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stupendousman · Oct 9, 2009, 07:16 AM

President Barack Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize

Seriously, didn't this award have some kind of real meaning at one time? Obama has done virtually NOTHING and accomplished virtually nothing in regards to world peace. I can buy the argument that he's talked about it, and that he's likely to be much more subservient to the rest of the world and ignore America's own self interest in an effort to keep the far left happy, but does that really earn him a prize that was at one time prestigious?

Nobel was teetering on being a laughable joke. I think they took away the "funny" this time around.

stumblinmike · Oct 9, 2009, 07:23 AM

Sour grapes. If your boyfriend Glen Beck had won, it would be the best prize ever.

Obama rules, Beck drools...(well he does rule over the simpletons)

Dork. · Oct 9, 2009, 07:25 AM

I like the guy, and I think this is ridiculous. Maybe if it was given near the end of his term, for his actual accomplishments, it would be different. Evenything he has done to this point, while a good start, has not been concluded yet. What if he actually does something worthy of the prize before leaving office, are they gonna award it again?

This is basically an award for not being George W. Bush. I hope he declines it.

Chongo · Oct 9, 2009, 07:26 AM

It went downhill after Carter in 2002

wallinbl · Oct 9, 2009, 07:28 AM

The most powerful country in the world went from being dicks to making efforts to cooperate. That's huge news for the rest of the world. I don't think it's worthy of a prize for Obama, though. Most people are more cooperative than Bush.

stupendousman · Oct 9, 2009, 07:44 AM

Originally Posted by stumblinmike

Sour grapes. If your boyfriend Glen Beck had won, it would be the best prize ever.

Obama rules, Beck drools...(well he does rule over the simpletons)

No. I'd be equally confused. Beck's never done anything in regards to "world peace" either. While I do watch him occasionally and liked him bringing down some recent corruption, I wouldn't exactly call him my "boyfriend". I think I've complimented him in about one thread.

Originally Posted by Chongo

It went downhill after Carter in 2002

I think it started with Arafat.

Originally Posted by wallinbl

The most powerful country in the world went from being dicks to making efforts to cooperate.

Cooperation does not equal capitulation and if cooperation was the goal, then countries like France who were actively hurting efforts to get Iraq to comply with UN dictates should be given a "Peace Prize" eqivalent to the "Razzies". It's irrational to cooperate with countries who wish us and our allies destroyed. For instance, we've talked of cooperation till we are blue in the face with the Palestinians and it's achieved virtually nothing. Not because the effort has not been made, but rather because some countries simply aren't interested in peace or cooperation if it means their own self interests are not being met. If the US acts on it's own self interests however, that's uncooperative apparently.

Again...it's all talk. What "peace" has it produced? What has he ACTUALLY DONE besides talk. You mean if George Bush just went out and talked about cooperation, he would have gotten one too?

Andy8 · Oct 9, 2009, 07:52 AM

He can always decline the award.

PB2K · Oct 9, 2009, 07:52 AM

thank you for your prize nobel, NOW INTIFADAHHHH against ALL OSLO AGREEMENTS

BadKosh · Oct 9, 2009, 07:57 AM

0bama hardly earned a "Rookie of the Year" and he sure didn't do anything to earn any other award. Talk is cheap. This must be the only criteria. He gave a lot of hot air filled vague speeches.

Dork. · Oct 9, 2009, 08:11 AM

So now Obama and Arafat have something in common. (Aside from being Muslim, of course).

BadKosh · Oct 9, 2009, 08:31 AM

You libs sure have your shorts in a knot over Glenn Beck. Bwa-ha-ha-ha!

nonhuman · Oct 9, 2009, 08:38 AM

In the words of a friend of mine:

If Obama is an "international rock star" as described by NPR this morning, then the Nobel Committee is now his biggest groupie. Yes, that's right. A Nobel Prize is now the equivalent of a blow job.

