Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize

[MagicRat]

From http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle1318102/

Now, I'm a big Obama fan, but it's obvious that he was nominated no later than 2 weeks after he took office.... before he had actually done much relevant to the prize.

I think Obama has not earned it yet. He's quite capable of doing so, but IMO it's unreasonable to award it so early in his term.


America's new president Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize this morning for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples."

Mr. Obama is the fourth U.S. president to win the peace price but the first to win for - in the words of the Norwegian selection committee - providing "hope for a better future" rather than any particular accomplishment.

Awarding the world's most prestigious prize for peace to a president in office less than nine months came as a surprise.

A White House official said this morning that Mr. Obama feels "humbled" to receive the Peace Prize.

But Mr. Obama has galvanized the world, proving himself wildly popular around the globe, especially in comparison to is predecessor George W. Bush.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it attached particular ``importance to Obama's vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.''

At times, the citation seems to focus on Mr. Obama's global popularity - currently higher than his approval ratings at home - rather than any specific achievements.

"Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention,'' the selection committee said, adding "those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population.''

The award - which includes a cash prize of $1.4-million U.S. - was welcomed by some prominent peace groups.

"We trust that this award will strengthen his commitment, as the leader of the most powerful nation in the world, to continue promoting peace and the eradication of poverty," the Mandela Foundation, named for the former South African president who spent decades in prison, said in a statement.

Mr. Obama, among only a few U.S. politicians who opposed the 2003 war to topple Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq is currently in the middle of intense negotiations on re crafting a war strategy for Afghanistan.

More than 200 people were nominated for the 2009 peace prize. The Nobel committee received a record 205 nominations for this year's prize.

Nominations closed barely two weeks after the president had taken office.

[blazee]

[tenguzero]

Not that he's done ANYTHING worth a damn since being in office, but the fact that he was nominated a mere 11 days in speaks volumes to me:

He won the Nobel Peace Prize because he's black.

That's right, I said it (although I'm pretty sure I'm not the first.) At 11 days in the ONLY thing he'd accomplished was being the first black man elected to the presidency. Talk about doing an injustice to The Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, MLK Jr., and all of the others who've actually DONE something. Hell, at least Jimmy's been out swinging hammers for the poor for the last couple decades. Alfred Nobel is spinning in his grave.

[jon@af]

It's funny, a friend of mine challenged my question of "wondering on what grounds it was decided that Obama should receive the Nobel Peace Prize," by saying that the grounds for the prize were clearly stated.

But, I think it seems as though they are awarding him on the premise that what he has offered in the way of his ideas for hope, change and peace have great potential.

I agree that he has done a lot in the last year. However, the promises of change, ideas surrounding hope and peace and the desire that he has shown for a more positive view and role of the United States are still a work in progress and I feel that I would be remiss if I didn't say that it is too early to deem his ventures a success.

I'll be honest, my skepticism has not faded based on this decision. In fact, I think this puts that much more pressure on the man to follow through with his promises and ideas. That doesn't mean I don't believe he can do it, but I think there are far too many people willing to say that it's going to happen when perhaps the more rational thing to do would be to give him at least a couple of years to pass judgment about the possibility that he might.

It would be like me promising to have a great newspaper with lots of specific content over the course of a four-year stint and then 7 months or so into that stint, based on my stories thus far, I'm given an achievement award for the future successes that I have promised.

In short: Good for him. Too early? Probably. I want to see more than 7 months of work for a potentially eight-year encompassing award. Again, I'm not saying he doesn't deserve it, but I think it would behoove the panel to wait a little longer. The expectation he has above his head just got 10 times larger and if the results are anything less than what the American public think he has proposed, he will sink under the weight of said lofty expectations.

[wafrederick]

I am not a fan of him and does not deserve it.Since he went into office,some ammunition for guns are going scarce and getting hard to find.Some are stock loading on gun ammo.He is lieing about our economy,it is not getting better and one fix is to get rid of NAFTA sending our jobs back here.

