Barack Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize
In a stunner, the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to President Barack Obama. He is the third sitting president - and the first in 90 years - to win the award. (Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 and Woodrow Wilson in 1919 were the others.)
According to the Washington Post:
The committee praised Obama for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples" during his nine months in office and singled out for special recognition Obama's call for a world free of nuclear weapons, which he first made in an April speech in Prague.Heralding Obama as a transformative figure in U.S. and international diplomacy, the committee said: "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."
It does seem a bit premature - given that he's in the first year of his presidency, and the deadline for nominations was twelve days into his presidency.
To me, the explanation is this:
First, understand that the Nobel committee sometimes awards the Peace Prize as a way of noting something they want to encourage.
Second, it's crystal clear to me that it was the Nobel committee's way of issuing a rebuke to the previous administration; a giant F#%! YOU to George W. Bush.
Update: One of the few hard accomplishments made by President Obama in his first 12 days was putting an end to the practice of torturing people. That, along with shifting American foreign policy to a collaborative and diplomatic approach, rather than the outlaw cowboy style of George Bush, is clearly what won it for Obama.
A bit premature, but understanding the Nobel committee's goals, reasonable enough.
Your thoughts?
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October 9, 2009 |
Kari Chisholm | Comments (86 so far)
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Comments
Posted by: genop | Oct 9, 2009 12:00:50 PM
Any question that our president has improved our Country's standing in the court of world opinion? The dramatic change of rhetoric from it's my way or the highway, to let's find and promote common interests is effective diplomacy. All he is saying is give peaceful coexistence a chance. I am sure Obama was as surprised to win the peace prize as all his detractors. What do the haters think of his decision to donate every dime of the million plus to charity? How do you spin that act of generosity? This is just the beginning of disappointment for those of you praying for failure. Your next shock will come in the 2010 elections.
Posted by: Not going to say | Oct 9, 2009 12:01:59 PM
I’m sorry Mr. Roberts, were you saying something? I was distracted by all the dead people from your president’s wars knocking on my door, haunting me with their suffering, hungry for hope and change. That blood will just not wash out will it? Scoff at the reality of it but, this award represent a repudiation of many of the dear values you and your neo-conservative ilk share. Call us crazy, but it is true. Come celebrate with us!
Here, have some pie.
Posted by: Not going to say | Oct 9, 2009 12:04:46 PM
I’m sorry Mr. Roberts, were you saying something? I was distracted by all the dead people from your president’s wars knocking on my door, haunting me with their suffering, hungry for hope and change. That blood will just not wash out will it? Scoff at the reality of it but, this award represents a repudiation of many of the dear values you and your neo-conservative ilk share, call us crazy or not. Come celebrate with us!
Here, have some pie.
Posted by: Bill R. | Oct 9, 2009 12:23:10 PM
The right wing responds as always with hate and divisiveness. It's not all right for an American President to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, or to lobby for the Olympics. Those "international elites" are just undermining American resolve to wage war.
Hate and divisiveness seem to be the new permanent campaign mode. GOP candidates are now using cutout targets of their Democratic opponents to fire their weaponry.
In Florida:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091009/ap_on_el_ho/us_republicans_shooting_range
Posted by: Carlos | Oct 9, 2009 12:23:20 PM
Pretty amazing...considering Obama just bombed the moon!
I wonder if he will up the troop levels in Afganistan next?
Posted by: Not going to say | Oct 9, 2009 12:35:52 PM
Oops on the double posting; don't want to pollute Blue Oregon. :-)
Posted by: Bill R. | Oct 9, 2009 12:52:33 PM
@ Jack Roberts
At least your hero, John McCain, had the graciousness to say that .... "all Americans are proud when their president receives the Nobel Peace Prize." Why can't you be proud, Jack?
Posted by: Douglas K. | Oct 9, 2009 1:04:43 PM
Count me in with the "huh?" reactions. I'd love to see this President -- or ANY president -- get a Nobel Peace Prize by EARNING it with some substantive contribution to peace or human rights. So far, we're still in Iraq, still in Afghanistan, still threatened by Al Qaida, still operating Guantanamo and who knows how many other secret prisons around the world, still leading the world in incarcerating our own people (mostly due to draconian punishments for drug offenses), still haven't stepped up to lead the world in cutting greenhouse gas emissions ...
What has Obama actually DONE to warrant this kind of recognition? "Discontinuing torture" shouldn't count ... you shouldn't get credit for doing what you're supposed to be doing anyway. Ditto for collaborative diplomacy: that's just the basics for ANY responsible leader.
