Despite the critics' rhetoric, President Obama receiving the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize is a great honor not only for him but also for the American people. To win this honor is monumental for any individual; however, it's breathtaking to win this honor in a time when American popularity in the international community is severely tarnished by the previous administration. It is direct evidence of just how much the international community supports President Obama's work toward the goal of world peace.
President Obama is in great company: In 2002, the prize went to former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. President Obama's work throughout his lifetime is amazing. The prize is a testament to what he has accomplished in his lifetime thus far, what values he holds for America and the international community, and his future promise of peace and democracy.
My deepest thanks goes out to President Obama …
— Michelle Davidson
Hendersonville
Its a great offer for 10 days of work, or if your reffering to after the nomination cut off date the 9 months of golfing more the Bush did in 3 years or the absolute nothing he has accomplished since.
I think even Obama himself was embarrassed by the Nobel Peace Prize. It is clearly premature if nothing else. Get back to me when we get real health care reform, a repeal of DADT, a true end to the Iraq occupation(without tens of thousands of “advisers” and “private contractors” left in place), and a cessation of illegal detention (not just moving the detainees to Bagram). It is time for the hero worship around Obama to end and for us to treat him as a mortal- a mortal who thus far has been less than inspirational in office.
“President Obama could rise several notches in my book if he refused the Nobel Peace Prize, with a nice letter to the Nobel Committee that might read: ‘Since you did not see fit to award Ronald Reagan, the U.S. president who did the most for world peace in this century, by peaceably shutting down the Soviet Union, I respectfully decline your offer.'”
http://snipr.com/sv95z
Dream on timmy. Ronnie boy was an unindicted criminal whose policies have nearly bankrupted us. If there is a hell, he’s rotting in it now.
http://towardfreedom.com/home/content/view/1416/1/
Reagan? Are you serious? As usual Tim(1), reality is a little more complicated. Forgetting all the crimes that Reagan committed against the world, it’s arguable that Carter is more responsible for the downfall of the USSR than Reagan. Here’s Carter’s National Security Advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski (who’s also now an Obama advisor), on luring the Soviets to invade Afghanistan in 1979:
“That secret operation was an excellent idea. It had the effect of drawing the Russians into the Afghan trap and you want me to regret it? The day that the Soviets officially crossed the border, I wrote to President Carter. We now have the opportunity of giving to the USSR its Vietnam war. Indeed, for almost 10 years, Moscow had to carry on a war unsupportable by the government, a conflict that brought about the demoralization and finally the breakup of the Soviet empire.”
While he and then-CIA Director Robert Gates (also now on the Obama team. hm…) were helping to create al Queda in order to bring down the USSR, it was “an excellent idea”. Later on, we’re all rubbing our chins & wondering if treating the globe and all the peoples on it like a giant chessboard, in order to defeat another superpower, was really such a grand idea. What ‘blowback’ can we trace back to that debacle? Hm – does ‘9/11’ ring any bells? Doesn’t matter – we ‘defeated’ the Soviet Union.
I’ve told this story before, but it’s still valid – I was watching two crabs fighting one time in Alaska. As they wrestled around, one of them tumbled away, but the other thought that they were still fighting. In fact, he had a death grip on his own pincer. As I watched, he pulled back & forth and then *pop* – pulled his own arm off. He waved it around like, “I won! I won! Ow! that hurts, but you should see the other guy!! Ow! I won!!” This is what it’s like to me, anybody crowing about ‘shutting down the Soviet Union’. The cost and the blowback will haunt us for generations.
All that said, I think it’s bizarre to give Obama the Nobel prize just because he set a better tone than the last guy. Let him accomplish something first. And I say that as someone who voted for him. Unfortunately, his choices thus far don’t impress me, starting with keeping these tired old Cold Warriors as his National Security team. The same geniuses that laid the groundwork for the current disaster in Afghanistan are the ones who are now going to get us out?
