been made that shape the history of this nation. Each time I have done so to discuss with you some matter that I believe affected the national interest. In all the decisions I have made in my public life I have always tried to do what was best for the nation.

　　Throughout the long and difficult period of Watergate, I have felt it was my duty to persevere -- to make every possible effort to complete the term of office to which you elected me. In the past few days, however, it has become evident to me that I no longer have a strong enough political base in the Congress to justify continuing that effort. As long as there was such a base, I felt strongly that it was necessary to see the constitutional process through to its conclusion; that to do otherwise would be unfaithful to the spirit of that deliberately difficult process, and a dangerously destabilizing precedent for the future. But with the disappearance of that base, I now believe that the constitutional purpose has been served. And there is no longer a need for the process to be prolonged.

　　I would have preferred to carry through to the finish whatever the personal agony it would have involved, and my family unanimously urged me to do so. But the interests of the nation must always come before any personal considerations. From the discussions I have had with Congressional and other leaders I have concluded that because of the Watergate matter I might not have the support of the Congress that I would consider necessary to back the very difficult decisions and carry out the duties of this office in the way the interests of the nation will require.

　　I have never been a quitter.

　　To leave office before my term is completed is abhorrent to every instinct in my body. But as President, I must put the interests of America first.

　　America needs a full-time President and a full-time Congress, particularly at this time with problems we face at home and abroad. To continue to fight through the months ahead for my personal vindication would almost totally absorb the time and attention of both the President and the Congress in a period when our entire focus should be on the great issues of peace abroad and prosperity without inflation at home.

　　Therefore, I shall resign the Presidency effective at noon tomorrow.

　　Vice President Ford will be sworn in as President at that hour in this office.

　　As I recall the high hopes for America with which we began this second term, I feel a great sadness that I will not be here in this office working on your behalf to achieve those hopes in the next two and a half years. But in turning over direction of the Government to Vice President Ford I know, as I told the nation when I nominated him for that office ten months ago, that the leadership of America would be in good hands.

　　In passing this office to the Vice President, I also do so with the profound sense of the weight of responsibility that will fall on his shoulders tomorrow, and therefore of the understanding, the patience, the cooperation he will need from all Americans. As he assumes that responsibility he will deserve the help and the support of all of us. As we look to the future, the first essential is to begin healing the wounds of this nation. To put the bitterness and divisions of the recent past behind us and to rediscover those shared ideals that lie at the heart of our strength and unity as a great and as a free people.

　　By taking this action, I hope that I will have hastened the start of that process of healing which is so desperately needed in America. I regret deeply any injuries that may have been done in the course of the events that led to this decision. I would say only that if some of my judgments were wrong -- and some were wrong -- they were made in what I believed at the time to be the best interests of the nation.

　　To those who have stood with me during these past difficult months, to my family, my friends, the many others who joined in supporting my cause because they believed it was right, I will be eternally grateful for your support. And to those who have not felt able to give me your support, let me say I leave with no bitterness toward those who have opposed me, because all of us in the final analysis have been concerned with the good of the country, however our judgments might differ.

　　So let us all now join together in affirming that common commitment and in helping our new President succeed for the benefit of all Americans. I shall leave this office with regret at not completing my term but with gratitude for the privilege of serving as your President for the past five and a half years. These years have been a momentous time in the history of our nation and the world. They have been a time of achievement in which we can all be proud, achievements that represent the shared efforts of the administration, the Congress and the people. But the challenges ahead are equally great. And they, too, will require the support and the efforts of the Congress and the people, working in cooperation with the new Administration.

　　We have ended America's longest war. But in the work of securing a lasting peace in the world, the goals ahead are even more far-reaching and more difficult. We must complete a structure of peace, so that it will be said of this generation -- our generation of Americans -- by the people of all nations, not only that we ended one war but that we prevented future wars.

　　We have unlocked the doors that for a quarter of a century stood between the United States and the People's Republic of China. We must now insure that the one-quarter of the world's people who live in the People's Republic of China will be and remain, not our enemies, but our friends.

　　In the Middle East, 100 million people in the Arab countries, many of whom have considered us their enemy for nearly 20 years, now look on us as their friends. We must continue to build on that friendship so that peace can settle at last over the Middle East and so that the cradle of civilization will not become its grave. Together with the Soviet Union we have made the crucial breakthroughs that have begun the process of limiting nuclear arms. But, we must set as our goal, not just limiting, but reducing and finally destroying these terrible weapons, so that they cannot destroy civilization. And so that the threat of nuclear war will no longer hang over the world and the people. We have opened a new relation with the Soviet Union. We must continue to develop and expand that new relationship, so that the two strongest nations of the world will live together in cooperation rather than confrontation.