SpaceMonkey · Oct 9, 2009, 08:57 AM

Yeah, I don't think this award makes a whole lot of sense.

slugslugslug · Oct 9, 2009, 09:05 AM

Count me in as someone who voted for him and doesn’t think this makes a lick of sense.

(Though to be fair, if I’d lived in a non-swing state, I’d’ve voted for Barr or nobody)

The Final Dakar · Oct 9, 2009, 09:13 AM

Originally Posted by Dork.

This is basically an award for not being George W. Bush. I hope he declines it.

I think this sums it up perfectly.

ctt1wbw · Oct 9, 2009, 09:19 AM

I read somewhere that the nominations for this award were submitted on February 1 of this year. if that is true, then the Chairman Maobama was President for 10 whole days before he was nominated? Really?

Dork. · Oct 9, 2009, 09:36 AM

Yup.

Eug · Oct 9, 2009, 09:41 AM

Originally Posted by Dork.

I like the guy, and I think this is ridiculous.

Me too, on both counts.

It almost seems that the Nobel guys are trying very, very, very to influence the political process with a presidential n00b.

"Hey if we give this dude a Nobel Peace Prize, maybe he'll be even more peaceful to live up to the prize. And oh yeah, he's not Dubya."

P.S. Here are the other nominees:

Nicolas Sarkozy, French president

Along with Egypt's president, Sarkozy proposed the ceasefire plan for the Gaza Strip conflict in January. European Union president from July, 2008 to December, 2008, Sarkozy pushed for approval of a progressive energy package that would force companies to severely reduce emissions.

Ingrid Betancourt, French-Colombian ex-hostage

If anyone knows how to bounce back from tragedy, it's Betancourt. During the Colombian senator's 2002 presidential campaign, she was abducted by a marxist organization and held captive for six-and-a-half years. Since being rescued in July, 2008, she has been dubbed a “freedom fighter” and “symbol of hope.”

Denis Mukwege, Medical doctor

Seeing pregnant women arrive at the hospital on a donkey and dying during childbirth encouraged Mukwege to study gynaecology and obstetrics. Noticing that so many women had been sexually abused, he later founded the Panzi hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Hundreds of thousands of female sexual violence victims have been helped so far.

Handicap International and Cluster Munition Coalition

These organizations are recognized for their consistently serious efforts to clean up cluster bombs, also known as land mines. Innocent civilians are regularly killed worldwide because the unseen bombs explode when stepped upon. Thirty-four nations are known to have air-dropped cluster bombs from the 1970s to the 1990s.

The Final Dakar · Oct 9, 2009, 09:56 AM

Originally Posted by ctt1wbw

Chairman Maobama

That's a new one.

Eug · Oct 9, 2009, 09:57 AM

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar

That's a new one.

Actually it isn't. I heard Maobama during the presidential race.

And it's just as stupid as all the other "witty" names for any candidate/president.

I must admit though that I chuckled when I heard the "Obama, Osama, Yo Mama" quote.

SpaceMonkey · Oct 9, 2009, 09:59 AM

Originally Posted by Eug

P.S. Here are the other nominees:

Sounds like a weak year for Peace Prize nominees. Sort of like the Dolphins winning the AFC East last year.

(Kidding)

Eug · Oct 9, 2009, 10:11 AM

Imagine if something like this happened with the other Nobel Prizes.

Let's say there was a new 45 year old Dean of Research at Harvard, who got the job because he's not only published some very good research papers in physics, supervised some Ph.D. students, and edited some journals, but also because he is also a good administrator and plays the office politics game very well.

Then the Nobel guys give the Nobel Prize for Physics to him because he's a nice guy and has a lot of potential, even though he is responsible for much less truly ground-breaking work than some of his peers.

dcmacdaddy · Oct 9, 2009, 10:17 AM

When I heard this my first response was "That's crap!" (I actually said that out loud to my monitor.) My second thought was, what a way to diminish the Peace Prize. As Dork said, this should have been awarded at the end of his time in office--if he had done something worthy of it--not at the beginning.

dcmacdaddy · Oct 9, 2009, 10:18 AM

Originally Posted by wallinbl

The most powerful country in the world went from being dicks to making efforts to cooperate. That's huge news for the rest of the world. I don't think it's worthy of a prize for Obama, though.

