President Obama Awarded Nobel Peace Prize

[Samurai Goomba]

Its just one massive PR job to try and save face when he can save the country from descending into chaos. Honestly, no president could ever affect the country, let alone Obama. Presidents don't have power, they're in office to draw attention away from it. He's got a good pr department though...

No, it's a genuine thing.

Obama has done a lot. His speech in Cairo encouraging understanding between cultures. His call for the disarming of nuclear weapons globally. It's not a matter of "Let's make him look good" because that's not the task of the Nobel committee. They're there to acknowledge concerted efforts.

Perhaps I'm missing something, but I thought the Nobel Peace Prize was usually awarded for more than telling people in other countries to stop acting like jerks. Plenty of people have spoke out against nuclear weapons on a global scale before Obama.

I can't help but feel it's a bit political at this point. He hasn't been in office very long, and I haven't seen him do very much (most of his policies have been mucked up in paperwork and deliberations). Talking does not equate to action in any way. It just seems strange to award a politician a Peace Prize for being a good speaker. Sort of like awarding Garfield a prize for eating pasta.

 

[Assassin Xaero]

Even though I like Obama, I'm wondering if he actually did something meaningful for it... Gore got one for telling us it is getting warmer, which I still find to be a load of bullshit...

 

[cobra_ky]

This is almost an insult to Obama. The implication is that simply being a black president is the best he can hope to accomplish in life. I wish the Nobel Prize committee would have waited until his presidency was over; that way they could have awarded him for his actual accomplishments in addition to his mostly symbolic place in history.

this will also dramatically hurt the reputation of the Nobel Prize and give his political enemies another weapon against him.


although hmmm... Joe Scarborough just said that maybe they gave him the prize in order to pressure him into drawing down forces in afghanistan and defusing the situation with Iran. we'll see.

EDIT: oh hey, ding 1000.

 

[Fetzenfisch]

all what obama did is promises , nothing but freaking promises , and after 2 months of the start of his presidency the fights started again in afghanistan , and promised to solve the middle-east problem and what you know , he didn't , so yeah , RATM said it once before and will say it again "a mass of promises begin to rapture like the pockets of the new world king "

Yeah you're right. I mean, as if anyone had said "no mr. President it would be wrong to get our Men back out of Afghanistan. Noooo as if there would have been massive amounts of Conservative militaristic idiots, in the US gov? never! AND youre TOTALLY right with the next point. He is president for how long now? half a year? And he has still not made the people in middle east dancing through the fields of flowers listening to Coldplay and Bob Dylan? what a lame President is he? I mean that conflict is just about 100 years old, how hard could it be to stop it?

And which f-ing politician ever did more then promising? Except the ones who made promises and then fucked everything up massivly.

YAAFM

 

[CJ1145]

Well, being the first Black president of the United States is no mean feat.

But no, I don't understand why exactly he deserves ANY Nobel prize at this point. Perhaps later, when he helps garner peace in the middle east or somesuch.

You have no idea how refreshing it is to hear somebody say "when" while talking about Obama, as opposed to "if" or worse: "when he fucks up". Also, your name is a lie.

 

[Ixal]

Haha, so you think the Iraq war is protecting your liberty?

I didn't say that, but to say that War is a pointless endeavor is insane in itself. (At this point who knows what the Iraq war has changed. Maybe it prevented some evil that could have been done in the future, but was prevented. In the short run, probably it changed nothing. In the long run...who knows. It might have saved us all.)

A good point. Excuse me now as I have to go outside and randomly kill people there. After all they might do something evil in the future and I have to prevent it...

Lets see what Obama has done so far.

- Tries to restart the middle east peace process
- Started direct talks with Iran
- Started the process of nuclear disarmament
- Defused the missle standoff at the polish border
- Tries to get out of Iraq.

So he certainly hasn't done "nothing".

 

[TheRealCJ]

Well, being the first Black president of the United States is no mean feat.

But no, I don't understand why exactly he deserves ANY Nobel prize at this point. Perhaps later, when he helps garner peace in the middle east or somesuch.

You have no idea how refreshing it is to hear somebody say "when" while talking about Obama, as opposed to "if" or worse: "when he fucks up". Also, your name is a lie.

Let this be our final battle! *awesome ninja pose*

 

[Doug]

Now, forgive my ignorance and I'm hoping not to get flamed for this. But what for?

Probably because any US president who doesn't dribble and go "YEEEHAAAA! WAR TIME BOYS!" is a relief to the world at large after George W-ya Bush.

Real answer, probably something to do with the nuclear disarmarment plans.

 

[Doug]

Haha, so you think the Iraq war is protecting your liberty?