President Obama’s work throughout his lifetime is amazing.
Just curious but what in blue blazes are you talking about?
Well done, Barry. It looks more and more like Obama is just a cool new face on the same on empire-building. I have also been incredibly dismayed by President Obama’s leniency and generosity toward the Wall Street greedfest that we will all be paying for for generations.
It looks to me like “Organizing for America” has wound up the Obama kids and told them to go write nice letters. Maybe one day they will realize that they fell for a marketing campaign, not a candidate.
He’s been too busy running for office and writing autobiographies to actually do anything. Stop being so mean.
Whose autobiography did he write? Whoever it was ought to get their money back cause nobody heard of it. Now that terrorist bomber from Chicago wrote a somewhat entertaining autobiography of the soon to be POTUS. Ayers was his name I think.
President Obama’s work throughout his lifetime is amazing.
Just curious but what in blue blazes are you talking about?
Travelah, compared to the man (“w”) he replaced, I’d say if he has done anything at all, it would be amazing in comparison. But, when it’s all said and done, a BLACK MAN is your president now! That, Travelah, is what you call amazing…
And that, Travelah, must be asticken’ in your craw like a chicken bone!
regardless of how pointless the peace prize is, none of you have anything resembling legitimate criticism or constructive solutions. exactly where you wish to be.
Other the fact that your hero has done NOTHING in 9 months of office. Other then the fact that he hasn’t tried to bring hope or change to DC. When the man has had several oppertunities to, he turned a blind eye too.
We got lots to criticize him about, your the on in denial.
[b]Other the fact that your hero has done NOTHING in 9 months of office.[/b]
Where have i indicated any kind of hero worship for the POTUS?
[b]Other then the fact that he hasn’t tried to bring hope or change to DC.[/b]
Is that your attempt at a specific example? Or even a complete sentence? Because it is neither.
[b]We got lots to criticize him about, your the on in denial. [b]
I’ll assume you mean “one in denial”. In denial about what? Also, what are those specific examples again? “Not bringing hope and change to DC” is close, but still pretty damn vague and subjective.
Do you think you can try again without incorrect assumptions and opinion peddled as fact? I’m really trying to help you here, fellow Patriot.
durn html
[b]Other the fact that your hero has done NOTHING in 9 months of office.[/b]
Where have i indicated any kind of hero worship for the POTUS?
[b]Other then the fact that he hasn’t tried to bring hope or change to DC.[/b]
Is that your attempt at a specific example? Or even a complete sentence? Because it is neither.
[b]We got lots to criticize him about, your the on in denial.[/b]
I’ll assume you mean “one in denial”. In denial about what? Also, what are those specific examples again? “Not bringing hope and change to DC” is close, but still pretty damn vague and subjective.
Do you think you can try again without incorrect assumptions and opinion peddled as fact? I’m really trying to help you here, fellow Patriot.
Tempering my earlier criticism of Obama, I hold hope that he is looking at change in the long term, not in the quick and unsustainable. A German sociologist named Max Weber described politics as the “strong and slow boring of hard boards.”
Perhaps his accommodations with the empire (maintaining Bush wars, torture, and secrecy, shoveling cash onto Wall Street, etc.) are simply a necessary period of getting his footing, for the real push ahead.
Or, maybe we got sold out again. We’ll see.
Wow. You really ARE totally freaking hyp-mo-tized.
Would you care to clarify that?
No.
You?
Are you asking me to clarify YOUR statement? OK, I’ll take a swing. Ahem… (getting my Tim(1) puppet on.)
‘You’re a big poopyhead, and you worship Obama, and your brain is mush. Ayn Rand rules!!!’
How’d I do?
Almost perfect.
“Almost perfect.”
You’re right – almost…
‘You’re a big poopyhead, and you worship Obama, and your brain is mush. Ayn Rand rules!!! Oh, BTW – I have nothing but snark, and Ayn Rand was really a man.’