[HotZ28]

Well, now we have Jimmy Carter, Al Gore & Obama all sharing the same meaningless prize; who is next, Bill Clinton?

It appears that the Nobel gang has once again devalued the intention of this award and it now has about the same meaning as the prize in a box of Cracker Jacks! I wonder how much "sharing of wealth" Obama will be willing to spread around out of the 1.2M check that comes with this hilarious endowment bestowed upon him. I suppose if you were to ask him for some, you will probably get this in return!

The big question with troops in Afghanistan is, How soon can we expect a decision from President Obama? I don’t think it’s going to happen anytime soon. Remember — it took five months to decide on a puppy.

Jay Leno

[drunken monkey]

This is about the prize, not about Obama.

Quite simply, the prize is supposed to be for a person's achievement, not what a person might do.
What bothers me more is that this completely disregards/disrespects the other nominations.

[Shpuker]

He shouldn't have gotten the Nobel prize, thats just retarded. He hasn't done anything great yet. like Teng said, he won the prize cause he's black, guess what else he won for being black?

[MagicRat]

Originally Posted by Shpuker

. like Teng said, he won the prize cause he's black,

Imho it's far more likely that he won it because he's not another member of the Bush family

[HotZ28]

Originally Posted by MagicRat

Imho it's far more likely that he won it because he's not another member of the Bush family

I felt much safer from terrorist attacks during the Bush regime, than I do now. Hang on my friend, it's just a matter of time until we have another 9/11, (or worse.) Let's hope you are not one of the victims. Time will tell how Obama will handle the aftermath! If he does a good job, he could qualify for this prize, if not, he will be no more worthy than he is now!

[MagicRat]

Originally Posted by HotZ28

I felt much safer from terrorist attacks during the Bush regime, than I do now. Hang on my friend, it's just a matter of time until we have another 9/11, (or worse.) Let's hope you are not one of the victims. Time will tell how Obama will handle the aftermath! If he does a good job, he could qualify for this prize, if not, he will be no more worthy than he is now!

Obama has enough on his plate. Having a group of Norwegians ratchet-up the expectations level is something he does not need.

As for safety? Frankly, I was more terrified of Cheney/Bush/Rumsfeld/Ashcroft than anyone else.

However, I believe the safety of the US is mainly in the hands of people who work in intelligence, foreign policy and the military.
Thankfully, they do not have to worry about being elected and can do their jobs the way they are meant to be.... and not the way that's politically expedient.

[03cavPA]

Originally Posted by HotZ28

I felt much safer from terrorist attacks during the Bush regime, than I do now.

Our federal government is a terrorist attack.

[HotZ28]

The Jay Leno Show

● Congratulations to Barack Obama — he has won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. Apparently, the Nobel committee wanted to recognize the president’s fine work in bringing peace to a black professor and a white cop through the strategic use of beer.

● President Obama said he was humbled to win the prize. Not as humble as he was when Rio got the Olympics. But still humble.

● President Obama said he will go to Oslo, Norway to collect the award. Roman Polanski said, “It’s a trick — don’t go; you’ll be arrested.”

● That’s pretty amazing, winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Ironically, his biggest accomplishment as president so far . . . winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

[V-8Fan]

Obama's nomination for and receipt of the award is nothing but a manifestation of the moronic nature of the adherents of socialism and statism. The man is undoubtedly the greatest threat to human rights and liberty to come along since Pol Pot.

[MagicRat]

Originally Posted by V-8Fan

Obama's nomination for and receipt of the award is nothing but a manifestation of the moronic nature of the adherents of socialism and statism. The man is undoubtedly the greatest threat to human rights and liberty to come along since Pol Pot.

You know, such over-the-top comments such as yours might be funny if they were not so sad.

Pol Pot's regime and policies killed about 2 million people, possibly as much as 2.5 million.
Obama's policies have not killed anyone yet. Comparing the two is insulting to Americans and Cambodians.

So, please, try to keep some sense of reason in your comments.