True dat.

dcmacdaddy · Oct 9, 2009, 10:24 AM

Originally Posted by Eug

P.S. Here are the other nominees:

Originally Posted by SpaceMonkey

Sounds like a weak year for Peace Prize nominees.

Yup.

Hell, perennial nominee Bono could have picked up the award this year and it would have made more sense than Obama or Sarkozy being the winner.

This is me.

Eug · Oct 9, 2009, 10:43 AM

If the descriptions for any of these candidates are accurate pictures of what they have done, then they would have been more deserving IMHO:

Denis Mukwege, Medical doctor

Seeing pregnant women arrive at the hospital on a donkey and dying during childbirth encouraged Mukwege to study gynaecology and obstetrics. Noticing that so many women had been sexually abused, he later founded the Panzi hospital in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Hundreds of thousands of female sexual violence victims have been helped so far.

Handicap International and Cluster Munition Coalition

These organizations are recognized for their consistently serious efforts to clean up cluster bombs, also known as land mines. Innocent civilians are regularly killed worldwide because the unseen bombs explode when stepped upon. Thirty-four nations are known to have air-dropped cluster bombs from the 1970s to the 1990s.

OAW · Oct 9, 2009, 11:00 AM

As others have stated, I'm an Obama supporter. And this makes no sense to me. I can appreciate the sentiment of the Nobel Prize committee, but to award this prize now is way too soon. President Obama would do well to thank them for the honor and then promptly decline the award.

OAW

imitchellg5 · Oct 9, 2009, 11:03 AM

Originally Posted by OAW

As others have stated, I'm an Obama supporter. And this makes no sense to me. I can appreciate the sentiment of the Nobel Prize committee, but to award this prize now is way too soon. President Obama would do well to thank them for the honor and then promptly decline the award.

OAW

That's what I thought. It's pretty pre-mature. I almost think that Nobel should be a posthumous award, at least for such high figurehead.

Mrjinglesusa · Oct 9, 2009, 11:04 AM

Originally Posted by OAW

As others have stated, I'm an Obama supporter. And this makes no sense to me. I can appreciate the sentiment of the Nobel Prize committee, but to award this prize now is way too soon. President Obama would do well to thank them for the honor and then promptly decline the award.

OAW

Completely agree. Couldn't have said it better myself.

ort888 · Oct 9, 2009, 11:11 AM

At night Obama dresses up in a costume and flies around the world in his experimental "O-Plane" to fight crime and rights wrongs. Not many people know this but being President of the United States is just a cover for his real job... he does it for the inside info and access to Martian technology to use in his gadgets.

Chuckit · Oct 9, 2009, 11:26 AM

Whether or not you like Obama, he hasn't actually accomplished anything relevant to this prize. You may as well give it to a Miss America contestant because she said what she most wants is world peace.

Eug · Oct 9, 2009, 11:33 AM

What's the world coming to?

Most of the lefties and righties alike in this forum agree on this issue. THE END IS NIGH!!!11

The Final Dakar · Oct 9, 2009, 11:34 AM

Between this and rape bill its been a good week.

SpaceMonkey · Oct 9, 2009, 11:41 AM

I love how CNN has taken to reporting random Twitter feeds:

Others had praise. One person wrote: "My president Just won the Nobel peace prize!!!! Go prez Obama."

turtle777 · Oct 9, 2009, 11:42 AM

Count me in for another WTF.

To me, this is nothing but political manipulation by the Nobel Price Committee.

Does anybody think Obama is now as free in foreign policy decisions as he was before ?
Anything he does will now be judged against this "achievement".

-t

The Final Dakar · Oct 9, 2009, 11:47 AM

I don't know if its even manipulation. It feels like a big middle finger being thrown at conservatives in general and W specifically.