There.
Yes. Thank you. The perfect rejoinder for one who has no argument.
Tim – you have this annoying tendency to ignore statements made by your opponent in a debate, and then you just snark, as if we hadn’t actually said anything. I posted a couple of lengthy statements above regarding Obama & the current situation. Do you have a substantive response to what I said, or are you sticking with your ‘you haven’t said anything’ pretense? I will be massively surprised if you have anything here other than more bluster…
“I will be massively surprised if you have anything here other than more bluster…”
Yes, I know you would, barry darling.
Just wondering if anyone actually bothered to read Nobel’s criteria for the award, or the Nobel Committee’s detailed and compelling explanation of why they chose Obama? It sure doesn’t seem like it from most of the comments here.
There are quite a few misconceptions about the prize. One is that it it is a lifetime achievement award. It is not. It is an award for the person who has done the most over the last year to encourage “fellowship among nations” and anti-proliferation of weapons over the last year. As the Nobel Committee cogently explained, Obama’s emphasis on diplomacy, both as a candidate and the President, has set a remarkable new tone across the globe, which has already had an astonishing effect on fellowship among nations across the globe. After 8 years of George Bush doing everything in his power to alienate us from the entire world, the change has been welcome. It is not a problem that can be solved overnight.
As a Senator, Obama cosponsored one of the most important, bipartisan steps towards antiproliferation in modern times, the Lugar-Obama Nuclear Proliferation Act, which was signed into law. As the Nobel Committee has explained (and you know if you bothered to read their detailed explanation for choosing Obama) as President, he has already continued to do much to bring the issue to the forefront of discussions between nations around the world. And also as the committee explained, the award is in part meant as encouragement to take the initiative that he has created by bringing the issue to the forefront, to follow through with diplomacy that can result in tangible changes. If you follow the history of the Nobel Peace Prize, that is a common practice. In fact, it has usually been the case for the most well known recipients. Most Peace Prize recipients hadn’t actually achieved their goals when they were awarded the Prize, because it is frequently given as a way to put a little wind beneath the wings of their goal. For example Desmond Tutu was awarded the prize 12 years before the end of apartheid.
Another piece of silly disinformation, that the Nobel Committee directly addressed, is the spin about Obama receiving the nomination too early in office to have done anything. As the committee cogently pointed out, in fact, Obama’s impact on the foremost criteria for the award, fellowship among nations, had already had a profound effect, something that had not been seen in many years, because of the tenor of his candidacy. As a candidate, he came under great heat for pushing diplomacy and communication rather than continuing the Bush Whitehouse’s insane strategy, and it had a profound effect. As the committee pointed out, it has quite literally changed the diplomatic tone across the planet to an astonishing degree.
Disagree with their choice if you like. Personally, I found the committee’s argument to be far more compelling than the spin of people who clearly never bothered to even listen to the substance behind the committee’s decision making process. Obama ran against a candidate that would have set diplomacy back decades. One of the main criticisms that the McCain/Palin campaign had of Obama was the very thing that the award was given for… encouraging a dialogue between nations, even those that we disagree with. The world breathed a collective sigh of relief when the singer of “bomb, bomb, bomb Iran” lost.
I have seen some outlandish misunderstandings of the criteria for the Nobel Peace Prize, but Tim Peck’s may be in a league of its own. It is truly outlandish that he actually stated that Ronald Reagan should have won the Nobel Peace Prize for stockpiling nuclear weapons and escalating the arms race with the Russians.
The Peace Prize was specifically made for people who encouraged getting rid of weapons. To even suggest that they should award the the single most instrumental person behind most of the nuclear weapons on the planet an award for the nonproliferation of weapons is absolutely bizarre.
Sorry for my lack of editing in the longer post above. Not feeling that great today. Happy Halloween to all.
