President Obama wins the Nobel
You may have heard about this on the radio on the way into work, like I did. The 2009 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to President Obama this morning.
We’ll be discussing this at today’s editorial board meeting, I’m sure. My initial reaction was: “Wha?”
A little premature, isn’t it, guys? Obama’s got noble goals and aspirations, to be sure, but give him a little time to put them into action and show some results before you actually give him the Nobel. Giving it to Obama so early in his administration only reinforces critics who see the prize committee as poilitically tainted. It devalues the prize, and does Obama no favors either.
That’s my very initial reaction, anyway.
Update: We are writing an editorial for Monday in which we will call this award ridiculous. (editorial board)
October 9, 2009 - 8:48 AM
“That’s my very initial reaction, anyway.”
It’s a yay America, but a “really?”
Ta boot, I believe the applications for the award were due back in February, only a couple weeks into his presidency. Huh?
Good news is he could go back to back years on winning if that’s allowed, seeing how he’s actually been doing something this year.
This does seem WAY premature considering the nominations were due only two weeks after he took office. Yes, he has lofty goals and yadda yadda, but if they gave out the prize for what someone would like to do, all of us probably deserves one! I know I’d like to see peace on earth…
I believe this will cement the theory of the process being politically tainted. How else can you explain him winning?
0bama wins the Nobel Peace Prize! That places him in such fine company as Yassar Arafat the terrorist and Al Gore the global warming scammer.
Nominated only two weeks after taking office? What a joke.
It plain to see that the Nobel Committee is just as stupid as 52% of the American voters.
Not well received by the Times of London:
“…absurd decision on Obama makes a mockery of the Nobel peace prize”
“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.”
Just what has he done regarding peace? Iran and N. Korea are shooting missiles like its the 4th of July and building atomic bombs as fast as they can.
It’s really hard to believe. Congratulations to President Obama, but the nominations were closed on February 1, just 11 days after he was sworn in.
We don’t agree on much, Dan, but we’re of the same mind here. This award does President Obama a disservice. He really hasn’t accomplished anything yet (and to be fair, he really hasn’t had time to accomplish anything), and the Nobel Committee just looks like a group of hacks trying to make a political statement.
President Obama will get through this, but I feel terrible for the other candidates who risked their lives for the sake of peace and for future winners whose legitimacy will be questioned because of this year’s award.
Before this guy’s term is over he’ll be bottling “Hope” and selling it in Wal-Mart.
@#5 After checking out your website Candy Sea, i cannot believe they didnt choose you for the award instead!!! That was awesome for my laugh for the day..
President obama is as deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize as he was of winning the Presidency.
I’m a big Obama fan, but I have to wonder – what’s left to give him in a few years when he’s actually had a chance to see his plans and aspirations come to fruition? I guess they liked what he had to say while campaigning, but had he not been elected would that still have been enough to get him the Prize?
It’s an odd choice, but I don’t see how he can be blamed for it – it’s not like he went out lobbying to get this award. From all reports, the White House is as stunned as everyone else is.
Mike @6 sums it up for me, too. I am a fan of President Obama for sure, but this doesn’t really seem to make a lot of sense.
Only and unless it is more of a dig at the unilateral cowboy attitude of the Bush administration. that’s all I can figure.
@3: “It plain to see that the Nobel Committee is just as stupid as 52% of the American voters.” Name calling is the last refuge of a sore loser. And remember — I don’t think he should have won, but let’s chill out and remember that unlike W’s, at least this election wasn’t really ever close. And besides you’re outnumbered.
I really don’t understand people. Instead of congratulating him, people find rude and undeserving comments to make about him. I am happy that he was bestowed with this honor. Evidentially, some persons/committee is too.
People are so quick to judge and be negative! Instead of focusing on a positive person doing positive things… focus on the things that are negative and ways to better society/our country. We need to work as a team…. People are reacting as if he’s not deserving of this prestigious honor??? He did have a life before he was President. Which is funny because people seemed to like him then.. only when he became a man of power did people try/trying to kick him down.
Parents are killing their kids. People are hungry. Homelessness is real. People are jobless. Children are raising children. Crimes are on the raise…. And ya’ll want to make the President the topic of unworthy praise!!!!!!!
It just further illustrates what we already knew; the Nobel is meaningless joke given to leftwingers. People who bring down the Iron Curtain, like Reagan, Thatcher, or Pope John Paul are never considered for this award. The peace prize is given to anti-Americans who destabilize the world.
Awards and recognitions are symbols of what deserving qualities and traits the judges recognize in their recipients and not something that the recipient seeks out in his or her daily efforts.
An appropriate reaction from anyone who hears about a recipient receiving an award should be “congratulation” rather than an evaluation of whether the recipient deserves the recognition or whether you would or would not have given the award.
From a historical perspective, this recognition of our President should be presented to the school children across the country as something we can take pride in and find a sense of honor for all Americans.
Congratulation to Mr. Barack Obama, the President of the United States of America, for receiving the Nobel Peace Prize and to all the Nobel Prize winners.
#10 – “what’s left to give him in a few years when he’s actually had a chance to see his plans and aspirations come to fruition?”
I wouldn’t worry about it too much, Kristen.
#5: Yes! That’s the first thing I thought too. I’m speechless and more cynical than ever.
S.P. What did obama do before he was elected? Other than rabble rouse with ACORN, and hanging out with terrorists that is.
I think everyone is missing the point of this being awarded to BH0.
The point is to expose the selection process of the prize recipients for what it is- an award not based on anyhting you actually did, but based on your words.
Which sheds all the more light on Al Gore being a recipient.
I’m a not a fan of this president. But he had actually done something to get this award, I would have less to complain about and less to mock.
#3, I also remember this organization giving the Peace Prize to Yasser Arafat who has the blood of thousands on his head. I think it was the way he would eviscerate and vivisection his enemies that pushed the award in his favor.
I say this because the Peace prize was a joke, it still is a joke, and I’m not falling for it.
Now Suzie, EVERYONE knows that President Reagan, Prime Minister Thatcher and Pope John Paul II had NOTHING to do with the fall of the Soviet Union. If you had bothered to read Time, Newsweek, The Washington Post, The New York Times or even The Roanoke Times, you would know that General Secretary Gorbachev, a man of immaculate birth, generously and intentionally decided to end the arms race and confer world peace. Armed only with a sledgehammer, Mr. Gorbachev “[tore] down this [Berlin] Wall”. And after ensuring that all the dissidents who wished freedom were able to cross the East German border, Mr. Gorbachev returned to Moscow to begin the long process of dismantling each and every Soviet ICBM.
It is because of this that Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, lauded by Time magazine, and became a Pizza Hut spokesman. Barack obama is a worthy successor.
#11 – Sorry, Saintbridge…not a sore loser at all. 52% of the American voters stupidly fell for the “Hope and Change” BS back in November. The Nobel Committee, by awarding 0bama the award for having done nothing, has done the same thing.
This is a sad sad joke, right? To give this…even as a point against George W. Bush..I really wonder how long it will take people to realize that the longer you dwell on the past, present problems will grow. They will get to where they are untreatable. I am not a huge supporter of Obama, but he is the man right now. However, if this is how the international community views him, as absolute potential, then the reality of any presidential action is only going to crash and burn. And I am really not being critical of Obama on this, heck, I would be in his corner if he REFUSED this award. It’s incredible! It “feels” like a consolation prize for not getting the Olympics to Chicago. At least to me.
The Nobel Peace Prize award has just “jumped the shark”…
Here’s an interesting argument by Washington Monthly’s Steve Benen on the thinking that might have gone into the Nobel Committee’s decision. It hasn’t changed my mind about the wisdom of the decision, but it’s something to think about.
@11 “He did have a life before he was President. Which is funny because people seemed to like him then..”
Bill Ayers, Bernadine Dohrn, Tony Rezko, the right reverend Jermiah Wright…
Mr. Benen’s argument is that the world is thanking America for reducing itself to a “paper tiger”. Woo hoo, I feel safer now.
But I give Mr. Benen credit. He is undoubtedly right. President obama was rewarded for repeatedly apologizing for America, retreating from our commitments, abandoning our friends, embracing our enemies, and surrendering in general.
I did some research on the Nobel committee, and I can see how this sort of faux pas can happen. Alfred Nobel himself had these fears: “Nobel may also have feared that the highly political nature of the Peace Prize would make it a tool in power politics and thereby reduce its significance as an instrument for peace.” – Nobel website
We have to recognize that the value of any prize is determined on whether the public endorses the same opinion, and it looks like they don’t in this case. Therefore, the value of this particular award has diminished.
