第一节 背景介绍
2001年，克林顿离任在即，在他执政的八年中，使美国国内的经济得到飞速发展，同时带领着美国创造了众多惊人的奇迹，令大老板们的收入达到了天文数字。此时，克林顿八年的执政生涯将画上一个完美的句号，他出色的政绩也象征着美国发达的科技，空前繁荣的经济，他开创了美国前所未有的盛世。
克林顿刚就任总统时，美国联邦预算赤字为2900亿美元，并且当时国会估算到2000年将达到4550亿美元。然而，克林顿在执政之后第一次发表国情咨文演说时宣誓要在三年内将财政预算赤足减少一半，结果他不但出色的完成了这个目标，在1998年美国的预算已经转亏为盈，并且预算盈余还可能达到2110亿美元。按照美国当时的预算发展，2012年将完全清偿国债，摆脱全球第一大债务国的包袱。
克林顿执政的八年，其政绩是有目共睹的，在他执政时期美国经济得以空前发展成为美国历史上最伟大的成就之一。财政预算转亏为盈对经济的影响可以说是全面性的。不过，也有评论家指出，克林顿所带领的美国也留下了许多诟病与隐患，贫富差距越来越大。
不过，克林顿时期的美国（1993～2001年）国内生产总值的增长非常强劲，年均涨幅将近3.5%，高于吉米·卡特和里根两人在任时的水平，仅稍逊于肯尼迪和约翰逊在20世纪60年代美国经济腾飞时的表现。克林顿在任时期，美国平均经济增长率高达4%，美国经济增长持续了近120个月，仅八年之间就创造了2200万个就业岗位，使750万人重新就业。克林顿在增加就业机会的同时，还成功地将美国的失业率降到了4%，新增加的就业机会远远多于除卡特之外任何一位二战后的美国总统。再加上克林顿在削减财政赤字方面所做的努力，使他顺理成章地荣登最佳经济表现总统宝座。克林顿仅依靠手下一个规模最小的政府机构，实现了自杜鲁门总统以来首次财政盈余的局面，是自约翰逊总统时期以后美国国内生产总值最强劲的涨幅。他在1992年参加总统竞选时对民众的许诺，在他离任时95%都已经实现，其中包括增加大学助学贷款，扩大享受美国福利待遇的民众范围，保持美国经济空前繁荣，以及修筑信息高速公路等。
克林顿执政时期的美国经济一片大好，在其任内美国不仅没有遭受到战争的困扰，反而使经济得以快速发展。在克林顿总统主政白宫时期，华尔街三大股指屡次创新高。克林顿执政时期，美国在经济、科技、文化和教育方面都处于世界领先地位，他出色的政绩在美国国民中留下了深刻的记忆，一段黄金时代造就了美国梦，也同样造就了克林顿本人辉煌的一生。在他2001年离职时，他成为了美国历史上得到最多公众肯定的总统之一，他八年的执政被誉为黄金八年。
2001年美国当地时间1月18日晚上八点，美国总统克林顿发表了他的离职演讲，感谢国民八年来对他的支持，并祝下届总统小布什好运。
第二节 克林顿2001年离职演说
January 19， 2001
My fellow citizens， tonight is my last opportunity to speak to you from the Oval Office as your president. I am profoundly grateful to you for twice giving me the honor to serve， to work for you and with you to prepare our nation for the 21st century. And I'm grateful to Vice President Gore， to my Cabinet secretaries， and to all those who have served with me for the last eight years.
This has been a time of dramatic transformation， and you have risen to every new challenge. You have made our social fabric stronger， our families healthier and safer， our people more prosperous.
You， the American people， have made our passage into the global information age an era of great American renewal.
In all the work I have done as president， every decision I have made， every executive action I have taken， every bill I have proposed and signed， I've tried to give all Americans the tools and conditions to build the future of our dreams， in a good society， with a strong economy， a cleaner environment， and a freer， safer， more prosperous world.