I didn't say that, but to say that War is a pointless endeavor is insane in itself. (At this point who knows what the Iraq war has changed. Maybe it prevented some evil that could have been done in the future, but was prevented. In the short run, probably it changed nothing. In the long run...who knows. It might have saved us all.)

A good point. Excuse me now as I have to go outside and randomly kill people there. After all they might do something evil in the future and I have to prevent it...

Lets see what Obama has done so far.

- Tries to restart the middle east peace process
- Started direct talks with Iran
- Started the process of nuclear disarmament
- Defused the missle standoff at the polish border
- Tries to get out of Iraq.

So he certainly hasn't done "nothing".

Also, said the US would start talking to Cuba again.

 

[Bobbovski]

Let us also not forget that the Nobel Peace Prize was created after Alfred Nobel who invented...answers ladies and gentleman? Dynamite. An explosive compound that creates destruction. Yeah, peaceful in an ironic sort of way.

The dynamite was actually one of the reasons why he created the Peace prize. He knew that some people would use it to kill each other so he wanted to make up for it by creating the peace prize. Also don't forget that the dynamite was created to make things like mining safer.

 

[Undead Dragon King]

This brings Obama's success rate among Scandinavians to 50%.

I know ill sound like racist dick but it honestly looks like he got it for 2 reasons:
- He said nukes are bad.
- He's a black USA president...

I'm sorry but not being much into American political situation I cant really find any other reason.

You shouldn't feel bad for saying that. If the fact that people not giving him some kind of compensation for being mulatto and for not saying "sorry" for slavery will make them feel like racists, then that is a valid criticism. I call it reverse-entitlement. You may not necessarily think people should give you stuff for being who you are, but other people think that that they should give you stuff for being who you are, through no true merit of your own other than the random chance of genetics.

Also, the fact that Obama's name came up for the prize only 2 weeks after his inauguration (the nomination deadline is in early February) is worrying.

When you look at it, despite what the rest of the world thinks about his Nobel Peace Prize credentials (which aren't that good, even on the international level), he hasn't brought peace to America. Quite the contrary. Partisan fervor and bigotry on both sides are at their worst since he took office, with the mainstream media labeling any who don't agree with him as "racists". But what happens in America isn't really indicative of whether a president wins the Prize, eh?

 

[Gashad]

Hmmm, A guy who has achieved nothing as of now, is head of a country waging two wars, has still not changed doctrine so that Americans aren't regularly committing crimes against humanity when fighting terrorists(as they are still "allowed" to keep people indefinably) is awarded the Nobel Peace price. I thought Kissinger or Arafat were the worst possible choices that would ever have been made but this may trump those.

Note, I am not against Obama per say(for an American president he seems quite good) but usually you wait until someone has actually achieved something before giving them the price.

 

[MrPuppyDrool]

Direct Link [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8298580.stm]

Now, forgive my ignorance and I'm hoping not to get flamed for this. But what for?

I don't know nearly enough of his political or diplomatic history to comment and I know they don't give out Nobel Prizes for collecting enough cereal box tops.

I ask myself the same thing (now that i found out about it from this thread). Wasn't he the one that said in his campaign that he wants to get the US army out of Iraq, and didn't do jack about it?

Don't know about you, but racism is a terrible thing, but positive racism is just as unfair.

 

[stabnex]

Since all you guys seem to be doing is flaming, let's see the reasoning in the article.