I for one did read and listen to interviews with members of the Nobel committee, and I think I do understand why they gave it to him. However, I stand by my earlier criticism. It boils down to this, that they gave it to him simply for setting a better tone than Bush. Commendable, of course, and I understand the desire to encourage the trend towards diplomacy. But this is where it gets muddy for me – they turned an award for past achievements into an incentive for future achievement, or a tool to affect current events, ignoring the possibility that Obama might not live up to it. I voted for the guy, but I judge him not on his rhetoric, but his actions. And so far, his actions seem to be re-inforcing or continuing the policies of the previous Presidents, especially in the Middle East and Iraq/Afghanistan.
Oh, and Tim, you poor little feller. I accept your surrender.
I hear you barry, and I appreciate that you took the time to actually listen to at least some of what the committee had to say. That said, they didn’t really turn an award for past achievements into an incentive for future achievement, that has been a common practice since the award was started. In fact, a remarkable amount of the recipients of the award never actually achieved their goal, it was awarded to help add momentum to their cause.
The Nobel Committee actually took the time in their explanation of their decision to point out that the change in international diplomacy is not only very real already, it is pretty astonishing. As they stated, it is hard to even imagine someone who has had more of an effect that Obama on the fellowship of nations over the past year, which is in fact the main criteria for the award.
The committee in no way ignored that Obama may not fully live up to the promise that his emphasis on nonproliferation has already had. As a matter of fact, they actually explained that in great detail. As the committee stated, because of the Obama Presidency, nonproliferation is already being discussed across the globe to an extent that would have been absolutely unimaginable under Bush. That is a very real thing, and it is exactly what the award is meant for. And as the committee stated, the hope is that the award helps to bring the issue to the forefront to enable more tangible results, which is exactly what the award is usually used for.
I heard Obama eats live puppies. If you don’t believe it, it’s just becuase you are mesmerized by the MSM’s lovefest for him, and not because i have no facts to back up my half-arsed opinion.
“It is truly outlandish that he actually stated that Ronald Reagan should have won the Nobel Peace Prize for stockpiling nuclear weapons and escalating the arms race with the Russians.”
I didn’t make that statement. Walter Williams did. I provided a link.
But I do agree with Walter Williams. Reagan brought actual peace, not pretend peace.
Yes, that’s because Walter Williams is a few fries short of a happy meal. In fact, he’s completely nuts. Reagan presided over the largest buildup of nuclear weapons in history. It was also by far the largest buildup of weapons in peacetime history.
An argument that the Nobel Peace Prize, which is largely an anti-proliferation award, should be awarded to the person who presided over the largest nuclear warhead buildup in all of history, is so freaking insane that all one can do is laugh at the absurdity of it.
Or maybe you thought he should have been awarded it for illegally supplying arms to Iranian terrorists for personal gain? Or perhaps he should have been awarded it for selling cocaine to raise money for arms for the right-wing extremist Contras? Yep, Ronnie was quite the peace-monger.
“Reagan presided over the largest buildup of nuclear weapons in history”
Good.
Thank you, President Reagan, for the world peace. You deserve an award.
Absurd. Blatantly absurd. When are we getting out of Iraq as Obama promised? Why are we in Afghanistan anyhow? Why has Mr. Change sent drones into Pakistan? The Bin Laden/Al Qaeda cover story is flimsier by the day and it has us in (2) countries all the while ignoring that Pakistan is a nuclear power. Have you ever heard this Nobel recipient promising we won’t go into Iran? He said he’d close Guantanamo ………..what is he waiting for?
For crying out loud look at a map and you might see the bigger picture that involves pipelines, and oil, and in the case of Afghanistan the bonus of vast poppy fields. Its all about $$$. This figurehead is in lockstep with the dregs from the past administration and the objective is control of an entire region and appeasing Israel. Why in blazes has “O” kept Robert Gates as secretary of defense (a holdover from the Bush administration) if he is going to implement “change”? I keep looking for change and I see none involving our warring abroad nor the increasing police state on our shores that is in contradiction to the Constitution.
