最後一次白宮生日派對 奧巴馬都請了誰
WASHINGTON — There are plenty of perks to being president of the United States. One of them is glamorous birthday parties.
華盛頓——身爲美國總統可以嚐到很多甜頭。風光的生日派對就是其中之一。
For the past seven years, from the ages of 48 to 55, President Obama has celebrated the annual occasion with a growing collection of celebrities, sports stars, business executives, movie moguls and politicians — all dancing into the small hours of the morning.
過去七年，從48歲到55歲，奧巴馬總統每年都會在越來越多的名人、體育明星、企業高管、影業大亨以及政治人物陪伴下慶祝自己的生日——所有人都會翩翩起舞，一直跳到凌晨兩三點鐘。
On Friday night and well into Saturday, Mr. Obama did it again, celebrating his 55th birthday — his last as commander in chief — with a big White House party. East Wing staff members were told to expect to be working until 4 a.m. Guests were asked not to tweet pictures (some did anyway) or spill any details.
上週五晚上直到週六凌晨，奧巴馬再次如此行事：用一場盛大的白宮派對慶祝自己的55歲生日——這也是他以三軍統帥的身份過的最後一個生日。東翼的工作人員被告知有可能要工作到凌晨四點。賓客們被要求別在Twitter上發照片（一些人還是發了）或透露任何細節。
One birthday guest, who normally has a very good memory, insisted late Saturday that he had imbibed too much to remember a thing. (It’s not clear what the guest was drinking, but Mr. Obama favors extra-dry Grey Goose martinis.) Another birthday friend recalled only seeing Alonzo Mourning, a retired Miami Heat basketball star, and watching Stevie Wonder perform.
生日宴的一位嘉賓平常有着很好的記憶力，但他在上週六晚些時候表示，由於喝得太多，他什麼都想不起來了。（尚不清楚賓客們喝了什麼，但奧巴馬喜歡灰雁特幹馬提尼。）另一位參加生日宴的朋友回憶說，只見到了從邁阿密熱火隊(Miami Heat)退役的籃球明星阿朗佐•莫寧(Alonzo Mourning)，並觀看了史蒂夫•旺德(Stevie Wonder)的演出。
Magic Johnson tweeted a picture of himself and his wife on Friday evening. “Cookie and I getting ready to go to President Obama’s birthday party!” he wrote. The Rev. Al Sharpton tweeted at 1:10 a.m.: “Leaving the White House after the celebration of President Obama’s birthday. His last birthday as President.”
週五晚，“魔術師”約翰遜(Magic Johnson)在Twitter上發了一張他和妻子的照片。“我和庫基(Cookie)已經爲參加奧巴馬總統的生日派對做好了準備！”他寫道。凌晨1點10分，阿爾•沙普頓牧師(Al Sharpton)在Twitter上發文稱：“爲奧巴馬總統慶祝生日之後離開白宮。這是他以總統的身份過的最後一個生日。”
Others spotted at the White House before the party included the talk show host Ellen DeGeneres; Grant Hill, a former N.B.A. star; George Lucas, the creator of “Star Wars”; and a collection of former Obama aides and media celebrities. The singer-songwriter Nick Jonas tweeted afterward: “Tonight was a night I will never forget. #BarackObama #happybirthday.” Paul McCartney was reportedly a guest and performed for Mr. Obama and his wife, Michelle.
其他一些人也被發現在派對開始前抵達了白宮，包括脫口秀主持人艾倫•德傑尼勒斯(Ellen DeGeneres)、前NBA球星格蘭特•希爾(Grant Hill)、奧巴馬的許多幕僚以及媒體名人。唱作人尼克•喬納斯(Nick Jonas)事後在Twitter上發文稱：“我永遠也不會忘記今晚。#貝拉克奧巴馬 #生日快樂。”有報道稱，保羅•麥卡特尼(Paul McCartney)也在嘉賓之列，併爲奧巴馬及其妻子米歇爾(Michelle)表演了節目。
The president has demonstrated little interest in the political schmoozing and official social life of the nation’s capital and spends hours each weeknight largely alone, working in his private office in the White House Treaty Room. It is safe to say that more than a decade ago, when he was a little-known state senator in Illinois, he would not have expected one of the Beatles to sing him “Happy Birthday.”