@28 Lentis, I think you should reconsider listening to whoever is filling your head with these ‘facts’ you are alleging…
“NBC News has obtained, exclusively, extraordinary secret video, shot by the U.S. government. It illustrates an enormous opportunity the Clinton administration had to kill or capture bin Laden. Critics call it a missed opportunity.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4540958/
Apparently Darth Clinton had the best crack at it so far
I see that the conservative Americas haters are out today. Cheer when the U.S. doesn’t get the Olympics. Boo when Obama wins the peace prize (an opinion shared by Muslim terrorists). Root for the economy to stay in the tank. Hope that Obama fails at everything he does. Depressed over the fact that most of the rest of the world thinks more of us now than they did when Bush was president. What great Americans.
By jove, Granger you are correct. Say, just how many people do you justify Osama be involved with killing before we should have taken him out?
I’m sure most of the ones that voted no are republicans or racist. Dont hate on that man because he got an award so early that it takes most a life time to receive.
@32 Granger, is this where you get YOUR info from?
http://socialistworker.org/2001/377A/377A_02_BinLaden.shtml
#30 If Clinton was in the White House, that was before 911.
Someone else was off at the ranch when the hijackers were getting prepared for 911.
Nicole:
You are right. Only partisans and white supremists oppose Barack Hussein obama.
Of course, it is hard to explain his election as President in a country where a majority of the electorate is conservative and white. Hmmm.
Premature Award? Yes
Deserving of the Award? Unknown
Seeing conservatives have a cow? Priceless
@40…
Well Koontz…I see you’re in the same inflammatory baiting as some of the rest of the posters using the middle name “Hussein”. By the way, the last name is also to be capitalized…but of course a learned attorney would know that.
@30 Gee, I had forgotten that 9/11 happened under Bill Clinton.
@39 Psssssst Kennnnn….. Osama directed Americans to be slaughtered BEFORE 9/11 too… i’m serious
Will, thank you for your civil and substantive criticism and observation. I appreciate the opportunity to learn from you, and I thank Mr. Radmacher for not censoring your insightful views.
@41 Well said, Will. Watching conservative heads explode over this is so much fun. They used to accuse liberals of Bush derangement syndrome, but go into cardiac arrest every time Obama blows his nose.
According to the RT own poll 82%+ feel the award is unjustified. Clearly that’s a mandate if I’ve ever seen one.
And well said by you, gdad! Frankly you are right. We conservatives should be more complimentary, congratulatory and gracious to such obviously accomplished statesmen as Jimmy Carter, Yasser Arafat, Mikhail Gorbachev, Albert Gore and Barack Hussein obama.
USA! USA! USA!
@ #28 It is so incredible that some people would wish this man ill after witnessing the entire country’s economic structure be destroyed under the control of George W. Bush and the Republican party.
Surely you aren’t naive enough to put all the blame on Bush – Dodd, Frank, and the Democrats in Congress are responsible for the lending policies that caused the mortgage meltdown, they refused to put the brakes on Freddie and Fannie, and did NOTHING in 2008 but sit back and wait for America to crash and burn so they could take power. There is plenty of blame to go around and when you only focus on half the picture you can never solve the problem.
#46 – gdad – Hmmm…I don’t think my head is exploding over this. I actually think it’s quite funny to see people who think 0bama deserves this award…it’s show’s how clueless they really are.
A Nobel Peace Prize for his intentions? Heck, I’d love to buy the world a Coke and teach them how to sing in perfect harmony…does that mean I’ll get the award next year?
@#51 Heck, I’d love to buy the world a Coke and teach them how to sing in perfect harmony…does that mean I’ll get the award next year?
you have just under 4 months to get your application in – I say go for it!
This speaks more to the credibility of the committee than to the worthiness of Obama. I think they figured they’d get it out of the way now and spare themselves the 25 years of whining they heard from Jimmy Carter. I said last November that America had finally gotten Jimmy Carter re-elected; this buttresses that argument. Todays award verifies that the Nobel Peace Prize means nothing.
@#49 But as a Bush supporter, I suppose you have to grasp at anything you can to direct attention away from the fact that Bush failed to follow up on HIS promise to the American people to track Bin Laden down.
At least he TRIED and there we no more attacks under Bush’s presidency…had Obama been stopped prior to 9/11 the world would be a much different place today. The world isn’t black and white – Democrats can screw up just as much a Republicans.
@49 Well Larry… I was just going by what NBC was telling me… i just had a feeling running up my leg when i heard it.
@45…
Koontz…always glad to help but apparently you didn’t “learn” anything as again you “unintentionally” failed to capitalize the last name of the president.
Inflammatory baiting (if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and swims like a duck…it must be a duck) like using the first and middle names of the President in caps and then adding the last name in lower case is just that…inflammatory baiting.
It’s cute and all that but most see through it and realize both the purpose for which it’s used and the types of people who choose to employ that method of expression.
People scoff at Jimmy Carter but the Camp David Summit with Sadat and Begin were extraordinary and certainly worthy of recognition. As for the rest…I think each had characteristics that made them all noteworty.
I said early on that Obama’s recognition was premature and that it is far to early to see if it is worthy.
Actually, Patrick, I said in the poll that I didn’t know if he deserved it. It’s really too early to know. But the conservative exploding heads over it simply follow the standard pattern ever since Obama was elected. I’m astounded by the number of conservatives who want America to fail simply so they can blame Obama.
#55 okay that should have read had Osama been stopped…
#56 They absolutely had a HUGE part in the mortgage meltdown and for the last 2 years they refused to be part of the solution in order to regain power.
Will, is president supposed to be in caps in your post?
@55…
Connie…”At least he TRIED and there we no more attacks under Bush’s presidency…had Obama been stopped prior to 9/11 the world would be a much different place today.”
One presumes you meant Bin Laden rather that Obama with your comment.
However, your remarks in some ways resembles “other that THAT, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?”
President shouldn’t be in caps unless it’s right before the name of the president (or it starts the sentence). President Jimmy Carter. Jimmy Carter was president.
#63 your reply makes no sense and all and yes I already posted that I meant Bin Laden
Congrats to Barack Obama for winning the peace prize… How many other American senators have won this award? How peaceful have things been in Chicago the past 2 years? When a what the heck choice like this is made it only cheapens the award and those who have won the award previously. If Oslo is happy just “go on with your bad self!”
#52 – gdad, Conservatives don’t want America to fail…they want Obama’s policies to fail. Big difference.
gdad – I agree. They chant USA USA USA, we are the true Americans, etc. Yet they want OUR country to fail. Why can’t they see the hypocrisy in this behavior? I don’t believe I’ve ever seen people behave in such an irrational manner.
The news this morning in my opinion I think shows how the world outside the USA likes the direction that our President s going. There is a lot that might not be in the news that this President is doing. That is, maybe talking to people that don’t necessarily agree with our views. And at the end of the day no matter how different one might be, you have to settle things by talking. Just look at history and its all there to read. Or maybe when you went to school and your teacher had to talk to you about fighting. If not, wars can go on but sooner or latter you have to sit down and talk. This is a more peaceful way then having young men die.
Speaking of “this” world, Obama is not a socialist; he did not run on that party. And any far flung ideas that might stick to the wall from the extreme right makes one wonder how low on the food chain one can go.
But getting back to the point, congratulations Mr. President.
I am a supporter of his ideas/thoughts but clearly he does not deserve this from a public eye. I am sure the committee that awarded him the prize had good reasons but isnt it way too early. I dont think noble prize should be compared to American vote – its not fair because Obama did not campaign for the prize. American public vote is way above noble peace prize. This may actually harm him – now the meaning of “hope” has changed. Its probably harder to justify the prize after winning it.
“56 One presumes you meant Bin Laden rather that Obama with your comment.
However, your remarks in some ways resembles “other that THAT, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?”
I already corrected my reply well before you posted, so one need not presume anything.
My comment was in response to a post that blasted Bush for not fulfilling a promise to capture Bin Laden and excusing Clinton of having any role in the Bin Laden still roaming the countryside. Regardless of the other aspects of his administration (which we weren’t discussing), under Bush there were no more attacks and that is a good thing. The comment you posted is just a jab a Bush. Maybe you would have preferred another 9/11 so you could have something else to blame on Bush.
@12 “People are reacting as if he’s not deserving of this prestigious honor???” – S.P.
Prestigious???? Not everyone thinks so S.P.:
“We are writing an editorial for Monday in which we will call this award ridiculous.” (Roanoke Times Editorial Board)
Premature Award? maybe
Deserving of the Award? yes
Seeing conservatives and RACIST have a cow? Priceless
@Ernie “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen people behave in such an irrational manner.”