I wish he deserved the peace prize but in no way does he deserve it. The “noble” as opposed to Nobel prize is what he was granted. Western bankers and oil interests (today’s nobility) are rewarding this war monger’s efforts to make an entire region safe for us to steal oil and control the flow of heroin. Actions speak louder than words but if Obama does decide to do what’s right his masters will pull his plug and America will have another martyr with no change whatsoever.
This is one gullible nation…… we went hook, line, and sinker for the lies of 9-11 so I guess we’re now being programmed that war is peace. I pray for peace and lucid thinking from a very confused, very violent, and very misled nation that really needs change.
“Thank you, President Reagan, for the world peace. You deserve an award.”
By that reasoning, David Duke deserves an award for promoting racial harmony.
Yuk, yuk.
Glad you got a good yuk out of that. I certainly got a good laugh out of the hilariously ridiculous notion of giving the person who created the most nuclear weapons in the history of humanity an award for reducing weapons.
Yes, well, it’s not a “reducing weapons prize,” it’s a peace prize.
Yes, thanks Ron, for selling weapons to our enemies & then lying about it, for waging illegal wars in Central America & then lying about it, for bankrupting us making us pay for that Star Wars boondoggle, & for helping to create the Taliban & al Queda…
Oh and at least all Obama does with those puppies is EAT them – geez, that Reagan was one sick dude…
Tim, why do insist on wearing your ignorance on your sleeve the way that you do? It most certainly is a prize that has historically focussed on the reduction of weapons. If you bothered to take 5 minutes to learn about the prize, you would know that.
In which case, the prize is mis-named.
And he nails it! It’s not Tim(1) that’s wrong, nonononononononononono… It’s the name of the Nobel Peace Prize itself that’s wrong!
“And he nails it! It’s not Tim(1) that’s wrong, nonononononononononono… It’s the name of the Nobel Peace Prize itself that’s wrong!”
So, we agree then; at long last.
my post of last night was not posted……….. do I need to be tim peck to post?…………………..WHY NO EXPLANATION MODERATOR?
HOW WEIRD; AFTER SENDING THE PREVIOUS NOTE MINUTES AGO TO YOUR MODERATOR MY POST MAGICALLY APPEARED. SO YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE TIM PECK.
Yes, we agree that you are Tim Peck(1 of 3).
Travelah, compared to the man (“w”) he replaced, I’d say if he has done anything at all, it would be amazing in comparison. But, when it’s all said and done, a BLACK MAN is your president now! That, Travelah, is what you call amazing…
And that, Travelah, must be asticken’ in your craw like a chicken bone!
big e, I’m blacker than Obama (Obama is whiter than you are big e)and I insist my chicken is deboned before having it served to me.
Was this your first comment? They hold first posts for screening, then after that they’re automatic. Maybe they were out celebrating, & didn’t get to your post til this morning… Or:
Maybe it was the all caps thing.
Maybe they just don’t like you.
Maybe Tim(1) has hacked the admin.
Everybody but the most extreme kisser uppers knew this prize was way premature. Even the President. They didn’t do him any favors nominating him for his political positions.
He is being set up for failure for those that like him most.
Now you are speaking for everybody? How very omnipotent of you. Apparently that means everybody except for the most qualified people to actually make the determination, the Nobel Peace Prize Committee, and the millions of people around the world who are already enjoying the vastly different diplomatic climate across the globe, made possible by Obama. We have all heard the Fox News spin already, but thanks for the recap.
It was an award for not electing “twitchy” McCain and “Mav’rick” stupid woman.
Not everyone, just everyone with any objectivity. Just as I stated earlier.
Well golly JWT Jr, it’s great to hear that you are so much more objective and qualified to interpret the criteria of the Nobel Peace Prize than the Nobel Committee. I guess your talents are just being wasted as a medical assistant, or whatever it is that you do.