總統對於政治上的套近乎以及華府的官方社交活動似乎沒什麼興趣，平常工作日的晚上幾乎都是獨處，在其位於白宮條約廳的辦公室裏埋頭工作。可以肯定地說，十幾年前，當他還是默默無聞的伊利諾伊州參議員的時候，絕對想不到有朝一日披頭士的一位成員會對着他唱《生日快樂》。
But like the Kennedys, the Reagans and the Clintons, the Obamas have reached outside Washington and embraced an elite, moneyed stratum of American life. In his second term, Mr. Obama has been going to, or hosting, small dinner parties with actors, intellectuals, scientists, tech giants and billionaires. Two years ago in Rome, the architect Renzo Piano, the particle physicist Fabiola Gianotti and the chairman of Fiat, John Elkann, were at his table.
但就像肯尼迪夫婦、里根夫婦和克林頓夫婦一樣，奧巴馬伕婦已經把社交圈拓展到華盛頓之外，擁抱富裕精英階層所享有的那種美國生活。在第二屆任期內，奧巴馬參加或舉辦了一些小型派對，來賓包括演員、知識分子、科學家、科技行業巨頭以及億萬富翁。兩年前在羅馬，建築師倫佐•皮亞諾(Renzo Piano)、粒子物理學家法比奧拉•吉亞諾蒂(Fabiola Gianotti) 以及菲亞特(Fiat)董事長約翰•埃爾肯(John Elkann)曾和他同席相坐。
The Obamas have also insisted on keeping the partying as secret as possible. Names of those invited to nonofficial parties at the White House are never made public, and what does come out is usually from tweets from guests, like Mr. Johnson and Mr. Sharpton.
奧巴馬伕婦還一直堅持儘可能地讓派對處於保密狀態。受邀參加白宮非官方派對的賓客名單從未公開過，不過一些名字常常會因爲約翰遜和沙普頓這樣的賓客在Twitter發帖而曝光。
In June 2015, Mr. Obama had a private party at the White House for 500 people, including Wall Street executives, Washington lobbyists, movie stars, members of his cabinet and others. Prince performed at the weekend bash, 10 months before his death from an accidental drug overdose.
2015年7月，奧巴馬在白宮舉辦了一場共有500人蔘加的私人派對，來賓包括華爾街高管、華盛頓說客、電影明星、奧巴馬政府內閣成員以及其他人等。曾在那場週末狂歡中表演節目的王子(Prince)，於10個月後意外死於吸毒過量。
The White House had not provided notice of the party on Mr. Obama’s public schedule, and when word leaked out — through a tweet by Mr. Sharpton that said, in part: “Awesome to see Prince and Stevie Wonder on keyboards together. Unbelievable experience.” — there was an outcry from the White House press corps.
白宮沒在奧巴馬的公開日程中提及那場派對，等到消息走漏後——包括沙普頓在Twitter上發的帖子：“看到王子和史蒂夫•旺德一起玩鍵盤，很棒。難以置信的經歷。”——白宮記者團表示強烈抗議。
The White House was unmoved. “The president and first lady are going to reserve the right to host private parties at the White House,” Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, said at the time.
但白宮不爲所動。“總統和第一夫人將保留在白宮舉辦私人派對的權利，”白宮新聞發言人喬希•歐內斯特(Josh Earnest)當時說。
This time, the White House made a formal announcement of the birthday party a few hours before it started. “This evening the first lady is hosting a 55th birthday celebration for the president at the White House,” a statement said. “The guest list includes a large number of family members and friends to mark the occasion. The private event will be paid for with the family’s personal funds.”
這一次，白宮在生日派對開始數小時前就正式發佈了消息。“今晚，第一夫人將在白宮爲總統舉辦55歲生日慶祝活動，”一份聲明稱。“賓客名單上有許多家人和朋友，他們將爲慶祝這個特別的日子而來。這場私人活動的花費將由總統一家自行支付。”
White House officials say all similar private events are paid for by the Obamas, though it is unclear whether those costs include security and staff workers, who would be on hand at the White House anyway.
白宮官員稱，類似的私人活動均由奧巴馬伕婦自掏腰包操辦，但目前尚不清楚相關花費是否包含支付給安保和工作人員的費用，這些人不管怎樣都是要在白宮待命的。
But one thing is certain to change: The address for Mr. Obama’s next birthday party won’t say 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
不過，有一點一定會改變：奧巴馬的下一個生日派對不會在賓夕法尼亞大街1600號舉辦。