And if the criteria for winning a Nobel prize is "not being George W. Bush," well, I think we should give one to Ted Kulongoski. And Sam Adams. And what the hell, I want one too.
Posted by: DanK | Oct 9, 2009 1:23:08 PM
I wish he had done something to earn it. So far, his timid approach to reform has been effectively Bush-lite. Hillary would have at least tried.
Posted by: t.a. barnhart | Oct 9, 2009 1:30:38 PM
i'm not a Nobel scholar, but it doesn't take much to see this is not an usual award from the Peace Prize Committee. they frequently give the award before there are tangible accomplishments. i cover some of those at my websites.
under the standards being help up for Obama, many recipients are failures. "there is no way to Peace. Peace is the way."
i'm proud that he has been honored in this way. it's an endorsement of the change millions of us worked so hard for. if it helps make our hopes into reality, then let's cheer and not whinge that he didn't deserve it. he does -- on behalf of us and those around the world who support who he is and what he does (will do). as he noted himself.
Posted by: Bill McDonald | Oct 9, 2009 1:38:48 PM
Could it be that the rest of the world is a little shocked and aghast at the treatment President Obama has gotten here and they're sending a message to counter it?
Maybe the right wingers who compared the President to Hitler for trying to fix healthcare, actually caused this award to happen.
In that case they just made the President 1.4 million dollars in prize money and that's not exactly a socialist style number.
Posted by: Bill R. | Oct 9, 2009 1:45:08 PM
"Could it be that the rest of the world is a little shocked and aghast at the treatment President Obama has gotten here and they're sending a message to counter it?"
Precisely... and the treatment he has received not only from the right, but from the left as well. As noted in many commentators and bloggers on this site. Our political culture is a cesspool of ill will and malice towards everyone. At least the Nobel Committee has a little idealism and benevolence remaining.
Posted by: Kari Chisholm | Oct 9, 2009 2:32:00 PM
Over at Oregon Commentator, they're expressing outrage at me. Kind of funny, actually.
Anyway, here's the comment I posted over there...
Actually, the Arafat example is more apt than you realize. For Arafat (and Peres and Rabin), the award was given in order to encourage something that was underway - but not yet completed. The Nobel committee does that fairly regularly, actually.
So, yes, it is about "potential" - and that's perfectly fine. It's their award, they can award it for whatever reason they want.
I spend a lot of studying the Heisman Trophy process over my other project StiffArmTrophy.com - and the criteria is similarly vague and malleable from year to year. Who's the "best college football player in America"? Ultimately, the answer is: whoever the voters think it is.
As for Obama, I do think it's worth noting that it's not 100% about potential. There is one thing that Obama accomplished in that first 12 days: he ended the practice of torturing prisoners. Among other things, it was that Bush era practice that offended the world so deeply.
There's a reason why people in over 70 countries took to the streets to celebrate on the night Obama was elected.
Posted by: Adam503 | Oct 9, 2009 2:44:51 PM
Premature. Especially considering several blatant human rights black eyes like the ridiculous refusal to meet with the Dalai Lama and Guantanamo Bay still open.
Posted by: Nick P | Oct 9, 2009 5:12:30 PM
The Nobel Prize has lost all credibility. Awarding it to a man who has expanded the War on Terror into Pakistan and Somalia, while defending Bush-era torturers and keeping their legal framework in place is an Orwellian farce.
You and the rest of team blue should be hanging your heads in shame. But as you guys at Blue Oregon and the "progressive" left show again and again the guilty have no pride.
Shame on the people who gave the award to this butcher and shame on you for not calling this what it is- cynical and disgusting.
Posted by: joel dan walls | Oct 9, 2009 7:30:23 PM
Well, looks like Blue Oregon's very own wingnut troll brigade is keeping busy here.
Jesus K. Reist. Did you actually hear Mr. Obama's remarks this morning? Here's the opening:
****************
Well, this is not how I expected to wake up this morning.
After I received the news, Malia walked in and said, "Daddy, you won the Nobel Peace Prize, and it is Bo's birthday."
And then Sasha added, "Plus, we have a three-day weekend coming up."
So it's -- it's good to have kids to keep things in perspective.
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.
******************
OK wingnuts and bitter Obama-haters both left and right, have at it. Just reading these remarks, you can see the man is an arrogant jerk.
Posted by: Jim | Oct 9, 2009 7:37:16 PM
I would actually think people like Jack would like Obama getting this. First day in office he bombs Pakistan, he's sending more troops to Afghanistan, he gave a shitload of money to the banks, he's leaving tons of mercenaries in Iraq, he seems all for keeping most of the Patriot Act and associated travesties against the Constitution, he talks well about Israel but does nothing to prevent their slaughter of Palestinians...shit, what's not to like for the right wing? I guess it's that Kennedy thing where in foreign affairs so-called conservatives love the iron fist and loathe the Democrats putting the silk glove over it.