Oh i have…listen to Ms. Sotero…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYY73RO_egw
Bill Hudson is so right. If we had only been more willing to talk out our differences with the British (1776, 1812), South Carolina (1861), the Germans (1917, 1941), the Japanese (1941), the North Koreans (1950), the Russians (1946), the Iranians (1979), and Iraq (1991, 2002), think how many lives would have been saved. And just imagine what a better country this would be as a part of Great Britain, instead of the world’s sole remaining superpower who uses its might to oppress other nations. The world would be such a better place if the United States had simply not been such a bully over the last two plus (2+) centuries.
Indeed, had our forefathers only heeded the wisdom of Mr. Hudson’s advice, we would never have had to elect a fascist such as President Barack Hussein obama to rescue us from the grips of the extreme right wing.
@64 Thats true Connie… some people have even said that they do not feel that the terrorists did ENOUGH damage.
S.P.–What racists? Name names.
@Marked Man.. sorry honey, I don’t care if Roanoke Times writes an article or not. The person who writes it represents one person!! Just because he or she have been put in positions where their voice can be heard doesn’t meant that they are right about their “OPINION.”
Read on Facebook this morning: “I think Obama will eventually earn this prize”..what?? That’s like giving a gold medal to an Olympic athlete before he’s completed the race just because he has trained really hard!
#68 Complements your theist as to not to talk to the other side, which I think is the point you are trying to make. But thank the gods we were talking to, lets say the Russians if not during the cold war (and we came very close) we all would not be here. How many times can one blow up the world?
But getting back to the world, the President did not run on the fascist ticket either, just take a look. As to be rescued, well that’s ok I really don’t mind talking to people that are very different then me, it sure beats the other alternative.
Mr. Hudson, the Democrat party is the party of fascism in America, though you correctly note that it does not use that term in its name. BUT IN ITS POLICIES:
Transferring control of GM and Chrysler to itself and the UAW
Dictating bank policies and salaries
Taking over the student education loan program
Taking over the conventional housing mortgage industry
Attempting to destroy the health insurance industry
Attempting to control the medical industry
Regulating the rest of the economy to death
Yes, these truly are the policies of fascism. It makes the Nazi economic program look benign.
@71 S.P. Thats alright honey, btw, the Roanoke Times Editorial Board consists of more than JUST ONE person. I learned that yesterday =)
Who are you calling racist?
If Obama was white as snow, and hung out with terrorists and cop killers, didnt accomplish much of anything as a senator, had a wife (that was given a raise by her husband from 300k/yr to 400k/yr) that proclaimed she only NOW is proud of her country, screamed racism when someone thats not white is arrested, well, i still wouldnt have voted that he deserved the award. I would also vote that Gore (inventor of the Internet) did not deserve it either, but I would probably disappoint you because that would take the race card out of your thin deck.
“Transferring control of GM and Chrysler to itself and the UAW
Dictating bank policies and salaries
Taking over the student education loan program
Taking over the conventional housing mortgage industry”
Of course you’re exaggerating greatly here, but then we could always go back to the days of George Bush sitting around watching the economy crumble around us. Yeah, that’s the ticket.
“@64 Thats true Connie… some people have even said that they do not feel that the terrorists did ENOUGH damage.”
Please provide examples.
Gladly gdad…
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/11/books/no-regrets-for-love-explosives-memoir-sorts-war-protester-talks-life-with.html?pagewanted=all
gdad, I wish I were, but I am most certainly NOT exaggerating. Which policy do you dispute? Are you saying that the federal government did not take over the student education loan program? It did. Are you suggesting that the federal government is not now involved in all conventional home loan mortgages? It is. And the federal government did take control of GM and Chrysler, and did work out favorable terms for the unions, to the prejudice of bond holders, and in contravention of the law. The UAW runs Chrysler (in conjunction w/ Fiat), and the federal government and the UAW run GM.
I am relieved that you understand that President Barack Hussein obama is trying to destroy the health insurance industry, and take over the medical industry.
BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, and to your original point, all these actions are the hallmark of fascism.
I don’t care how many people make up the editoral board. Their representation is not enough to represent any of the population (2 or 3 people??? okay 5-6…???). I didn’t call you a racist but since you want to place emphasis on it… if it quacks like a duck then it probably is a duck!!
You can’t change my point of view and I am not trying to change yours.
There is no need to throw around words that are simply just not true. Your use of the word fascism shows your lack of the meaning. Why not just look it up?
Fascism-“Fascist governments forbid and suppress openness and opposition to the government and the fascist movement” according to Wikipedia but getting back to my early point that is just the opposite of what the President is trying to do.
Your quote “It makes the Nazi economic program look benign.” It is plain wrong. The killing and the murders of what the Nazi and their kind did not have a thing to do with Obama. And your point in trying to make those connections makes one think about how deep you are going there.
The next thing you know you might be saying the President was not born in the USA, and is really a Muslim, and maybe the world is really flat?
Given that the Nobel has been somewhat meaningless in the past several years, it fits. Yasser Arafat? Barack 0bama? Why not.
And he earned it in 12 days on the job no less! Amazing.
It’s a lot like giving a child ice cream because they announce a plan to clean their room. I prefer to hold back the ice cream until we actually get the room clean.
This is especially true when the plan turns out to be simply getting me to clean the room for them.
I don’t see where Ayers said the Muslim terrorists didn’t do enough.
#66…LOL. SP, the best part of President Barack Hussein Obama getting this award (besides the fact that I’m pleased he was awarded it) – is seeing the FoxBots lose their minds over it. They’ve lost all ability to react rationally to ANYTHING regarding our president.
@40 – Why has no one brought him to justice?? It is very frustrating that he has not been caught.
“BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, and to your original point, all these actions are the hallmark of fascism”
You truly don’t understand what fascism is, do you?
And no, I don’t think Obama is trying to take over the medical industry or destroy the health insurance industry, although the insurance industry could use some destroying. The health insurance industry cares about nothing other than picking our pockets by jacking up its already hefty overhead. Virtually all reasonable people agree that our system is badly broken and needs some sort of help.
Just another thing Bush spent 8 years stitting around watching crumble.
Mr. Hudson:
In fascist states, you have government control over nominally privately owned businesses whereby the government directs the economy. That should sound awfully familiar to you, since it is what is going on in this country under President Barack Hussein obama and the Democrat party.
But since you mentioned a suppression of opposition to the government, what exactly does President Barack Hussein obama mean when he gives speeches telling his opponents to quit talking, get out the way, that the time for debate is over, and characterizes his opponents as liars? Or runs a website seeking citizens to inform on others who are alleged to be spreading untruths about his policies? Sounds like suppression to me.
The last I checked, the Nazi economic program involved Volkswagen and Krupp Industries. There really is not much economic gain in killing Jews, unless you mean the consumerism of the soldiers in charge of the death camps.
I do not know anything about the President’s birth or religion, so I offer no opinions on those issues. But I do know the world is not flat. But thank you for asking!
Where does one begin? Your quote of” NOT exaggerating” is in fact just that. To throw words around like fascism, Nazis are just pushing buttoms. If you want to find a Nazi we have one right here in Roanoke and you can see what he thinks.
As to your quote,” destroy the health insurance industry, and take over the medical industry.” You must really like the way it is now. After the death of a very good friend here in Roanoke of cancer my take would be….it really does need some major overhauling and treat people like people not like a dollar figure.
But getting back to the point of this post I think its great the President won this.
“But since you mentioned a suppression of opposition to the government, what exactly does President Barack Hussein obama mean when he gives speeches telling his opponents to quit talking, get out the way, that the time for debate is over, and characterizes his opponents as liars? Or runs a website seeking citizens to inform on others who are alleged to be spreading untruths about his policies? Sounds like suppression to me.”
What exactly does a president mean when he cages protesters in a “free speech” zone, refuses to allow opponents into meetings, arrests people for wearing certain shirts, illegally taps into telephone calls, and and essentially accuses those against the war in Iraq of being traitors? Sounds like suppression to me. And it wasn’t Obama.
gdad:
Gee sir, maybe I don’t understand fascism. Would you please enlighten me? If you could show me the error of my ways, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.
War is peace! Freedom is slavery! Ignorance is strength!
Mr. Hudson:
Where am I wrong? I am not trying to push buttons, I am trying to understand your point. If fascism does not involve the government direction of the economy, what is it? And if I am wrong about President obama’s program, what would be a better description of it? You’ve eliminated socialism and fascism; what adjective would you use?
Help me out here, please!
Mr. gdad:
Name one (1) person whose telephone was illegally tapped by the Bush administration. Just one. I’ll wait.
@GFK: How about these. Or do soldiers and their wives not count?
If you also do a search you might find out why he won.
The committee chairman said they sought not just to reward the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, but to “enhance” the recipient’s actions – to promote peace. (not such a bad idea)
“We do hope that this can contribute a little bit to enhance what he is trying to do.”
