最后一次白宫生日派对 奥巴马都请了谁

WASHINGTON — There are plenty of perks to being president of the United States. One of them is glamorous birthday parties.

华盛顿——身为美国总统可以尝到很多甜头。风光的生日派对就是其中之一。

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.

过去七年，从48岁到55岁，奥巴马总统每年都会在越来越多的名人、体育明星、企业高管、影业大亨以及政治人物陪伴下庆祝自己的生日——所有人都会翩翩起舞，一直跳到凌晨两三点钟。

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.

上周五晚上直到周六凌晨，奥巴马再次如此行事：用一场盛大的白宫派对庆祝自己的55岁生日——这也是他以三军统帅的身份过的最后一个生日。东翼的工作人员被告知有可能要工作到凌晨四点。宾客们被要求别在Twitter上发照片（一些人还是发了）或透露任何细节。

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.

生日宴的一位嘉宾平常有着很好的记忆力，但他在上周六晚些时候表示，由于喝得太多，他什么都想不起来了。（尚不清楚宾客们喝了什么，但奥巴马喜欢灰雁特干马提尼。）另一位参加生日宴的朋友回忆说，只见到了从迈阿密热火队(Miami Heat)退役的篮球明星阿朗佐•莫宁(Alonzo Mourning)，并观看了史蒂夫•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.”

周五晚，“魔术师”约翰逊(Magic Johnson)在Twitter上发了一张他和妻子的照片。“我和库基(Cookie)已经为参加奥巴马总统的生日派对做好了准备！”他写道。凌晨1点10分，阿尔•沙普顿牧师(Al Sharpton)在Twitter上发文称：“为奥巴马总统庆祝生日之后离开白宫。这是他以总统的身份过的最后一个生日。”

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.

其他一些人也被发现在派对开始前抵达了白宫，包括脱口秀主持人艾伦•德杰尼勒斯(Ellen DeGeneres)、前NBA球星格兰特•希尔(Grant Hill)、奥巴马的许多幕僚以及媒体名人。唱作人尼克•乔纳斯(Nick Jonas)事后在Twitter上发文称：“我永远也不会忘记今晚。#贝拉克奥巴马 #生日快乐。”有报道称，保罗•麦卡特尼(Paul McCartney)也在嘉宾之列，并为奥巴马及其妻子米歇尔(Michelle)表演了节目。

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.”

总统对于政治上的套近乎以及华府的官方社交活动似乎没什么兴趣，平常工作日的晚上几乎都是独处，在其位于白宫条约厅的办公室里埋头工作。可以肯定地说，十几年前，当他还是默默无闻的伊利诺伊州参议员的时候，绝对想不到有朝一日披头士的一位成员会对着他唱《生日快乐》。

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.

但就像肯尼迪夫妇、里根夫妇和克林顿夫妇一样，奥巴马夫妇已经把社交圈拓展到华盛顿之外，拥抱富裕精英阶层所享有的那种美国生活。在第二届任期内，奥巴马参加或举办了一些小型派对，来宾包括演员、知识分子、科学家、科技行业巨头以及亿万富翁。两年前在罗马，建筑师伦佐•皮亚诺(Renzo Piano)、粒子物理学家法比奥拉•吉亚诺蒂(Fabiola Gianotti) 以及菲亚特(Fiat)董事长约翰•埃尔肯(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.

奥巴马夫妇还一直坚持尽可能地让派对处于保密状态。受邀参加白宫非官方派对的宾客名单从未公开过，不过一些名字常常会因为约翰逊和沙普顿这样的宾客在Twitter发帖而曝光。

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，奥巴马在白宫举办了一场共有500人参加的私人派对，来宾包括华尔街高管、华盛顿说客、电影明星、奥巴马政府内阁成员以及其他人等。曾在那场周末狂欢中表演节目的王子(Prince)，于10个月后意外死于吸毒过量。

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.

白宫没在奥巴马的公开日程中提及那场派对，等到消息走漏后——包括沙普顿在Twitter上发的帖子：“看到王子和史蒂夫•旺德一起玩键盘，很棒。难以置信的经历。”——白宫记者团表示强烈抗议。

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.

但白宫不为所动。“总统和第一夫人将保留在白宫举办私人派对的权利，”白宫新闻发言人乔希•欧内斯特(Josh Earnest)当时说。

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.”

这一次，白宫在生日派对开始数小时前就正式发布了消息。“今晚，第一夫人将在白宫为总统举办55岁生日庆祝活动，”一份声明称。“宾客名单上有许多家人和朋友，他们将为庆祝这个特别的日子而来。这场私人活动的花费将由总统一家自行支付。”

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.

白宫官员称，类似的私人活动均由奥巴马夫妇自掏腰包操办，但目前尚不清楚相关花费是否包含支付给安保和工作人员的费用，这些人不管怎样都是要在白宫待命的。

But one thing is certain to change: The address for Mr. Obama’s next birthday party won’t say 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

不过，有一点一定会改变：奥巴马的下一个生日派对不会在宾夕法尼亚大街1600号举办。