Posted by: Lisa | Oct 9, 2009 7:54:24 PM
I think the Nobel Prize is an honor for the President, he was very gracious about accepting it.
Posted by: Richard | Oct 9, 2009 8:17:59 PM
Oh this is too stupid.
I heard Thoom Hartman talk about Obama deserving it for "creating a climate of peace".
Yeah sure Thom. Climate.
Then on the way home from work I heard Al Gore declare Obama was "extremley deserving".
Ok that's good enough. Thanks Al.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6867711.ece
"Rarely has an award had such an obvious political and partisan intent. It was clearly seen by the Norwegian Nobel committee as a way of expressing European gratitude for an end to the Bush Administration, approval for the election of America’s first black president and hope that Washington will honour its promise to re-engage with the world.
Instead, the prize risks looking preposterous in its claims, patronising in its intentions and demeaning in its attempt to build up a man who has barely begun his period in office, let alone achieved any tangible outcome for peace.
There is a further irony in offering a peace prize to a president whose principal preoccupation at the moment is when and how to expand the war in Afghanistan.
The spectacle of Mr Obama mounting the podium in Oslo to accept a prize that once went to Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi and Mother Theresa would be all the more absurd if it follows a White House decision to send up to 40,000 more US troops to Afghanistan."
Posted by: Jake Leander | Oct 9, 2009 8:39:46 PM
House Republicans have introduced a bill to defund the Nobel Institute.
Posted by: joel dan walls | Oct 9, 2009 9:49:27 PM
I hear House Republicans have also introduced a bill to repeal the law of gravity. This is a minor distraction from their crusade to expose Nancy Pelosi as a "domestic enemy of the Constitution."
Posted by: Chris #12 | Oct 9, 2009 11:49:30 PM
I love how any time folks go against the current around here, they are instantly labeled "wingnuts", "trolls", "Nadering nabobs" or whatever.
Y'all can theorize on the intentions of the Nobel committee and the Bush legacy all you want, it doesn't change the fact that Obama is the commander in chief, and that hundreds of people have been killed and/or tortured since he took over. It's nice that he is giving speeches about nukes and all, but awarding him the Nobel Peace Prize is a bit strange.
Posted by: Bill McDonald | Oct 10, 2009 2:45:54 AM
I always saw the Bush administration as the darkest farce ever. You know: The familiar tale of the screw-up son but with more power than any screw-up son in history. I always felt there would be a time - perhaps centuries from now - when all the slaughter and mayhem and pain would fade away and it would just seem funny. I could see historians having a spectacular time reviewing how much damage this one clown managed to pull off.
The best part for me was watching these conservatives try and defend this guy for 8 years, knowing in their hearts that he was an abysmal loser who could barely talk. I mean entire industries grew up around the crazy shit this guy said. It was farcical comedy on a level the world has never seen before. My absolute favorite part was when George would say something funny and the serious looking weasels behind him would hear it and have to keep a straight face. God, I miss that.
Look, maybe this award has nothing to do with Bush at all, but you have to admit, it's a spectacularly funny twist if it does. Imagine getting one of the most important awards on earth just because you aren't the last guy. Your biggest accomplishment is that you're here and the last guy is gone. That's beyond hilarious. Thank you, Republicans. As a comedy writer you've given me much to admire.
Posted by: joel dan walls | Oct 10, 2009 5:09:52 AM
Uh, Chris#12, this is the way it works:
If Barack Obama drinks his coffee black, some wingnut will say he's an enemy of the dairy industry.
If Barack Obama wears briefs, some wingnut will attack him for not wearing boxers.
If Barack Obama has a ham sandwich, some wingnut will attack him for his cruelty to animals, but if Obama decides to become a vegetarian, the same wingnut will attack him as a limp-wristed member of the cultural elite.
Getting the picture yet?
I'd love to have intelligent discourse about Mr. Obama's foreign policy, but it's a bit tough when the right-wing noise machines NEVERS SHUTS THE FUCK UP.
Posted by: joel dan walls | Oct 10, 2009 9:38:36 AM
Not sure it matters, especially to the wingnuts, but here's a fairly detailed description of how Nobel laureates are chosen. Hint: the claim that Obama was picked 12 days after taking office is pure bullshit.
Posted by: DJ | Oct 10, 2009 11:54:52 AM
According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize should be awarded "to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.