“It is a clear statement to the world that we want to advocate and promote,” the efforts undertaken by Mr. Obama. “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,” Thorbjoern Jagland, chairman of the Nobel Committee said
Your quote “There really is not much economic gain in killing Jews, unless you mean the consumerism of the soldiers in charge of the death camps.” Is, I feel way off base. My girlfriends’ family died in the camps and if you ever have the bad luck in living in a state like that you just might feel different.
“{ If you could show me the error of my ways, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.”
Sure, not a problem.
Fascism is a political philosophy, movement or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition.
Barack Obama is nowhere close to meeting this description.
But you obviously have your own idea of what fascism is.
@64 Connie…
My preference would have been for there never to have been a 9/11 in the first place. I guess we ignore the same NIE that was presented to President Bush which he ignored. I clearly and unequivocally blame President Bush for not taking the necessary steps to protect the United States from the attacks on September 11.
Your statement that I would wish for another 9/11 is absurdly ridiculous as anything (having lost 14 friends that day who were in the south tower). I have other comments however my mother told me that there are certain things that you should never say to a lady so I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt that you are one.
Mr. Radmacher:
Those calls referenced in the S.F. Chronicle were not “illegally” tapped. Sorry, try again.
Fascim and communism were both created by the same elitist bankers to effectively impoverish and enslave the world by means of confiscation of private property and assets. Redistribution of wealth just means giving the wealth of hardworking citizens to parasitic bankers. Its not very hard to see where Obamas real allegences lie.
“Name one (1) person whose telephone was illegally tapped by the Bush administration. Just one. I’ll wait.”
No names, but how about this?
“The most recent case of U.S. wiretapping was the NSA warrantless surveillance controversy discovered in December 2005. It aroused much controversy, after then President George W. Bush admitted to violating a specific federal statute (FISA) and the warrant requirement of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution.”
And this:
“However, a new addition to this bill, that was recently insisted on by then President Bush and Mike McConnell, would grant immunity to telecommunications companies for any “intelligence activity involving communications” that was “designed to detect or prevent a terrorist attack” or attack preparations.[18] The Bush Administration has acknowledged that intelligence agencies conducted warrantless eavesdropping on Americans with the help of Telecom companies such as Verizon, AT&T, and Qwest.[19] All three of these Telecom companies face multiple civil lawsuits related to their handling of phone records and the passing of this bill would grant them immunity.”
Now I wonder why these companies would need immunity from legal activities?
Please try to understand I as one person do not have all the answers to all this very big problems but I do know this….we are living with the results of 8 years of damage that Bush and the neo-conservatives did. If you don’t want to remember that then I have some WMD in Iraq (if you keep looking you might find it one day)
It is not going to happen overnight no matter which side you are on. But the idea for PEACE is something that this world needs and needs very badly. And we need to work for that goal. Just take look at the words and the life of what Jesus said.
@ Dan #93
While I disagree with his point, GFK is correct insofar as soldiers’ overseas calls can legally be tapped. Technically speaking, they were likely calling on government owned phones.
Was it right? I don’t think so. Was it legal? Yes, and it still is.
@Will@Bill Hudson@gdad… we need more people like you!!
well there goes all credibility of the nobel peace prize….obama doesnt deserve a cracker jacks box prize let alone peace prize…
S.P. didnt you call the people who voted ‘No’ on the poll… racist? I admittedly voted “No”.
I heard his speech. That was the most uncomfortable speech he has ever given. They didn’t do him any favors with this strange move.
I disagreed with the Al Gore choice but I understood it. I didn’t understand this at all. When I first heard it, I laughed. I thought it was satire.
@82 gdad, you didnt say you were asking about those terrorists. I was referencing the terrorists that President Sotero enamours himself with.
@Mark I don’t know what you are talking about!! You have the right to think and vote the way that you want. I have the right to think that you are miseducated!!
Kristen #83
the best part of President Barack Hussein Obama getting this award (besides the fact that I’m pleased he was awarded it) – is seeing the FoxBots lose their minds over it. They’ve lost all ability to react rationally to ANYTHING regarding our president.
You’re missing what’s happening. The worldwide media is LAUGHING at your boy. Between 0bama and the Nobel, it’s hard to tell which has lost the most relevance in the past few hours.
Glad to be first on this wild ride of a post, but I’ll have to step in again if allowed.
Premature Award? I’ll even say maybe
Deserving of the Award?
Seeing liberals whine and cry about how great bam bam is while screaming racism at the drop of a pin? Priceless. Wah! you spelled his name wrong. Wah! Racist. Wah! George Bush did it.
I say he has worked very hard most of his life towards this and I just figures that living in the deep south and GOP country that your poll reflects the bias opinion that you will probably not see the rest of the country and world agree with. Grow up people!!
There is a criminal faction in America that is seeking to enslave the America citizens and they will do anything to achieve it. We are being lied to in a way that would have made Hitler an Stalin proud and confident.
@108
They are so blind they can’t see the forest for the trees. Dear Leader’s head may have finally gotten big enough to fit those ears of his.
@107 “Seeing conservatives and RACIST have a cow? Priceless”
Comment by S.P. — October 9, 2009 @ 12:55 pm
Oh im sorry S.P. i thought that maybe this S.P. were you.
I guess your incomplete sentence, or the word RACIST for that matter, threw me off. I have a cow, several of them actually, so i thought you meant me. I voted that he shouldnt have gotten the award, so i thought you meant me. Therefore, you see my confusion.
“I have the right to think that you are miseducated!!” – S.P.
“Seeing conservatives and RACIST have a cow?” – S.P.
Hey S.P., I think that other S.P. is the miseducated one, don’t you?
Does anyone else think that it is uncivil to refer to folks as “miseducated” and “racist”? Or am I misunderstanding the RTEB policy yet again?
“I say he has worked very hard most of his life towards this and I just figures that living in the deep south and GOP country that your poll reflects the bias opinion that you will probably not see the rest of the country and world agree with. Grow up people!!”
Better yet Danette. Accept Reality and the truth.
“screaming racism at the drop of a pin?” Oh, that easy, racism is easily heard I would say at least 4 times a week. I am a white dude so people think I agree with their words. But when it does happen, I now a- days I speak up and that is what I think we should do.
But why get bent out of shape folks? It is a good thing and the President will be donating the money to good causes.
Peace through Strength. The US through Obama’s actions is giving up it’s show of strength. Therefore, I see no future Peace.
The Nobel is a tool of the United Nations…nothing more, nothing less. One only needs to look at past recipients (in more recent years). So, it all makes sense. Push for globalization, one world, one dictatorial body. Is it coincidence that the dollar is falling so rapidly?
The dollar is falling as a direct result of our fascist government’s policies.
ok barry soetoro, aren’t you just a little bit embarrassed for accepting that prize after doing nothing at all?
of course coming from the UN, it doesnt surprise me, obama, I mean soetoro, and all his terrorists friends over there
It’s the only transparent moment in his Presidency. He’s clueless!!!
I am puzzeled that so many people seem against our President consulting a wide range of beliefs before each decision he makes. He said he would. He has shown that he does. It slows down whatever he does. He is working to build up a solid foundation which has the best chance of long time help for all involved. Thank you Mr. President and Best Wishes!
Rush Limbaugh had an interesting point. He said the Nobel is worth about $1.2 million dollars; but the cost of 0bama and his entourage and their fleet of planes to fly there will surpass that figure.
@119…
Koontz….
Stocks spike to new ’09 highs
4:19pm: Major market indexes rise as trade gap surprisingly narrows and dollar bounces off recent lows. Courtesy CNNMoney.com
I admit it; I hope that Barack Hussein obama fails miserably in his fascistic schemes.
Pam…
I think you are more sensible than your most recent post indicates. You and I have had some really good bouts on here but you’re baiting like GFK.
If you really want to go deep…see who the Bush’s pal’d around with (Saudi’s) and what kind of crowd they have been over the years.
I would have to agree as to working to build up a solid foundation and he is just starting, and that is hopeful. Long team is good and the future I hope will look better as time goes on.
As to the clueless remark, just do a search on Bushism,the guy was funny and you might find a true meaning on the word clueless. The guy could be a stand in for A. E. Newman.
President Bush–while a liberal on domestic policy–was a strong defender and advocate of American foreign policy. Barack Hussein obama could not carry Mr. Bush’s briefcase.
Frankly George W. Bush did a hero’s job in bringing about world peace. His heartfelt mission the last 7 and a half years of his administration was to make the world safer, and he did it tirelessly through all sorts of political sniping and opposition. He succeeded in bringing an end to the despotic Saddam regime, and introduced a new peaceful democracy through the region, through painstaking efforts to rebuild the country and maintain peace.
0bama has done absolutely nothing, except demonstrate weakness the few times he’s even ventured to the foreign arena. And yet he gets this award. This is undeniable proof the Nobel is a worthless partisan sham.