　　Around the world -- in Asia, in Africa, in Latin America, in the Middle East -- there are millions of people who live in terrible poverty, even starvation. We must keep as our goal turning away from production for war and expanding production for peace so that people everywhere on this earth can at last look forward, in their children's time, if not in our own time, to having the necessities for a decent life. Here, in America, we are fortunate that most of our people have not only the blessings of liberty but also the means to live full and good, and by the world's standards even abundant lives.

　　We must press on, however, toward a goal not only of more and better jobs but of full opportunity for every American, and of what we are striving so hard right now to achieve -- prosperity without inflation.

　　For more than a quarter of a century in public life, I have shared in the turbulent history of this evening. I have fought for what I believe in. I have tried, to the best of my ability, to discharge those duties and meet those responsibilities that were entrusted to me. Sometimes I have succeeded. And sometimes I have failed. But always I have taken heart from what Theodore Roosevelt once said about the man in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again because there is not effort without error and shortcoming, but who does actually strive to do the deed, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumphs of high achievements and with the worst if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.

　　I pledge to you tonight that as long as I have a breath of life in my body, I shall continue in that spirit. I shall continue to work for the great causes to which I have been dedicated throughout my years as a Congressman, a Senator, Vice President and President, the cause of peace -- not just for America but among all nations -- prosperity, justice and opportunity for all of our people.

　　There is one cause above all to which I have been devoted and to which I shall always be devoted for as long as I live.

　　When I first took the oath of office as President five and a half years ago, I made this sacred commitment: to consecrate my office, my energies, and all the wisdom I can summon to the cause of peace among nations. I've done my very best in all the days since to be true to that pledge. As a result of these efforts, I am confident that the world is a safer place today, not only for the people of America but for the people of all nations, and that all of our children have a better chance than before of living in peace rather than dying in war.

　　This, more than anything, is what I hoped to achieve when I sought the Presidency.

　　This, more than anything, is what I hope will be my legacy to you, to our country, as I leave the Presidency.

　　To have served in this office is to have felt a very personal sense of kinship with each and every American.

　　In leaving it, I do so with this prayer: May God's grace be with you in all the days ahead.

　　尼克松辞职演讲全文 晚上好。 这是我第 37 次在白宫发表演讲,正是在这里，产生了很多决定我们 国家历史的关键决策。 每一次我站在这里，都是为了与各位讨论事关国家利益的 重要问题。而我相信,在我任期内所做出的任何决定都竭力于更好地服务国家。 在整个漫长而艰难的水门事件中，我一直把 “坚持” 作为自己的职责，我 要尽全力走完人民赋予我的总统任期。 然而在过去的几天中, 我发现在国会中已经得不到坚实的政治基础来证明 我的这种坚持的必要性。这个基础如果存在，我坚持认为，通过宪法程序来获得 最终结果是非常必要的， 否则就是对精心设计的宪法精神的背叛，并且开启了一 个对未来极有危害的先例。 但是由于没有了基础，我认为，宪政的目标已经被实现，因此，没有理由让 这个程序继续下去。 我原本选择不论将面对怎样的痛苦都要继续走下去, 而我的家庭也一致支 持我这样的选择。 然而国家的利益永远高于个人的利益。通过我和国会以及其他 领袖的讨论, 我明白， 因为水门事件,我可能不再会赢得国会的必要的支持,没有 这些支持，我无法继续为国家履行自己的职责以及做出有利于国家的决定。 然而,我从来都不是一个半途而废的人. 在任期结束之前离开白宫， 这完全有悖于我的行事准则。但作为总统, 我必 须永远把美国的利益置于首位。 美国需要一个全心全意的总统，和同样全心全意的国会，尤其是在这样一个 当国内和国外都面临着挑战的关键时候。 如果继续我个人辩护将占去总统和国会未来几个月几乎所有的时间， 而这时 我们应该做的却是致力于世界和平及沒有通货膨胀的国家繁荣。 因此,我愿意辞职, 并将于明天中午生效。 副总统福特届时将成为总统。 当我回想起美国人民在我第二个任期之初给予 我的高期望时, 我很难过我不能继续在未来的两年半里,去实现人民给予我的这 些厚望。不过将政府权力交予副总统福特，正如当我提名他时对大家所说的：美 国的权力已交付给了值得信赖的人。 在将权力转移给副总统的同时，我深感明天他将要负起的重大的责任，因此 我理解他需要所有人的合作。 当他承担了这份责任，他也应受到所有人的帮助和 配合。 展望未来, 我们要走出第一步就是要修复我们国家所经受的创伤，将那些 痛苦和分歧抛之脑后， 重新发现那些根植于我们内心的的共同理想，重新强调我 们作为伟大的和自由的人的团结。 通过这些努力，我希望可以加速美国所急需的愈合的进程。在这个进程中, 我对任何因这个决策所可能产生的伤害感到最深切的遗憾。 我会说, 即使我有时 做出的决定和判断是错的——而一部分的确是错的——也是我相信在当时它们 是最有利于我们国家的决定. 对于那些在过去艰难的几个月中始终伴随着我的人们，我的家人、朋友和那 些因为相信我是正确的而相信我的人们，我将会永远感激你们的支持。 而对于那些没有给予我支持的人，我并不会以恶言恶语相待，因为我相信我 们的判断都是为了我们的国家,不论我们的判断有怎样的区别。 无论如何， 现在就让我们团结起来为共同的目标，和我们的新总统一起带领 美国进步。