I have steered my course by our enduring values. Opportunity for all. Responsibility from all. A community of all Americans. I have sought to give America a new kind of government， smaller， more modern， more effective， full of ideas and policies appropriate to this new time， always putting people first， always focusing on the future.
Working together， America has done well. Our economy is breaking records， with more than 22 million new jobs， the lowest unemployment in 30 years， the highest home ownership ever， the longest expansion in history.
Our families and communities are stronger. Thirty-five million Americans have used the family leave law. Eight million have moved off welfare. Crime is at a 25-year low. Over 10 million Americans receive more college aid， and more people than ever are going to college. Our schools are better —higher standards， greater accountability and larger investments have brought higher test scores， and higher graduation rates.
More than three million children have health insurance now， and more than 7 million Americans have been lifted out of poverty. Incomes are rising across the board. Our air and water are cleaner. Our food and drinking water are safer. And more of our precious land has been preserved， in the continental United States， than at any time in 100 years.
America has been a force for peace and prosperity in every corner of the globe. I'm very grateful to be able to turn over the reins of leadership to a new president， with America in such a strong position to meet the challenges of the future.
Tonight， I want to leave you with three thoughts about our future. First， America must maintain our record of fiscal responsibility. Through our last four budgets， we've turned record deficits to record surpluses， and we've been able to pay down $600 billion of our national debt， on track to be debt free by the end of the decade for the first time since 1835.
Staying on that course will bring lower interest rates， greater prosperity and the opportunity to meet our big challenges. If we choose wisely， we can pay down the debt， deal with the retirement of the baby boomers， invest more in our future and provide tax relief.
Second， because the world is more connected every day in every way， America's security and prosperity require us to continue to lead in the world. At this remarkable moment in history， more people live in ******* that ever before. Our alliances are stronger than ever. People all around the world look to America to be a force for peace and prosperity， ******* and security. The global economy is giving more of our own people， and billions around the world， the chance to work and live and raise their families with dignity.
But the forces of integration that have created these good opportunities also make us more subject to global forces of destruction， to terrorism， organized crime and narco-trafficking， the spread of deadly weapons and disease， the degradation of the global environment.
The expansion of trade hasn't fully closed the gap between those of us who live on the cutting edge of the global economy and the billions around the world who live on the knife's edge of survival. This global gap requires more than compassion. It requires action. Global poverty is a powder keg that could be ignited by our indifference.
In his first inaugural address， Thomas Jefferson warned of entangling alliances. But in our times， America cannot and must not disentangle itself from the world. If we want the world to embody our shared values， then we must assume a shared responsibility.
If the wars of the 20th century， especially the recent ones in Kosovo and Bosnia， have taught us anything， it is that we achieve our aims by defending our values and leading the forces of ******* and peace. We must embrace boldly and resolutely that duty to lead， to stand with our allies in word and deed， and to put a human face on the global economy so that expanded trade benefits all people in all nations， lifting lives and hopes all across the world.
Third， we must remember that America cannot lead in the world unless here at home we weave the threads of our coat of many colors into the fabric of one America. As we become ever more diverse， we must work harder to unite around our common values and our common humanity.
We must work harder to overcome our differences. In our hearts and in our laws， we must treat all our people with fairness and dignity， regardless of their race， religion， gender or sexual orientation and regardless of when they arrived in our country， always moving toward the more perfect union of our founders' dreams.
Hillary， Chelsea and I join all Americans in wishing our very best to the next president， George W. Bush， to his family and his administration in meeting these challenges and in leading *******'s march in this new century.
As for me， I'll leave the presidency more idealistic， more full of hope than the day I arrived and more confident than ever that America's best days lie ahead.
My days in this office are nearly through， but my days of service， I hope， are not. In the years ahead， I will never hold a position higher or a covenant more sacred than that of president of the United States. But there is no title I will wear more proudly than that of citizen.
Thank you. God bless you， and God bless America.
2001年1月19日