I am SO glad millions more people have realized that, as of today.
Soros
Amen Suzie…the world is laughing at Barry today! Iran especially.
Ronald Reagan freed hundreds of millions of people from the oppressive yoke of communism. No Nobel Prize.
George W. Bush freed 50 million Muslims from the oppressive yoke of tyranny and Islamic fascism. No Nobel Prize.
Barack Hussein obama served in office 11 days, having been elected on a platform of imposing fascism on the American people. A Nobel Peace Prize.
At least now we know the Nobel Committee’s criteria.
@125….
Koontz…under this definition of Facisim – A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.
This sounds more like the previous 8 years than the current period.
@ gdad #99
“Now I wonder why these companies would need immunity from legal activities?”
I am not sure you understand the immunity Bush demanded for telcoms. They would be immune from *civil* liability for helping the government listen to calls. No criminal immunity would be involved.
@ Danette #110
“I say he has worked very hard most of his life towards this and I just figures that living in the deep south and GOP country that your poll reflects the bias opinion that you will probably not see the rest of the country and world agree with. ”
Ummmmm, Danette, VA is hardly the ‘deep south’. As far as your ‘GOP country’ label goes, I have to ask if you follow election results at all. President Obama won the Commonwealth in 2008, Sen. Warner (D-VA) won a statewide election in 2001 and in 2008, Gov. Kaine (Democratic Party Chariman) won a statewide election in 2005, and Sen. Webb (D-VA) won a statewide election in 2006. Democrats control the State Senate and approach parity in the General Assembly. Is that really a emblematic of a VA GOP juggernaut?
I am sure that as you learn more about Virginia politics you will see that the Old Dominion is hardly anyone’s ‘stronghold’.
@129….
George W. Bush and his cronies were masterful at keeping the world afraid of it’s shadow. The moment he and his boys felt like they were loosing control, they would throw out another “terrorist threat” that they supposedly thwarted. Their power was based on fear and intimidation. I don’t call that world peace.
Saddam was no doubt horrible but to say that all is beautiful and peaceful in Bagdad is a joke. George W. Bush got us involved in both Iraq and Afghanistan and left our boys in Afghanistan to suffer. Now, we’re trying to figure a way to solve the mess he left.
The Russians were there for years and years (while we funded the “Afghan Rebels” as they were know during that era) and finally left after realizing there was nothing they could do to win. Bush had no plan to win there so he left the mess for someone else to clean up.
I agree that Obama shouldn’t have received the Nobel Prize at this point in time. It was premature and probably more embarrassing than anything.
I don’t believe Obama is anymore of a facist than Ronald Reagan was. Some have talked about “unrelentless obcession with power”…well, when you can only be in office for a maximum of 8 years…it can only go so far. I haven’t seen anything that says he wants to dismantle the Congress or the Supreme Court…consequently there can be no facist government with those bodies still in tact.
“@82 gdad, you didnt say you were asking about those terrorists. I was referencing the terrorists that President Sotero enamours himself with.”
Well that certainly wasn’t clear.
Dan,
Jay Cost at RCP wrote an article about the selection which, in a nutshell, compares the Nobel Committee’s decision on a par with that of the electorate.
I don’t know that you’ll agree with it, but he makes a thought provoking point.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/horseraceblog/2009/10/how_is_this_a_farce.html
“Rush Limbaugh had an interesting point. He said the Nobel is worth about $1.2 million dollars; but the cost of 0bama and his entourage and their fleet of planes to fly there will surpass that figure.”
There’s nothing at all interesting about that. It has nothing to do with anything that matters. It’s just another Limbaugh idiocy.
BTW, Nobel is worth $1.4 million.
Will:
Newsflash: The Democrat Congress is in cahoots with President Barack Hussein obama to enact the fascistic schemes he has concocted. In case you’ve missed it, his current effort is to take over the medical profession.
“I admit it; I hope that Barack Hussein obama fails miserably in his fascistic schemes.”
OK, so you admit that Obama is not a fascist, which means you really had no idea whatsoever what fascism is. Glad I could help educate you.
gdad:
Ever listen to Rush Limbaugh? You may not care for him, but he is not an idiot.
“Barack Hussein obama could not carry Mr. Bush’s briefcase.”
Oh, you mean the guy who’s getting us out of the useless war in Iraq and is ramping up things in Afghanistan? I’m not sure I agree with that, but he’s hardly wimping out.
I almost dropped my coffee cup when I heard this. I did drop my jaw. As far as I can figure out, he got this award for saying “we will extend our hand if you will unclinch your fist”. How absurd. Reagan and Gorbichov ended communisim in Russia and brought down the Berlin wall. Now that’s truely deserving of a “peace” prize. What has Obama done? Nothing whatsoever, but then they gave it to Gore-mister “the sky is falling”. It cements my lack of respect for the Nobel.
gdad:
With all due respect, my progressive friend, your post #142 makes no sense.
@130 Good golly, you need to go back and look at the terrorist attacks around the world during Bush’s reign. Awful.
“George W. Bush freed 50 million Muslims from the oppressive yoke of tyranny and Islamic fascism. No Nobel Prize.”
Of course he did no such thing.
gdad:
Yes he did.
“With all due respect, my progressive friend, your post #142 makes no sense.”
Go back to my post defining fascism. It doesn’t describe Obama at all. BTW, why do you continue your juvenile lowercasing of Obama?
“Ever listen to Rush Limbaugh? You may not care for him, but he is not an idiot.”
OK, he’s not an idiot. Many of his comments are idiotic. I actually listened to him more in the early 1990s, but then he became a shameless shill.
Where does one begin… those from the right and the far right and those that are right of the right (very close to Fascism) just do not like the fact this guy won. And at all cost they want him to go down in flumes no matter what the cost. But with quotes like, “Rush Limbaugh had an interesting point” talk about hate. And “George W. Bush freed 50 million Muslims from the oppressive yoke of tyranny and Islamic fascism.” (You might want to ask some women there. Hint: it’s all about the oil).
Be happy that our President won a prize for PEACE, it is something to be very proud of.
gdad:
Your definition of “fascism” is incomplete. That being said, even if your definition were complete, #142 would still make no sense, in that I did not write what you appear to be responding to; which is why I wrote that it makes no sense.
@141…
The healthcare industry has been in dire need of revamping for 40 years. He finally has had the will to step up to the plate and at least give it a try where the other whimps on both the Democrat and Republican side did nothing but let it run it’s rampant course.
And a newsflash back at you…Congress can just as quickly un-enact as it can enact so until you dismantle the body…facism isn’t a threat to you.
Obama is in good company. Most of the charges leveled at him were also thrown at Franklin Delano Roosevelt by the same people. History will judge, not Bill O’Reilly
The Nobel Peace Prize is irrelevant. Irena Sendler was up for the Nobel Peace Prize. Al Gore won for a power point slideshow on global warming. Irena on the other hand, saved 2,500 people from being murdered during WWII. You can see how digits and politics are so much more important than real accomplishments
obama, er soetoro should actually give it back out of embarrassment that he’s done nothing to earn it. He shows less integrity than previously thought by accepting this prize. He wants to take down the economy, ruin private business and then install his dream govt of marxism. In his own words he studied and preferred these socialist and marxist types in college. read it for yourself. he’s nothing but a chicago thug with a lot of money and people in low places (low meaning classless)
Wow…the world is recognizing President Obama for attempting to do something. I wonder what award exist for doing nothing…and which Republican will get that award. I nominate the whole republican party.
Continue to sit on your hands! Party of NO!
gdad @ 42
“They used to accuse liberals of Bush derangement syndrome, but go into cardiac arrest every time Obama blows his nose.”
Maybe that’s what he won the award for. It’s about as significant as anything else he has done. And BTW, check some grammar and etiquette rules. If you are referring to just any generic president, it is lower case. However, if you are specifically referencing the sitting President, or the Office of the President of the United States, it is capitalized.
October 9, 2009 will forever be known as the new April Fool’s Day.
I find this to be cheap, divisive journalism. Instead of asking the simplistic question calling for a yeah or nay a yes or no response, and thus inviting the emotional jingoistic responses your are getting, why not engage in a serious conversation of just what the Nobel is, the criteria used to award it etc. Unfortunately, I think you are getting exactly what you asked for.
Poor Jimmy Carter, it took him 20 years of kissing up to every world dictator before he got the peace prize. Obama did it in 10 days!
I was discussing this with the rest of the turnips in the patch a while ago and an interesting question was raised about the rhetoric in some of the above posts.
Just speculating of course, but then the unthinkable has always been something to think about.
