我們知道，我們已然陳舊的程式不足以滿足時代的需要。我們必須套用新理念和新技術重塑我們的政府，改進我們的稅法，改革我們的學校，讓我們的公民擁有他們所需要的技能，更加努力地工作，學更多的知識，向更高處發展。這意味著變革，我們的目標是：國家可以獎勵每個美國人的努力和果斷。這是現在需要的。這將給我們的信條賦予真正的意義。
we, the people, still believe that every citizen deserves a basic measure of security and dignity. we must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our deficit. but we reject the belief that america must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future. for we remember the lessons of our past, when twilight years were spent in poverty, and parents of a child with a disability had nowhere to turn. we do not believe that in this country, freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few. we recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us, at any time, may face a job loss, or a sudden illness, or a home swept away in a terrible storm. the commitments we make to each other – through medicare, and medicaid, and social security – these things do not sap our initiative; they strengthen us. they do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great.
我們，人民，仍然認為，每個公民都應當獲得基本的安全和尊嚴。我們必須做出艱難抉擇，降低醫療成本，縮減赤字規模。但我們拒絕在照顧建設國家的這一代和投
資即將建設國家的下一代間做出選擇。因為我們記得過去的教訓：老年人的夕陽時光在貧困中度過，家有殘障兒童的父母無處求助。我們相信，在這個國家，自由不只是那些幸運兒的專屬，或者說幸福只屬於少數人。我們知道，不管我們怎樣負責任地生活，我們任何人在任何時候都可能面臨失業、突發疾病或住房被可怕的颶風摧毀的風險。 我們通過醫療保險、聯邦醫療補助計畫、社會保障項目向每個人做出承諾，這些不會讓我們的創造力衰竭，而是會讓我們更強大。這些不會讓我們成為充滿不勞而獲者的國度，這些讓我們敢於承擔風險，讓國家偉大。