When I called for higher fuel efficiency standards，I didn’t do it in front of an environmental group in California - I did it in front of the automakers in Detroit. Now it was pretty quiet - I didn’t get a lot of applause. But we need leadership that tells the American people not just what they want to hear，but what we need to know. That’s why I will set the goal of an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050，and we will meet it - with higher fuel standards and new investments in renewable fuels that will create millions of new jobs and entire new industries right here in America.
Finally，it is time to turn the page on eight years of a foreign policy that has made us less safe and less respected in the world. If I am the nominee of this party，John McCain will not be able to say that I agreed with him on voting for the war in Iraq；agreed with him on giving George Bush the benefit of the doubt on Iran；and agree with him in embracing the Bush-Cheney policy of not talking to leaders we don’t like. Because that doesn’t make us look strong，it makes us look arrogant. John F. Kennedy said that you should never negotiate out of fear，but you should never fear to negotiate. And that’s what I will do as President. I don’t just want to end this war in Iraq，I want to end the mindset that got us into war. It is time to turn the page.
This is our moment. This is our time for change. Our party - the Democratic Party - has always been at its best when we’ve led not by polls，but by principle；not by calculation，but by conviction；when we’ve called all Americans to a common purpose - a higher purpose.
We are the party of Jefferson，who wrote the words that we are still trying to heed - that all of us are created equal - that all of us deserve the chance to pursue our happiness.
We’re the party of Jackson，who took back the White House for the people of this country.
We’re the party of a man who overcame his own disability to tell us that the only thing we had to fear was fear itself；who faced down fascism and liberated a continent from tyranny.
And we’re the party of a young President who asked what we could do for our country，and he challenged us to do it.
That is who we are. That is the Party that we need to be，and can be，if we cast off our doubts，and leave behind our fears，and choose the America that we know is possible. Because there is a moment in the life of every generation，if it is to make its mark on history，when its spirit has to come through，when it must choose the future over the past，when it must make its own change from the bottom up.
This is our moment. This is our message - the same message we had when we were up，and when we were down. The same message that we will carry all the way to the convention. And in seven months time we can realize this promise；we can claim this legacy；we can choose new leadership for America. Because there is nothing we cannot do if the American people decide it is time.
……这是我们的时刻，我们改变的时刻。这是我们民主党处于最佳状态的时候。这时，我们不用选票领导，而用原则；不用统计，而用说服；我们召唤所有美国人投向一个共同的目标，一个更高层次的目标。
我们是杰佛逊的政党，他写下了时至今日，仍时时响彻心扉的话语：人人生而平等，皆有追求幸福之权。
我们是杰克逊的政党，他为这个国家的人民夺回了白宫。
我们是这样一位勇士的政党，他克服了自身的障碍，告诉我们惟一要害怕的，只有害怕这件事；他对抗法西斯主义，把一片大陆从暴政中解救出来。
我们是一个年轻总统的政党，他问我们可以为我们的国家做什么，并要求我们要做到。
这就是我们。这就是我们必须、也可以成为的政党，只要我们放下怀疑，抛掉恐惧，并选择我们知道美国可能成为的模式。因为在每一代人的生命里，都有一个重要时刻，就是当此时此刻，能在历史上留下印记之时；当此时的精神，必须显露之时；当此时必须选择未来，而不是过去之时；当此时必须自下而上，做出自己的改变之时。
这正是我们的时刻，也是我们共同的主题：不管在高潮还是低谷，这个主题都一样。我们要一路带到全国代表大会上的，也就是这个主题。用七个月的时间，我们可以兑现这个承诺，我们可以实现前人的遗志，我们可以为美国选出新的领导。这是我们不得不做的事，因为美国人民决定了——现在就是这样的时刻。
背景介绍
杰佛逊-杰克逊日（Jefferson-Jackson Day），民主党常将举行的各式募款庆祝活动日以此命名，来纪念民主党最引以为傲的两名早期总统——安德鲁·杰克逊和托玛斯·杰弗逊。新闻媒体称这天是奥巴马参选以来的最美夜晚。民主党当天在内布拉斯加州、华盛顿州、路易斯安那州和美属维尔京群岛分别举行预选，奥巴马在这几站取得的优势明显。奥巴马说：“我们赢了北方，赢了南方，赢了中部，我认为，我们也能在12日赢得弗吉尼亚州，如果你们准备好迎接变革的话。”
单词注解
let down使失望；放下，降低
lobbyist [5lRbIIst] n.游说议员者；说客
up and down 上下，往返，高峰和低谷
matter [5mAtE] vi. 要紧，有关系
bankruptcy [5bANkrEp(t)si] n. 破产
bill [bil] n.账单；议案
divisive [di5vaisiv] adj.引起分歧的；导致分裂的
embrace [im5breis] vt. & vi. 拥抱；包括；接受
fall [fC:l] vi.降落，n.秋天
nominee [nCmi5ni:] n.被提名者，被任命者
affordable [?5fC:d?bl] adj.付得起的，不太昂贵的
scholarship [5skClEFip] n.奖学金；学问
cast off 摆脱，抛弃
leave behind 留下；丢弃
精华句型& 翻译
It’s also time to bring the cost of living down for working families who are struggling in this economy like never before.
It’s also time to give every child，everywhere，a world-class education，from the day they’re born to the day they graduate college.
Finally，it is time to turn the page on eight years of a foreign policy that has made us less safe and less respected in the world.
演讲技巧揭密
We are the party of Jefferson...We’re the party of Jackson... We’re the party of a man...we’re the party of a young President...
演讲者如何让听众信服
1.演讲者可信度高；
2.演讲者的证据有说服力；
3.演讲者的推理站得住脚；
4.演讲者的思想或语言打动了听众的感情。
奥巴马在这场演讲中是那么意气风发，他慷慨激昂地为美国人民描绘出来的蓝图以及发自心底的自信，让听众对美国的未来充满希望。