Bush Holds Final News Conference

英语自学网

　　In his final news conference today, President Bush candidly reflected on the mistakes and milestones of his eight years in office, conceding he made some mistakes but forcefully defending some of his most controversial actions.
       
        　　Bush was at times contentious, reflective, even apologetic during his swan song with the Washington press corps.
       
        　　At times, he used humor to character his tenure in the Oval Office. Dogged by persistently low approval ratings, he jokingly dismissed any suggestion that he felt had gotten some bad breaks.
       
        　　"You know, it's kind of like, 'Why me? Oh, the burdens,' you know. 'Why did the financial collapse have to happen on my watch?'" he said in a mock whiny voice, winning some chuckles from reporters. "It's just pathetic, isn't it, self-pity?"
       
        　　At other times, he was vintage aggressive Bush, as when he said he was at peace with the decisions he had made.
       
        　　"I don't see how I can get back home in Texas and look in the mirror and be proud of what I see if I allowed the loud voices, the loud critics to prevent me from doing what I thought was necessary to protect this country," he said.
       
        　　The president is likely to deliver another farewell later this week.
       
        　　Today's appearance was his first full news conference in nearly six months.
       
        　　To that end, the president discussed what awaits Obama after next week's inauguration -- starting with a struggling economy.
       
        　　"I inherited a recession. I'm ending on a recession," Bush said.
       
        　　The president said he has spoken with Obama about accessing the second half of the money allocated for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, intended to revive a weak economy, but said, "I don't intend to make a request unless he specifically asks me to make it."
       
        　　Bush said the biggest challenge for the incoming president will remain an attack on the United States.
       
        　　"The most urgent threat that he'll have to deal with and other presidents after him will have to deal with is an attack on our homeland," Bush said. "You know, I wish I could report that's not the case, but there's still an enemy out there that would like to inflict damage on America."
       
        　　On His Milestones and Mistakes
       
        　　In a frank conversation, the president also sized up his most serious successes and failures in the White House.
       
        　　"We've taken extraordinary measures to deal with the frozen credit markets, which have affected the economy," he said. "Credit spreads are beginning to shrink. Lending is just beginning to pick up."
       
        　　"The actions we have taken, I believe, have helped thaw the credit markets, which is the first step toward recovery."
       
        　　Bush also said the Republican Party will bounce back.
       
        　　"This party will come back. But the party's message has got to be that different points of view are included in the party," he said.
       
        　　Despite his critics' assertions, the president also said the rest of the world still views Americans "as strong, compassionate people who care deeply about the universality of freedom."
       
        　　He acknowledged his mistakes on the international stage along the way.
       
        　　"Clearly putting a 'mission accomplished' sign on an aircraft carrier was a mistake," he said.
       
        　　"Abu Ghraib, obviously, was a huge disappointment, during the presidency," he said referring to the Iraqi prison scandal.
       
        　　"You know, not having weapons of mass destruction was a significant disappointment," he said, referring to the discovery that Bush's rationale for the Iraq War didn't exist. "I don't know if you want to call those mistakes or not, but they were things [that] didn't go according to plan."
       
        　　President Bush on Hurricane Katrina
       
        　　On the domestic front, the president also assessed criticism about the government's response to Hurricane Katrina, becoming defensive when again challenged about whether the administration had acted appropriately.
       
        　　"Could things have been done better? Absolutely," Bush said. "But when I hear people say the federal response was slow, then what are they going to say to those chopper drivers or the 30,000 that got pulled off the roofs?"
       
        　　The president who was noted for long vacations at his Crawford, Texas ranch said the job of being president followed him every where. Bush said he got national security briefings every day but Sunday, and it was impossible to escape the job.
       
        　　"There's not a moment where you don't think about being president. Unless you're riding mountain bikes as hard as you possibly can, trying to forget for the moment," he said.
       
        　　But now he is "getting off the stage," he said and didn't know what he will be doing after moving out of the White House next Tuesday.
       
        　　"I'm a Type A personality…I just can't envision myself, you know, the big straw hat and a Hawaiian shirt sitting on some beach, particularly since I quit drinking," Bush said.
       
