Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize

[pigeonmeister]

Brilliant! God I wish I could be a fly on the wall when Slim, Chase et all wake up to this one!!!

Guys, vent your spleen for our amusment here.

You reckon Kanye's warming up for Obama's acceptance speech?

[Insipiens]

Well maybe they will start by considering some of the other recipients of the award and saying that if they can give the award to X it clearly is worthless.

Or saying that it is politicised (often said of the Literature Award) and you have to be left wing to receive it.

Or suggesting there were no other worhty candidates.

Or that the judges are clearly sucking up to him for some ulterior motive.

Or asking what has he really achieved to be given it? What has happened in the Middle East, Afghanistan? Has he made war with Iran or North Korea less likely (other than by virtue of being less likely to authorise a war than GWB)?

Then Inq can come in and point how spurious the first set of arguments are.

Personally I think it is quite astonishing in his first term in office and partly a demonstration of how happy Europeans are that GWBush is not president anymore.

[Gav]

Wha...?

What's he done specifically? He's only been in power for a year...

[pigeonmeister]

The really funny thing is that nominations had to be in by February 3rd- so he had been in office for a couple of weeks!

Personally, I would have given it to Mehdi Karoubi.

This is the citation:

"The Norwegian Nobel committee has decided that the Nobel peace prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The committee has attached special importance to Obama's vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.

Obama has as president created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama's initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.

Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future. His diplomacy is founded in the concept that 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.... Read More

For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world's leading spokesman. The committee endorses Obama's appeal that 'Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges'."

[Gav]

Personally I think it is quite astonishing in his first term in office and partly a demonstration of how happy Europeans are that GWBush is not president anymore.

Yeh, I'd agree with that sentiment...

The really funny thing is that nominations had to be in by February 3rd- so he had been in office for a couple of weeks!

Personally, I would have given it to Mehdi Karoubi.

From what I know of the man (only what I've learned recently during the Iranian unrest) I'd have went with him over Obama. I guess that the Nobel panel really did have one eye on the US when they were handing out the medal.

[CvilleFencer]

I gotta say I was rather floored when I fired up the internet machine and saw this as the headline this morning. I mean really? I am very glad that Bush is not in office anymore also, but considering that Obama had to be nominated like 2 weeks into office for this, and compared to some of the other people who have spent their entire lives working on worthy causes, this one just makes my jaw drop a bit...

[Insipiens]

Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future.

So he got a nobel prize for publicity?

[jeff]

I'm very surprised too. I like the guy and his approach to diplomacy, and he's a breath of fresh air compared to his bellicose, unilateralist, dim predecessor, but I don't see him as having made accomplishments to warrant this. Still, it's remarkable, even if its more in the vein of "we really like him. really, really like him". I think his biggest effect so far is to change perceptions of the US around the world, and get millions of people hopeful about peace. Which, you know, isn't that small a thing.

re PM's remarks: It will be funny to watch chase and the others.

Wait, wait - I have it: he won because he called Kanye a jackass!

[lindajdunn]

I disagree with the award and think this was politically motivated. IMHO, this was the committee telling the US what they thought of the Bush era.

[Insipiens]

I'm very surprised too. I like the guy and his approach to diplomacy, and he's a breath of fresh air compared to his bellicose, unilateralist, dim predecessor, but I don't see him as having made accomplishments to warrant this. Still, it's remarkable, even if its more in the vein of "we really like him. really, really like him". I think his biggest effect so far is to change perceptions of the US around the world, and get millions of people hopeful about peace. Which, you know, isn't that small a thing.

re PM's remarks: It will be funny to watch chase and the others.

Wait, wait - I have it: he won because he called Kanye a jackass!