　　我虽然因为没有完成任期而带着遗憾离开总统的职位， 但是更因为有幸作为 总统服务了五年半而感到自豪和欣喜。 这五年半对于我们的国家和世界都有着重 要的意义。 这些年我们有着让我们引以为豪的在政府、国会和人民共同努力下的 伟大成就。但是五年半之后我们将面临的挑战也同样巨大,也同样需要人民、国 会和政府的全力合作和努力。 五年半中， 我们结束了美国最长的战争。但是维持世界持久和平的任务甚至 更加遥远和崎岖。因此,我们这代美国人要努力构建一个和平的世界秩序，被全 世界人们传诵：因为我们不仅结束了一场战争，更防止了未来战争发生的可能。 五年半中，我们敲开了一扇隔离美中之间 25 余年的大门，我们必须确保占 世界人口四分之一的中国人民是我们的朋友，而非我们的敌人。 在中东地区，有 100 万的人口生活在阿拉伯国家，而 20 年来其中的许多人 都把美国视为他们的敌人。 我们必须继续建立与中东地区的友好关系，才能使和 平降落在中东地区， 避免使文明的摇篮变为文明的坟墓。 另一方面， 与苏联合作， 我们在限制核武器进程上取得了重大突破。但是，我们必须明确我们的目标，对 于核武器， 不应单单是限制， 更应是不断削减直至最终完全取缔这些恐怖的武器。 这样才能使核武器不再威胁世界和人类。与此同时，我们与苏联的外交也打 开了新局面， 我们仍必须继续发展和拓广美苏之间的关系，因而世界上两个最强 大的国家才能够相互合作而不再是充满冲突。放眼世界,在亚洲、非洲、拉丁美 洲、 中东地区, 还有成千上万的人们在贫困和饥饿中挣扎。我们必须用以和平为 目的的生产取代以战争为目的的生产， 才能让这个地球上的所有人对享有有尊严 的生活燃起希望, 即使这只是在我们儿辈而不是我们自己身上实现。在这里,美 国，我们应该感到幸运，因为我们不仅可以受到自由平等的沐浴，更有可以体面 的生活,甚至按照世界标准来说是富足的生活。 但是我们仍需继续努力,向着一个更高的目标——不仅仅是为每个美国人提 供更好的工作和机会,更要拒绝通货膨胀的美国经济。 在我二十多年的政治生活中，今晚都將是一个重大的里程碑。 我为了自己的信仰奋战， 我尽了我最大的努力完成我的义务。 有时我成功了， 有时我也面临着失败， 但是无论如何，我都一直谨记着西奥多罗斯福对战场上武 士的评价：这些武士的面孔都混合着血泪和泥土；他们都英勇地活着；一遍一遍 遭遇坎坷和错误，因为没有努力不包含错误；但是他们依然不畏失误，尽力去实 践； 他们懂得激情和付出， 并把自己的生命奉献于有意义的事业； 因为他们知道， 成功迎来的就将是无与伦比的高度，即使面临失败，也意味着他们有伟大的尝试 的勇气。 今晚我向你们各位保证，只要我呼吸尚存，我就会继续秉承这样的信仰。我 将会继续为我的信仰奋斗,不论我是一个众议员、参议员、副总统又或者总统， 这个信仰一直未变，就是对于和平、繁荣、公正和机遇的愿景，这不仅是对于美 国,更是对于全世界。 在所有目标中， 这个信仰是我矢志不渝投入的，并且我将会为之奉献我的一 生。 当我五年前第一次看见总统宣言的时候，我许下了这个庄严神圣的承诺：把 我的任期、我的能量和我所有的智慧致力于和平事业。对于这个承诺，我已经尽 了我最大的努力。 我自信， 这些努力带来的是一个不仅对于美国人民而是对于世 界来说的更加和平的环境， 可以让更多孩子可以有更好的生活的条件而不是面临 着战争中的死亡。

　　这愿望超越了所有， 是我在我总统任期内最渴望达成的。 这愿望超越了所有， 是我最希望在我辞职之后给予你们的。 就任总统意味着跟每个美国人建立起亲密的关系。 而离开它,我有一个祈祷: 在有未来的日子里，愿上帝的恩典与你同在。