(CNN) -- President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, a stunning decision that comes just eight months into his presidency. Less than nine months into his presidency, Barack Obama has been awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. Less than nine months into his presidency, Barack Obama has been awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it honored Obama for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." The president had not been mentioned as among front-runners for the prize, and the roomful of reporters gasped when Thorbjorn Jagland, chairman of the Nobel committee, uttered Obama's name. The president, who was awakened to be told he had won, said he was humbled to be selected, according to an administration official. The Nobel committee recognized Obama's efforts to solve complex global problems including working toward a world free of nuclear weapons. "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," the committee said. Jagland said the decision was "unanimous" and came with ease. He rejected the notion that Obama had been recognized prematurely for his efforts and said the committee wanted to promote the president just it had Mikhail Gorbachev in 1990 in his efforts to open up the Soviet Union. "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," it said. Obama's recognition comes less than a year after he became the first African-American to win the White House. He is the fourth U.S. president to win the prestigious prize and the third sitting president to do so. Don't Miss * German writer wins Nobel prize in literature * Odd facts about Nobel winners * Nobelprize.org Past winners of Nobel Peace Prize The announcement Friday in Oslo, Norway, came as a surprise -- Obama had not been mentioned among front-runners -- and the roomful of reporters gasped when Thorbjorn Jagland, chairman of the Nobel committee, announced Obama's name. Video Watch announcement of Obama as Nobel recipient » Jagland said the decision was unanimous and came with ease. He rejected the notion that Obama had been recognized prematurely for his efforts and said the committee wanted to promote the president just it had Mikhail Gorbachev in 1990 in his efforts to open up the Soviet Union. Jagland said he hoped the prize would help Obama resolve the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Video Listen to Jagland explain why Obama was this year's choice » Former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, last year's laureate, said it was clear the Nobel committee wanted to encourage Obama on the issues he has been discussing on the world stage. "I see this as an important encouragement," Ahtisaari said. The committee wanted to be "far more daring" than in recent times and make an impact on global politics, said Kristian Berg Harpviken, director of the International Peace Research Institute. And Wangari Muta Maathai, the Kenyan environmentalist who won the 2004 Peace Prize, said the win for Obama, whose father was Kenyan, would help Africa move forward. "I think it is extraordinary," she said. "It will be even greater inspiration for the world. He has shown how we can probably come together, work together in a cooperative way." The award comes at a crucial time for Obama, who has initiated peace missions to key parts of the globe. Obama's envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, has returned to the region to advocate for peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. Mitchell met Thursday with Israeli President Shimon Peres. He plans to meet Friday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before talking with Palestinian leaders in the West Bank. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton starts a six-day trip to Europe and Russia on Friday. On the trip, the secretary will discuss the next steps on Iran and North Korea, and international efforts to have the two countries end their nuclear programs. The centerpiece of the trip will be her visit to Moscow, where she will work toward an agreement to take the place of the Start II arms control pact, which expires December 5. She also will address the new bilateral presidential commission that is working on a broad range of issues, from arms control to health. Mohamed ElBaradei, who won the 2005 peace prize for his efforts to prevent nuclear energy being used for military means, said Obama deserved to win for his efforts to bring Iran to the table for direct nuclear talks with the United States. "I could not think of anybody who is more deserving," said ElBaradei, the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Video Listen to ElBaradei react to the announcement » As the news of Obama's win broke online, postings on social network sites Twitter and Facebook expressed surprise. Many started with the word: Wow. The last sitting U.S. president to win the peace prize was Woodrow Wilson in 1919. The other was Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. Jimmy Carter had been out of office for more than two decades when he won in 2002. This year's Peace Prize nominees included 172 people -- among them three Chinese dissidents, an Afghan activist and a controversial Colombian lawmaker -- and 33 organizations, the highest number of nominations ever. The deadline for nominations must be postmarked by February 1 each year. Obama was inaugurated on January 20. The Nobel recipient receives a prize of about $1.4 million.

[tr][td]

Please read through to the end and stop trolling.

Also I think this post should be bumped up to prevent further bashing.

 

[Anacortian]

It's nice to see the US right wingers blowing a huge gasket over this as usual. It's a sad and embarrassing display of partisan bile and vitriol.

It goes to a president they don't like, and it's the usual smears, rage and vindictiveness that characterises US politics. Let's face it, if it had gone to a neutral American, those same people would all be sitting here saying how it reflects on how great the USA is.

Possibly. I would, however, note that both sides engage in this. If Bush got a Nobel Peace Prize, the left would have the same cow. For the record, I think neither President is deserving of this particular honor. I would also state that the argument against Obama's award have been mostly pointing out his lack of required merit; I see very little "but he's a socialist" being said.

As to your uninformed opinion that such things characterize US politics, I can only assume you have never seen politics elsewhere. The British House of Commons is vile on a level that would scare an American. Australia publishes political cartoons that no US paper would ever consider (they're really funny, too.) South Korean politicians regularly get into fights on the legislative floor. Canadian politic remind me a little of Jerry Springer. My point is that such rage is pandemic. Man, across the board, is regularly tempted to anger over politic; I would say that is because politics is worth being angry about.

 

[tk1989]

Obama = God

Thats why he won

 

[Triple G]

*sneeze*
Sorry, but I'm allergic to BULLSHIT. What has Obama done except running around saying "change" all the time? He closed Guantanamo Bay and then built a new prison to put all the "terrorists" in again after no one wanted them. see how our world degrades every day? I hope Judgment Day comes soon or there will be nothing to judge over if you let such bullshit and stupidness happen.

 

[ddq5]

I think everyone is forgetting the real reason that he won the prize. He deserved the highest award possible for calling Kanye West a jackass.
Frankly, I don't see how it could have gone to anyone else. Plus, I really don't know any of the other nominees.

I'm not sure what to think. He doesn't seem to have done anything to deserve it yet, but, then again, who has?