What would occur if an assassination attempt was made against the President by some fruitcake who feels justified and compelled by all the attacks on talk radio, all the chain-mails, pundits and fruitcakes like Orly Taitz, who have been pushing the idea that Obama is not the legitimate President? That Obama is a threat to the American way of life? That Obama is pushing an illegal and dangerous agenda that is outside the law, outside the Constitution?
What kind of backlash would there be from the American people who don’t feel this way? Say the Black community? The folks who believe in intellect over rhetoric? The millions of Americans who voted for Obama?
A good example would be Lincoln’s assassination. Even though many in the south prayed for Lincoln’s death, when he was murdered even his enemies were horrified. They realized that reprisals against the south would be severe, that although Lincoln had been demonized politically, he was a far more tolerant man than many officials in the federal government.
And the south’s fears were justified, and realized.
Timothy McVeigh was also a fan of talk radio, a fan of extremist solutions. And if anything, since the election of 2008, the rhetoric has swelled the ranks of would-be “saviors” of America, people willing to do anything to force the voters to realize their “mistake”.
Seems no one learned anything from the assassination in church of a doctor who performed abortions by one of these “Saviors”.
The rest of the turnip crop sees nothing good coming from this line of rhetoric, and wonders if the Rush Limbaugh’s and Glen Becks have the foresight to realize what would probably happen should their rantings push some fruitcake over the edge – again..
They would be wise to read this book:
http://tinyurl.com/When-the-Bells-tolled
“A little premature, isn’t it, guys? Obama’s got noble goals and aspirations, to be sure, but give him a little time to put them into action and show some results before you actually give him the Nobel. Giving it to Obama so early in his administration only reinforces critics who see the prize committee as politically tainted. It devalues the prize, and does Obama no favors either.”
Amen.
Over the years I’ve been amazed, dismayed and often puzzled by the choices the Nobel Committee has made. This one included.
Is it an award or a way for the European Union to try and influence American Politics? Carter, Gore, Obama, all support their socialist beliefs, thus they’ve all won the prize? Bill Clinton must be P.O.’d that his hasn’t arrived yet.
#144 – gdad: “Oh, you mean the guy who’s getting us out of the useless war in Iraq and is ramping up things in Afghanistan?”
Hmmm…I’ve yet to see either of those thing occur.
He’s also said he’s closing Gitmo. Gitmo’s still there.
0bama is an empty suit full of promises that aren’t happening and is rapidly overtaking Carter as our worst president.
I recently saw a picture of him with the caption “Jimmy Carter…now available in black”.
How true.
Pam…
The bitterness in your post is clouding any relevance it might have. Where is he ruining private business? The auto industry was already in the tank. It couldn’t have gotten much worse save to throw a good number of others out of work.
The economy was in the toilet before he ever got into office.
I voted for him and I don’t view myself as classless. The alternative was not even worth consideration.
Ask the American people if the President is worthy of the Nobel Prize?
This question is shallow and has its own answer before its asked.
When, I wonder , if ever , was the general public of any country,
asked if someone deserved a Nobel Prize in the past?
Is that the way it should be?
Who remembers the name of the last American Nobel Prize winner?
I think the people who would like it to be this way are
some of the same ones who want a do-over of the last election.
I have serious doubts if large segments of this country ever wants to grow up.
A lot of folks outside the U.S. seem to have high hopes for OUR new president.
We should look up to our adult brothers and sisters…
and try to get out of this mush brained game show mentality.
As I blogged on Facebook, a kid goes to Kindergarden, and does not zoom to collage. This is extreamely weird to me, and many others. 62.97 out of 2138 polled in our RT times feel this way. Is this the real world? It demeans the whole structure of the Nobel Prize, and it has nothing to do with color. That is a deal cooked up, and force fed to us by the press at large. Further more I suggest CNN run for president in 2012!
157: he’s nothing but a chicago thug with a lot of money and people in low places (low meaning classless)
What have you done to make the world a better place today? And condeming others doesn’t not count.
“Your definition of “fascism” is incomplete.”
Please explain further. You give no details as to how it’s incomplete. My definition came straight from a dictionary (MW 11).
“However, if you are specifically referencing the sitting President, or the Office of the President of the United States, it is capitalized.”
Wrong again. Especially if you follow AP style, which newspapers do.
“Poor Jimmy Carter, it took him 20 years of kissing up to every world dictator before he got the peace prize. Obama did it in 10 days!”
Carter wasn’t a great president but the things he’s done since then are incredible. I’d guess you haven’t achieved even one tiny percentage of what he’s done (let’s start with Habitat for Humanity). Without question, Carter deserved his peace prize. Period.
“0bama is an empty suit full of promises that aren’t happening and is rapidly overtaking Carter as our worst president.”
It does take a while to undo the things our worst president (and our unelected president), George Bush, did. It doesn’t happen overnight.
Gosh pam, the auto businesses were in such incredibly good shape before Obama. He REALLY screwed them up.
Who says that we’re not proud of Obama and that some of us are raciest, bitter and too political? Click for details:
-
http://roanokeslant.blogspot.com/2009/10/obama-our-nobel-prize-winner.html
-
LBHagen@roanokeslant.org
Althought conservatives don’t lead because of power or recognition or prizes the way liberals seek such self-aggrandizement, now may be a good time for a truly credible respected body to establish it’s own peace prize; one that people would take seriously, especially in the wake of this joke we now have called Nobel.
Maybe something put out by FOX News or the Heritage Foundation would carry a lot more weight. And they would give it out for people who deserve it; Ronald Reagan, George Bush, Margaret Thathcer, Benjamin Netanyahu; people who have done the serious hard work of actually promoting and securing peace.
Not silly people like Gore, 0bama, or Carter.
I was thinking. Gore, 0bama, Carter… The obvious missing link to this Democrat/Nobel clown car is Bill Clinton. His non-achieving brand of anti-Americanism would have fit in perfectly with this group.
Joe… in response to your question… It is not only Americans posing the question of OUR president’s worthiness for this award. Members of the press throughout the world- yes folks outside the US- have been asking the same question since the announcement. I believe people are asking 2 questions..How does the nominating/selection process work AND What has OUR president done to deserve the award? The scrutiny should be welcomed, not criticized, unless there is something to hide.
I think back to the demonstrations post the Iranian elections. OUR president’s response was slow and indecisive. The people of Iran wanted nothing more than the exercise of freedom and their vote to count. The Iranian government response was a news blackout and the killing/injuring of hundreds.
More recently, OUR president and an entourage made the “sacrifice” of going to Copenhagen to try and bring the Olympics to his hometown of Chicago. This is an area where he “worked” tirelessly as a community organizer and local state senator. This is also an area of gross government corruption, failing schools and unusually high murder rates.
As you can plainly see, I don’t think the “mushbrained game show mentality” is on the side of those questioning the process and the awarding to OUR president a Nobel Prize.
He is caught in a bad situation here.
He gets the Nobel Peace prize and now must decide weather
to send 40000 to 60000 troops to Afghanistan.
If he doesnt send them then he his anti military, if he does send them
then the Peace prize needs to be renamed.
I dont agree with most of his policies, I think this was politically
motivated since the EU wants America to have the same policies as it has.
I think this was way to early since he has accomplished nothing except
using drones to kill Al Queda.
PEACE prize huh?
I also hate all the damage Obama has done to the mortgage and related financial sectors. They were doing so incredibly well before he arrived.
“0bama is an empty suit full of promises that aren’t happening and is rapidly overtaking Carter as our worst president.”
Can you say NIXON?
“Maybe something put out by FOX News or the Heritage Foundation would carry a lot more weight. And they would give it out for people who deserve it; Ronald Reagan, George Bush,”
Fox News??? Heritage Foundation??? George Bush??? Now we know you’re joking.
“PEACE prize huh?”
He got the peace prize simply because he’s not George Bush. And the world heaves a great sigh of relief because he isn’t.
If those from the right do want to know why our President won this PEACE award then here are a few reasons why. But I think ,no matter the folks from the right do not care what the rest of the world thinks and in a way do not live in the world but just in their own backyard. And that is a small world.
For being a leader who does not spew hate back at all the hateful christian right wingers in America.
For being a man who can work to try and bring America back from the brink of disaster caused by the Bushies and Reaganies, because other nations will rise and fall with our great nation.
For being the current outstanding person seeking world peace while holding a high government office.
Republicans obviously can’t grasp the concept that peace comes from diplomacy and respect stuck in their ever ending call for power, war and division. I wonder if they realize how they, not just Bush, are despised world wide
Nixon’s dead…0bama’s in charge now.
Well, supposedly anyway.
Continue the path of hate and your destination will be your reward.
Become a better person.
Share your distrust and paranoid of government with your children and their lives will be enhanced or derogated by your teaching.
Show empathy and understanding of others and reflect on how it makes you feel.