How about all the past awardees who commented it was premature? They asked, “what did he actually do?”
And every news station other than the 4 headed monster on MSNBC. Obama’s press secretary laughed at the surprise.
If Obama peed in a cup there are nuckleheaded nincombpoops who woud praise him for his chemistry skills. Clearly, the Nobel Peace Prize has become meaningless. If AlGore and Yassar Arafat can win this for their exploits for world peace, why not Obama for doing absolutely nothing but reading from a prompter?
Let’s start a petition – Give the award to the telepromter!
This is really the bottom for you guys – mocking Obama because he uses a teleprompter LIKE EVERY OTHER PRESIDENT SINCE EISENHOWER (except for Nixon – seems he preferred 3 x 5 cards).
The guy really wants to stick to his written remarks, so he reads his prepared statements. The fact that you & other right-wingers mock him for this shows how little real criticism you have & that you are simply consumed by hate for the guy. Keep talking – you’re driving yourselves into permanent political oblivion.
No President has ever had to rely on a Teleprompter like this. None ever.
If W had relied on one like that, the press would have had an apoplectic fit.
Tuesday will determine just how far into oblivion we have been driven. As for The Barry, he is in good company with the idiot former President Carter, AlGorish and Yasar Arafat.
as for the prompter, he isn’t beng mocked for that. It is merely his only accomplishment as President.
I never did get n answer as to what in ha’el the letter writer was thinking about when these magnificent words were penned ….
President Obama’s work throughout his lifetime is amazing
Oh golly, it looks like Obama won’t be getting the right-wing extremist religious fanatic vote. Heavens to murgatroyd.
It is pretty hilarious to see the same exact people who seriously tried to argue that Sarah Palin deserved to be a an elderly man’s heartbeat away from the Presidency of the United States, actually trying to argue that Obama is underqualified.
JR, how about all the past awardees who commended the decision? If that’s the route you want to take, the evidence is overwhelmingly in the favor of Obama.
If Obama singlehandedly cured cancer, travelah would rail against him for putting oncologists out of business. It really is cartoonish. All travelah can do is rant on in his best Maine accent with the same old clique, right-wing extremist gibberish about teleprompters, because he has no real argument.
Revise how you want Ent, the response the day he was awarded the prize was one of surprise and a tad bit of embarrassment. The interviews I saw of past awardees the day of the announcement was what I said before. Some may have back peddled after, but their initial response told the real truth. The Nobel committee is pushing more a a political agenda than focusing on past achievements.
“The Nobel committee is pushing more a a political agenda than focusing on past achievements.”
Yes, as his been the case since the prize’s inception. Obama himself said as much. In this case, the agenda, as the committee clearly stated, is increasing diplomacy and antiproliferation; two areas that Obama has had great impact on, and the committee hopes the award will help to expand those efforts in the future by giving the issues momentum. The truth is, Obama had a profound effect on international diplomacy by running on a platform that emphasized it, which was the very platform that McCain-Palin constantly slammed him for. If nothing else, he saved the planet from the diplomatic nightmare of a McCain-Palin Presidency, and that is an accomplishment of historic significance.
Again. you can ramble on with all of the Fox news spin that you want, but the reality is that the Nobel Committee’s reasoning is a hell of a lot more compelling than yours. And by the way, 76 Nobel laureates endorsed Obama.
There are few things more completely asinine than the dimwitted “teleprompter” rhetoric that right-wing extremists substitute in lieu of reason. It is seriously among the most idiotic criticisms imaginable, and every time you use it, you just dig yourself in deeper.
All Hail The Teleprompter!!
You can’t call double dribble on a retard!
ahh Big E .. THAT’s your secret!
I heard he may win the Heisman Trophy. He watched a college football game.
Here is a must watch. Watch the whole thing, it keeps getting better. I can’t believe how well they hit the nail on the head. Maybe their conscience’s caught up with them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN-ui28SlHU