Chuckit · Oct 9, 2009, 11:49 AM

Originally Posted by SpaceMonkey

I love how CNN has taken to reporting random Twitter feeds:

My news agency Just quoted some anonymous dude on Twitter!!!! Go CNN.

turtle777 · Oct 9, 2009, 11:51 AM

I'm glad I'm not the only one who found this incredibly ridiculous.

-t

Eug · Oct 9, 2009, 11:55 AM

Heh. I really like the way this guy worded it:

Former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, last year's Peace Prize laureate, said it was clear the Nobel committee wanted to encourage Obama on the issues he has been discussing on the world stage.

He didn't diss Obama, but echoed what we've been saying in this thread.

Chongo · Oct 9, 2009, 12:17 PM

Like not taking on Iran or increasing troops in Afghanistan

olePigeon · Oct 9, 2009, 12:20 PM

I nominate BadKosh for the Nobel Prize in "clever use of the number zero."

Dork. · Oct 9, 2009, 12:21 PM

Obama made his speech.

I am both surprised and deeply humbled by the decision of the Nobel Committee.

Let me be clear, I do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments, but rather as an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations.

To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who've been honored by this prize, men and women who've inspired me and inspired the entire world through their courageous pursuit of peace.

But I also know that this prize reflects the kind of world that those men and women and all Americans want to build, a world that gives life to the promise of our founding documents.

And I know that throughout history the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes.

And that is why I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century.

At least he admitted he didn't really deserve it.

olePigeon · Oct 9, 2009, 12:22 PM

The Peace Prize, by the way, has little to do with the academic Nobel Prize awards. It is purely ceremonial and is ridiculed for its political bias.

Dork. · Oct 9, 2009, 12:22 PM

Originally Posted by olePigeon

I nominate BadKosh for the Nobel Prize in "clever use of the number zero."

Sec0nded.

turtle777 · Oct 9, 2009, 12:23 PM

Originally Posted by Chongo

Like not taking on Iran or increasing troops in Afghanistan

Exactly. That's why I see this as a political manipulation, because it puts Obama in a box w/o any alternatives.

His negotiation base on all kinds of topics has now become much weaker. Everyone he's going to negotiate with knows that he has to live up to the expectations. Obama will pay almost any price to achieve the goal of justifying this award.

Ultimately though, this is a confirmation that he really is a ~~weakling~~ peacemaker.

-t

SpaceMonkey · 12:34 PM

Originally Posted by turtle777

Exactly. That's why I see this as a political manipulation, because it puts Obama in a box w/o any alternatives.

His negotiation base on all kinds of topics has now become much weaker. Everyone he's going to negotiate with knows that he has to live up to the expectations. Obama will pay almost any price to achieve the goal of justifying this award.
-t

I don't know why you would think this. If anything it puts the prize committee on the hot seat if Obama doesn't live up to expectations. They can't take the award away if he decides in 2010 to invade Mexico for no reason. Clearly they want to encourage Obama's efforts in certain areas that have already been declared, but I don't think that's the same as putting him in "a box." Obama has already made certain pledges and concessions that are equally if not more limiting.

Uncle Skeleton · Oct 9, 2009, 12:33 PM

Originally Posted by Eug

Actually it isn't. I heard Maobama during the presidential race.

And it's just as stupid as all the other "witty" names for any candidate/president.

Aren't you the guy who just said "Dubya" 16 minutes earlier? Hypocrite much?

Chuckit · Oct 9, 2009, 12:42 PM

Dubya is just a nickname. I don't think it was ever meant to be witty. At least I hope not.

spacefreak · Oct 9, 2009, 12:50 PM

The only thing that's a bigger joke than Obama winning the Prize or the prize itself, is the portraying of this by the administration as some sort of surprise.

SpaceMonkey · Oct 9, 2009, 12:57 PM

Well, the Obama administration apparently projected the IOC votes incorrectly on the 2016 Olympics decision when they decided to send Obama to Copenhagen, so I'm not surprised that something like this could take them by surprise.