If you have ever received an award, question your deservingness of the accolade. If you witness someone receiving an award, react with kindness or don’t react at all.
Become a better person.
@180: Seems you have forgotten that President Bush left all those troops in Afghanistan and Iraq for the next guy to figure out. If Bush had anything amounting to a plan in place to win and maintain the peace there Obama would not have to make these choices. So his winning the peace prize has nothing to do with whether he sends or withdraws troops or — even as you seem to think — how our military has performed since his inauguration. He is mopping up after the previous administration over there.
Bill Hudson:
Ronald Reagan won the Cold War, defeating the Soviet Union without firing a shot. George H.W. Bush liberated Kuwait, and George W. Bush liberated both Afghanistan and Iraq, while forcing Libya to abandon its nuclear weapons program.
Jimmy Carter lost Iran, Afghanistan, and Nicaragua, Bill Clinton had eyes only for Monica, and so far, Barack Hussein obama is dithering over Afghanistan while fine young American men die.
I’ll take strong leadership and a safer world anytime, and nuts to world opinion.
You and obama can have all the Nobel Peace Prizes you want; but his legacy is on a fast track toward replacing Jimmy Carter as our worst President.
I wasn’t aware the worst President had to be alive. If that’s the case, George Bush is the winner by a landslide!!
“For being a man who can work to try and bring America back from the brink of disaster caused by the Bushies and Reaganies, because other nations will rise and fall with our great nation.”
What? The “brink of disaster”? You’re kidding, right? This nation never came as close to the brink of disaster as it has since January of this year. Stimulus package? Signed but UNREAD. It may still be years before any of us know all the garbage in that one. Government Motors? Government banks? Soon, government healthcare. Children everywhere chanting his greatness. This guy is way closer to hitler than anyone wants to admit. I believe that by the time my child takes World History that his symbol will represent just as much hatred as the swastika.
I’m all for diplomacy and sharing. He is for apologies and forced charity, which is socialism.
And, most other nations will rise with the fall of our nation. Look at the emerging markets and their prosperity as the dollar falls into valuelessness.
Bill,
You are now in the minority.
It is being proven in the polls.
Deeds will lose and so will corzine.
The people of this country do not want govt
control of everything.
From car co.s to health systems, there is
so much that we will take.
Three people are why the dems are losing steam.
Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Barack Obama.
We do not want a SanFrancisco America or Unions controlling everything
It is pathetic what the govt did with Gm. Bought it out at tax payer money and gave it to unions, that is bs.
I will never buy another GM as long as the union is in control.
Bill Hudson,
Name the the wars diplomatcy won. Name all the dictators who decided to listen to reason and leave power because of diplomacy. 0bama is following the blueprint in every arena for doing what doesn’t work.
Suzie is SO right. Diplomacy is never a good thing. We need to nuke everybody. That’s just the best thing ever.
OK Suzie, back to reality. Diplomacy has without question averted many, many wars. That’s the point. It doesn’t WIN them; it keeps them from happening. But then you probably prefer the bomb.
Suzie wrote “Name the the wars diplomatcy won. Name all the dictators who decided to listen to reason and leave power because of diplomacy. 0bama is following the blueprint in every arena for doing what doesn’t work.”
—————————————————————
Suzie, Diplomacy doesn’t win wars -it prevents them.
Diplomacy does/t unseat tyrants and dictators – It keeps them from destroying huge portions of their countries populations, and expanding their empires without us losing a single soldier.
It seems that you have a disdain for diplomacy, yet what have your Bush ways accomplished?
Reagan used diplomacy to help end the Soviet Union’s empire.
Bush used diplomacy to build a coalition for the first Gulf War.
Clinton used diplomacy to help end the years of bloodshed in Ireland.
Diplomacy have prevented many wars, averted much bloodshed.
Without Diplomacy the world would constantly be in a state of all out war.Making World War 1 and II seem like simple disagreements.
You woke up this morning and your home wasn’t radioactive from a nuclear strike – Thank the diplomats.
You read and speak English, and go to the church of your choice – thank the diplomats.
Soldiers are, and should always be, a last resort. War should never be the first choice.
Diplomats keep the world of trade going, so you have fuel for your car, fruits and vegetables for your meals, and manufactured goods to ease your daily living.
There will always be ideological fruitcakes such as Al Queda that require military solutions – but even here, it is the diplomats that keep things from escalating.
Diplomacy made it possible to have the countries surrounding Afghanistan or Iraq to let us use their countries as staging points so we didn’t have to invade Pakistan and Turkey, Syria and Iran.
War brings death and destruction- diplomacy brings the promise of life.
Obama is in good company with other winners like Yasser Arafat, Algore and Jimmy Carter. The award you get from a box of Cracker Jacks has more respect than any nobel prize. The money you get from it is nice though.
BTW, how’s that change workin for everybody out there?
@198
We’ll trade it for some jobs
Diplomacy is a tool that can only be used successfully by a country prepared to use its military strength. Words alone do nothing. Jimmy Carter’s diplomacy failed because he was weak. The Iranians released the hostages when Ronald Reagan was inaugurated because they perceived [correctly] his strength. Obama’s diplomacy has failed, and will continue to fail, because he is weaker than Jimmy Carter.
Diplomats don’t prevent wars. The United States military prevents wars.
Jim W., Carter without question deserved the peace prize, not for what he did as president but for what he did after. Oh wait, I guess Habitat for Humanity and negotiating bringing Americans home are bad things.
Suzie, where are you? We need more of your wisdom about diplomacy.
Notice this morning that Republicans, led my Michael Steele, are trying to use Obama’s peace prize as a way to raise money. Peace prize bad; send us cash so that this awful thing doesn’t happen again.
“BTW, how’s that change workin for everybody out there?”
Working a lot better than if McCain/Palin had been elected.
@198….
It’s workin fine for me. Nice home…good job…great friends and a great time of my life.
Glen Franklin Koontz wrote “Diplomacy is a tool that can only be used successfully by a country prepared to use its military strength. Words alone do nothing. Jimmy Carter’s diplomacy failed because he was weak. The Iranians released the hostages when Ronald Reagan was inaugurated because they perceived [correctly] his strength. Obama’s diplomacy has failed, and will continue to fail, because he is weaker than Jimmy Carter.Diplomats don’t prevent wars. The United States military prevents wars.”
———————————————-
Your history is faulty -as is your reasoning. It is when Diplomacy fails that wars are created, and the threat of a military strike is laughable when you consider Sweden has a very small army, but much success in diplomacy as does Japan.
If soldiers and tanks were all it required to create co-operation between countries then China and the former Soviet Union would be far more successful than the USA.
Now, Reagan and the Iranians.
October Surprise conspiracy theory
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_hostage_crisis
The October Surprise theory refers to a purported deal between high-level Reagan campaign operatives and representatives of the Iranian Islamic government to delay the release of the hostages until after the November 1980 U.S. elections. The ongoing hostage crisis had substantially harmed incumbent President Carter’s popularity, and a “surprise” release of the hostages shortly before the election could have substantially improved his reelection prospects, at Reagan’s expense. Although investigations by the United States Senate and House of Representatives in the 1990s declared the allegations to be unfounded, the conspiracy’s existence or lack thereof remains a subject of debate. The main cause for suspicion was the timing of the hostages’ release six minutes after Reagan was sworn into office on January 20, 1981, as well as the Reagan administration’s later decision to provide arms to the anti-U.S. Iranian government, allegedly in return for delaying the release of the hostages, rather than for freeing them.[122]
However, special ops personnel involved in the preparations for the second rescue attempt believed that incoming President Ronald Reagan was involved in the planning and timing of the second rescue attempt, and that these intentions were either implied or made known to the de facto Iranian government, leading to the hostages’ release just minutes after Reagan’s inauguration.[123][124]
——————————————
And who could forget this one:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran%E2%80%93Contra_affair
The Iran–Contra affair was a political scandal in the United States which came to light in November 1986, during the Reagan administration, in which senior US figures agreed to facilitate the sale of arms to Iran, the subject of an arms embargo, to secure the release of hostages and to fund Nicaraguan contras.
Thanks, Joe. GFK apparently just despises Carter, Obama, and probably all Democrats, so he’s willing to say anything, whether or not it’s true. When I gave him a definition of fascism, he alleged that I left things out, but he’s never said what it was I left out. And he still can’t show how Obama is a fascist. He played the Nazi card and he lost.
I think we all need to recongnize ONE thing first…then we can again argue about who’s a fascist, whether Reagan ended the Cold War (which he did), etc.
The Nobel Peace Prize is a FAR LEFT award, given by people who are FAR LEFT…TO people who are FAR LEFT.
Why is everyone on the Right surprised by this?