I think that's the astonishing thing about this award: yes the world is hopeful of a more profitable diplomacy by the US in many areas than has been the case over the last eight years. But it is hopeful because it hasn't borne much fruit yet.
You could see Russia's willingness to back action against Iran's nuclear build up as a result of Obama's diplomacy and stance on missile defence but there is still a long way to go there.
Similarly on nuclear disarmament generally - the UN has had a stance on this for how many years? It didn't stop the permanent members of the security council developing new weapons; it is good that the UN encouraged by Obama is focussing on this again but it hasn't achieved much.

Let's hope he earns it over the next three (or seven ) years.

[CMiner]

Looking at the citation pigeonmeister posted from the committee, it looks like they gave it to him for his 'efforts' in this, or his 'vision' in that.

Now, I'm not saying that Obama won't accomplish anything in his term(s), but at the time he was nominated he had not accomplished anything substantial. Heck, he had only been on the world stage for only about a year, yes? And most of that was during his campaign. Vision and efforts and talk, while good and necessary, are not results in and of themselves.

I don't often follow the peace prize, but do they actually/are they supposed to give it out for attempts at a result, however noble that end result might be, rather than actually achieving that result?

Wait, wait - I have it: he won because he called Kanye a jackass!

Hehehe, awesome.

[migopod]

Barack, I'm really happy for you and Ima let you finish, but Henry Kissinger was the best Nobel Laureate of ALL TIME.

What I'm wondering is that since Rush actually said that the rejection of Chicago for the Olympics was actually the world's rejection of Obama, does this change the equation?

Of course righties are going to blame ACORN. It's inevatible.

I do like Obama in many ways, but I agree that this seems very odd to say the least.

[Wetmelon]

I don't often follow the peace prize, but do they actually/are they supposed to give it out for attempts at a result, however noble that end result might be, rather than actually achieving that result?

Yes, I believe so. There have been some people who've won where their "project" actually failed... though I can't come up with any names right now :P

[Rockstar44]

Wha...?

What's he done specifically? He's only been in power for a year...

Actually, the nominations had to be in by February 1st. Since Obama was not President until January 20th, that means that he was awarded the NPP based on only nine days.

Questionable, no?

[Philistine]

Actually, the nominations had to be in by February 1st. Since Obama was not President until January 20th, that means that he was awarded the NPP based on only nine days.

Questionable, no?

Well.... your math is questionable....



--Philistine

[CMiner]

Actually, the nominations had to be in by February 1st. Since Obama was not President until January 20th, that means that he was awarded the NPP based on only nine days.

Questionable, no?

Well, he was only nominated in February, not awarded the NPP. As I am told though it is customary for the current president to receive a nomination.

The actual voting, when they decided who to give it to, was this month. Still not a long enough time of him being in office, imo, but still longer than 9 days.



Edit: I wonder.... how many of these people that are clamoring that he hasn't been in office long enough to deserve the award are among the same people that were so hyped to judge his success as president after only 90 days?

[Purple Fencer]

I highly doubt the White Hose put in the nomination -- although BB, Chase, Beck, Rush, and the like will probably assert that. It's certainly possible that someone else put him in without his knowledge and the committee ran with it.

What's more important than him winning with it is if he can anything WITH it...it DOES carry a little weight with some people, and if he can use that combined with his established popularity overseas, perhaps the decision will turn out to be a good one.

[erooMynohtnA]

I disagree with the award and think this was politically motivated. IMHO, this was the committee telling the US what they thought of the Bush era.

Yes, I agree. I see no legitimate reason whatsoever that Obama should have won this.

He made a nice speech reaching out to Muslims, but other than that, I can't think of a single reason for him to get it. I have actually been disappointed he was not less hawkish in some of his foreign policy (except when he sniped those pirates, that was SWEET).

[Philistine]

My favorite comment on this was along the lines of--"How could the Nobel committee have given him the Peace Prize when he today became the first American President to bomb the Moon?"

(With about 1/4 the power of the Hiroshima atomic bomb, at that).

--Philistine

[tchwojko]

McCain and Pawlenty were gracious enough about it. Any others from the Republicans?

And was the Nobel the consolation prize because Chicago didn't get the Olympics?