        　　在今天举行的最后一次新闻发布会上，布什总统坦然回顾了他在白宫八年的的功过，承认自己犯过一些错误，但也为自己某些争议性举措进行强烈的辩解。
       
        　　在与华盛顿新闻媒体最后一次的交锋中，布什时而反应激烈，时而默然不语，甚至满脸歉意的道歉。
       
        　　他不时以幽默来形容自己的总统任期，面对持续低迷的国民支持率，他一笑而过，不理会那些会造成不良格局的建议。
       
        　　“ 你知道，这有些类似于‘为什么是我？哦，这是老天给我的考验。’你知道，为什么经济危机非得发生在我的任期里呢？”他自嘲的喃喃自语，赢得一些新闻记者的窃笑，“这真是太悲惨了，是吧？我真可怜。”
       
        　　又有时，当维护自己曾做过的决定时，他变回当初那个激进的布什。
       
        　　“我不知道，如果被那些大声激烈的指责声所击倒，而没能完成我认为保护这个国家所必须做的事情，我如何能回到田纳西的家中，自豪的望着镜子里面的自己？”他说。
       
        　　这位总统在本周稍晚的时候，可能会发布另一场辞职演说。
       
        　　今天的露面是他六个月以来第一次完整的新闻发布会。
       
        　　在发布会的尾声，总统提及奥巴马在下周的就职典礼后将面对的事物，首当其冲的是经济困境。
       
        　　“我的任期从经济衰退开始，也结束于经济衰退。”布什说。
       
        　　总统说到，他与奥巴马谈过如何筹集用于不良资产免除计划的第二阶段资金，以挽救脆弱的经济，但是他说，“除非他特别的提出让我承担这个任务，否则我不打算做出任何提议。”
       
        　　布什说，下届总统面临的最大挑战，仍然是美国现今的面对的恐怖袭击。
       
        　　“奥巴马及他之后必须面对的最紧迫的威胁，仍然是对我们这个国家的恐怖袭击。”他说，“你们要知道，我很希望说，现在已经没有恐怖袭击了，但是不得不承认，实际上还存在着一股要袭击美国的力量。”
       
        　　在谈论他的功绩时
       
        　　这位总统坦率的总结了白宫任期内最大的成功和失败。
       
        　　“我们采取了特别的措施，来解决影响经济的冻结信用卡市场的问题，”他说，“信用卡的发放已经开始萎缩，借贷市场开始复苏。”
       
        　　“我相信，我们所采取的措施，有助于解冻信用卡市场，也是使经济全面复苏的第一步。”
       
        　　布什也宣称共和党人将卷土重来。
       
        　　“共和党会回到政坛，但是共和党内现在存在不同的意见.”他说。
       
        　　尽管反对者众多，布什仍然宣称，世界上其他各国仍将美国人视为“关心全世界自由的强大的，富有同情心的人民”
       
        　　他承认自己一直以来的国际战略出了差错。
       
        　　“将航空母舰完全看成是过去时代的产物，这种做法错了。“他说。
       
        　　“显然萨达姆是我任期内一个很大的遗憾。”提及伊拉克监狱的丑闻，他这样说到。
       
        　　“你知道，没有找到任何大规模杀伤武器，真令人失望。”谈及布什针对伊拉克宣战的理由时，他说，“我不知道你们是否称这些为失败，但这些的确是没有按我的计划进行的。”
       
        　　布什总统谈到卡特里娜飓风
       
        　　在国内事务上，卡特里娜飓风发生时官僚机构的反映是否及时，人们对这一点的质疑，也得到了总统的承认。
       
        　　布什说，“当我听到人们谈论说州政府的反应太慢，谈及那些断路器的驱动程序以及被风刮走的屋顶时，我会问自己，我们是否能做的更好呢？”
       
        　　几次被目睹到在田纳西享受悠长假期，布什总统说，在任何地方，他也时刻谨记着总统的工作。除了星期天，他每天都要阅读国防简报，要逃避工作是不可能的事情了。
       
        　　“你每时每刻都意识到自己是总统。除非你用尽全力踩山地车，想尝试片刻的失忆。”他说。
       
        　　但是现在，他要退下舞台了，他说，不知道下星期二离开白宫后，会做些什么。
       
        　　我是一个A型血的人。我不能想象自己，你们知道，穿着夏威夷衬衫带着草帽，躺在沙滩上，尤其是在我戒酒以后，就更没可能了。”