“The Nobel Peace Prize is a FAR LEFT award, given by people who are FAR LEFT…TO people who are FAR LEFT.”
Boy does it stink when people like Kissinger, Carter (Habitat for Humanity is such a terrible organization), Lech Walesa, Elie Wiesel, the Dalai Lama, Shimon Peres, Doctors Without Frontiers, and so on get the peace prize. What a bad, bad thing.
#210 – gdad, no one is saying it was a bad thing for those folks to get the award.
BTW, take a look at who didn’t get the award this year:
http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2009/10/meet_the_people_who_were_passe.asp
I can see why they gave it to 0bama…none of those folks did anything to deserve it.
#209- “Why is everyone on the Right surprised by this?”
I sure as hell ain’t.
Don’t forget Arafat.
Are you arguing that the prize isn’t given by Leftists to Leftists?
@210 that doesn’t make any sense at all. Comment 209 doesn’t say it was a bad thing.
@209…
Ronald Reagan single handedly ended the Cold War?
Dillusional at best…
@215
“Ronald Reagan SINGLE HANDEDLY ended the Cold War?”
This is a perfect example of how many on the Left work.
Go back and re-read my post.
The left thinks Gorby did it…now, THAT is delusional.
I’ve said in past posts that I thought it was too early for Obama to get this. Maybe in the future, but who knows now? However, it is NOT just “leftists” who get this. Some very deserving people (and some undeserving) have gotten it. But seems “rightests” have a hard time acknowledging that.
It’s a Leftist award…at least it has been for a long time now. Why should conservatives care who wins it?
As I said, those on/in the Right should have no reaction to this. Other than, “wow, Nobel has really outdone itself.”
We shouldn’t be lamenting a leftist award going to a Leftist. It’s silly.
@216…
Perhaps you better read your post again: “whether Reagan ended the Cold War (which he did),”.
What part of “which he did” are you having difficulty understanding from your own post?
#219 – Will, I don’t see anywhere where T Witten claimed Reagan did it single-handedly. I belive you interjected that in post #215.
While Reagan certainly helped end the Cold War, it was the U.S. that helped start it (along with the Soviet Union). Anybody who thinks the SU was the only country responsible for the Cold War has no clue. And of course the CW ended partly because communism didn’t have a prayer. It was a bad idea from the start.
The Soviet Union started the Cold War. The United States, under Ronald Reagan, with the assistance of Margaret Thatcher, Pope John Paul II, and Lech Walesa won the Cold War, by defeating the Soviet Union (i.e., the center of all evil in the world at that time).
The Soviet Union did not end because of Gorbachev, or the innate problems with communism. Neither containment nor detente ended the Cold War.
Ronald Reagan confronted the Soviet Union. By steady, calculated efforts, he rolled back the Iron Curtain, and eventually caused the dismantlement of the Soviet Empire.
Peace through strength, not peace through diplomacy.
@220 Patrick…
Did Witten mention anyone else in the post? Help me find another name wherein he gives credit for ending the cold war to anyone else besides Ronald Reagan in his post.
“Anybody who thinks the SU was the only country responsible for the Cold War has no clue.”
Why all the false arguments?
I haven’t said anything of the sort…and I haven’t heard anyone here say it either.
The issue is, Gorby won the Nobel for ending the Cold War, or helping to end it. Which is hysterical, and typical of a Leftist organization. It’s like saying Japan ended WWII by surrendering.
Or that obama was elected president because of his experience.
“Anybody who thinks the SU was the only country responsible for the Cold War has no clue.”
Why all the false arguments?
I haven’t said anything of the sort…and I haven’t heard anyone here say it either.”
Oh really? Check out GFK’s post.
Sorry GFK, diplomacy stops wars. I know you hate it, but that’s life. You’d prefer shooting and death, but diplomacy is the best way.
Oh crap, Lech got the peace prize. What a leftist.
“Or that obama was elected president because of his experience.”
And GWB had so much experience, especially with his failed baseball and other business stuff. He was such a great businessman.
#223 – Will, T Witten didn’t mention anyone else by name in his post, but by doing so, it doesn’t imply that he meant Reagan alone. You made the implication…not him.
#229 – gdad, Bush was Governor of Texas. I think that counts as having more experience than a first-term state senator with NO executive experience.
That same first-term senator who bailed out on his state and who more often than not voted “present” on senate issues. Sort of like he’s doing now with Afghanistan…only Americans are dying while he can’t make up his mind.
@222
Ronald Reagan confronted the Soviet Union.
One must remember that Reagan had been in office for four years and Thatcher for six before Gorbachev assumed power. During that time no substantial diplomatic moves were made even though both had vowed an end to communism. The Soviet Union was already rife for economic collapse. Some, including Reagan’s Russian ambassador, still believe the military buildup only strengthened the resolve of the Russian hard liners, effectively postponing the breakup. In the third year of his presidency, Reagan spent nearly a trillion dollars on defense, including the infamous “star wars” program, creating deficits it took years to erase under Clinton. Credit where credit is due, counselor, Gorbachev could have theoretically “pushed the button” against the rogue republics. Instead, he allowed the peaceful breakup of the Soviet Union and an end to a cold war that conservatives are all too quick in crediting the Gipper.
Gdad. Get over Bush. He’s gone. Been gone. Try to stick up for Obama without mentioning Bush.
The American Revolution was stopped by the American victory at Yorktown.
The Napoleonic Wars ended with the defeat of the French forces and the exile of Napoleon.
The War Between the States was stopped by the Union forces cutting off the Army of Northern Virginia’s supplies and escape route.
The Franco-Prussian War ended upon Germany’s defeat of the French army and the dethroning of Napoleon III.
The Russian Revolution ended when the Reds defeated the Whites, and executed the entire Czarist family.
WWI never ended, until WWII.
World War II ended in Europe after troops overwhelmed enemy forces in Germany and Italy, along with the execution of Mussolini and the suicide of Hitler. In Japan, it took two (2) nuclear bombs destroying 2 Japanese cities to end the war.
The Korean War never ended.
The first Gulf War ended with the invasion of Iraq in 2002, and the deposition of Saddam Hussein.
The Afghanistan war has not ended, and there is no one to negotiate with, so diplomacy is not on the radar.
Diplomacy does not end wars. Victorious armies win wars.
Gorby was as commie as they come…he fought to keep up with us until it was impossibly apparent that their system, and country, was vastly inferior to ours.
The commie lovers of today like to think that it was just a noble, wise and peaceful leader, Gorby, that spared us all the horrors of the USSR eventual dominance.
Nonsense.
@230 Patrick…
Better mean what you say and say what you mean then because with his parenthetical comment, it certainly was directed squarely on the shoulders of one RR.
GFK, diplomacy can avoid wars. Not always, but diplomacy is ALWAYS a good idea.
#253 – Hmmm…my original response to you was deleted. Being truthful, I wonder why? Must have hit a nerve…
Oh, well, let’s just say I agree with saying what you mean. Too many people are quick to put words in your mouth if you don’t.
Diplomacy is for striped pants wearing, commies who adore Europeans and cannot get a job in the private sector, hence their presence in Foggy Bottom. Cyrus Vance’s “diplomacy” got 54 Americans held hostage for 443 days by the same people that President Barack Hussein obama is trying to talk to without preconditions.
The best diplomat is a B-2 bomber, loaded with nuclear tipped bunker buster bombs. There is no arguing with Armageddon.
I agree, diplomacy is always a good idea. But, as we saw with Saddam and we are currently seeing with Iran and N. Korea, there HAS to be a limit with consequences.
Everyone agrees right now that Iran and N. Korea are REAL dangers to us and to others…just as everyone agreed that Iraq was a danger.
Hindsight is 20/20.
I’d rather be safe, than sorry any day.
“striped pants wearing, commies” Well does one response to a statement like that? May I suggest we go a bit higher on the food chain? The days of those that are thinking like, “The best diplomat is a B-2 bomber” are over. The policy of strike first, diplomacy later are also over. And how one could say, “There is no arguing with Armageddon.” If you want to kill yourself that’s one thing, but please let others work for a better world or at least try. That is why so far, us humans are alive today. Because those with cooler head back in the 60’s did not push that Armageddon button.
“The policy of strike first, diplomacy later are also over.”
I think it is naive to say that as well. Watch what 0bama does.
Let’s talk after our “Overseas Contingency Operations”, or whatever the “nuanced” like to call them. are said and done.
0bama is woefully naive and inexperienced, but I have a feeling he’d rather NOT be known as the putz-in-a-skirt who allowed Iran to destroy Israel.
Politics is politics. The ’60′s are dead.
Anybody else see where Russia is now threatening PRE-EMPTIVE NUCLEAR strikes on its enemies?
The weakness (0bama) is felt through-out the world. It’s fruit is ripening.