Shall have done...not shall have proposed, not shall have appealed, not shall have encouraged.
Posted by: Richard | Oct 10, 2009 7:38:41 PM
Hey Joel,
Aren't just a bit off? You ever read what you post?
And so far Obama's foreign policy is barely distinguishable from Bush's.
Is that what has you potty mouth rabid?
Posted by: Dan Meek | Oct 10, 2009 8:28:45 PM
Anyone other than me remember this song (sung approximately to the tune of Bringing In the Sheaves)?
Nixon's the one.
Nixon's the one.
Nixon's the only one.
We believe in Nixon.
N-I-X-O-N
Nixon's the one for me.
It was written in a few minutes by a restaurant owner in Phoenix and was sung at a Nixon rally. It became the theme song of the campaign.
Posted by: Sam Kaufman | Oct 10, 2009 9:09:00 PM
my first thought was that maybe they're making up for Chicago not getting the Olympics
Posted by: Emmit Goldman | Oct 11, 2009 4:31:59 PM
Douglas K. said, "What has Obama actually DONE to warrant this kind of recognition? "Discontinuing torture" shouldn't count.."
While I agree whole-heartedly with your conclusion, you're wrong about Obama "discontinuing torture". He has returned to the Clinton brand of torture by proxy:
Google (I can't get a list of links published here, so you need to find these titles):
Dennis Kucinich, U.S. Playing a New Rendition of an Old Song-Torture
Jeremy Scahill, Little Known Military Thug Squad Still Brutalizing Prisoners at Gitmo Under Obama
Tomgram: Alfred McCoy, Back to the Future in Torture Policy ("...a turn away from a dark, do-it-yourself ethos and a return to the outsourcing of torture that went on, with the support of both Democrats and Republicans, in the Cold War years.")
NYT, Rendition of Terror Suspects Will Continue Under Obama ("...human rights advocates condemned the decision, saying it would permit the transfer of prisoners to countries with a history of torture and that promises of humane treatment, called 'diplomatic assurances,' were no protection against abuse.")
Obama Brings Guantánamo And Rendition To Bagram (And Not The Geneva Conventions)
Obama, American Ideals, and Torture as ‘a useful tool’
Obama may not be as egregious a war criminal as Bush, or as Mussolini, but he is a war criminal, and to say that the Nobel Prize is ill-deserved is an understatement.
Posted by: Emmit Goldman | Oct 11, 2009 4:41:26 PM
Nick P said, "You and the rest of team blue should be hanging your heads in shame."
Team Blue, like Team Red, has no shame.
Posted by: joel dan walls | Oct 11, 2009 5:34:39 PM
Mr. Obama said that he didn't consider himself deserving of the award in comparison to previous recipients. This outrageous remark has of course sent Richard into paroxysms of rage about The One's arrogance and prompted comments about how "Team Blue...has no shame."
Posted by: Stephen Amy | Oct 13, 2009 5:28:42 PM
The Nobel committee seems to have some misplaced infatuation with the U.S.A.
Remember, the 1973 peace prize was awarded to mass-murderer Henry Kissinger (jointly with Le Duc Tho, who had the class to refuse to accept in unison with the mass-murderer).
It was Kissinger who dreamed up the bombing of Cambodia and who oversaw "free-fire zone" deployments from 1969-73.
When Kissinger was awarded the prize, noted satirist Tom Lehrer said, "As of now all political satire is obsolete".
Obama is not in Kissinger's league, but still it's a sick joke that a commander-in-chief who's in the process of escalating a war has been awarded this prize.
Posted by: paper shredder | Oct 19, 2009 3:31:19 PM
Its rather interesting that in order to get a Nobel prize for physics or chemistry you have to show results.Same goes for any other category,except for piece where you can get the prize for nothing.
Posted by: Liz Thorne | Nov 14, 2009 5:36:10 AM
Not the first time. Read about the peace prize winner that's declared war on human rights groups.
The criticism began with Israeli pressure groups and rightwing blogs, but in recent weeks it has drawn the support of influential individuals such as Elie Wiesel, the Holocaust survivor and Nobel peace prize winner, and HRW's own founder, Robert Bernstein, who said the organisation's reports were "helping those who wish to turn Israel into a pariah state". He called on HRW to focus more on abuses by Arab governments.
He lobbied successfully to have funds for such activities included in the latest Mossad budget and the action has been approved by appropriate officials.
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Posted by: Not going to say | Oct 9, 2009 11:51:58 AM
Mr Roberts:
Well, the are still pissed off but I'm OK. lol. The only "lunatic fringe of the BlueOregon readership" seems to be red in the face, and on your side captain sarcasm.