Obama wins Nobel Prize

[Snarky]

Ummm...  :o

I'm pretty much speechless about this.

As a Norwegian, and as an Obama supporter, I still think this has got to be the stupidest decision ever by the Nobel Committee. The man has been in office for 9 months, and what has he accomplished? Sure, he's given a few nice speeches, and foreign leaders like him better than Bush. But does that qualify him for what used to be the most prestigious award in the world?

Just like when Gore won the prize, I can't help to think that awarding it on such slim merits has more to do with the Norwegian committee trying to inject itself into American politics in a partisan manner. Hey guys! Bush is out of office. Using this opportunity to give him yet another kick in the pants is a childish waste of an award.

In a few years, if actions follow his words, if he stays true to the ideals he invokes, and if his approach to world politics is proving effective, then I'd be happy to see Obama considered for the Nobel Peace Prize. Now I just feel embarrassed for my country and for him, and angry that the committee has tarnished and diminished a symbol for beliefs and policies I hold dear.

[Crimson Wizard]

I may be a bit harsh and cynical here, but for me it looks like these prizes are actually used for PR reasons. 

[Ponch]

One of my co-workers walked in a few minutes ago and announced this. Without missing a beat, two others said (at the same time), "For what?"

Seriously. What the hell has he done? Nothing, as far as I can tell.

Very strange.

[Eggie]

He shouldn't have accepted it, now he'll never win one legitimately. He'll always be 'the guy who got an award for being black'

Should have given it to some Iranian computer hackers or something, at least that's got people talking.

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

Wow, he got the Nobel Peace Prize for prolonging war in Iraq.

If that's not irony I don't know what is.

[RickJ]

Seriously. What the hell has he done? Nothing, as far as I can tell.

Funny you say that Ponch because that was the lead skit of last week's Saturday Night Live.  Here is a link for those who may have missed it. 

http://www.fancast.com/tv/Saturday-Night-Live/10009/1284525451/Ryan-Reynolds/videos

[Calin Leafshade]

He shouldn't have accepted it, now he'll never win one legitimately. He'll always be 'the guy who got an award for being black'

Plenty of black people have won nobel prizes.

The Nobel peace prize has often been a little wishy washy. Its more about promoting attitudes than actually 'doing something'

If you read the committees raitionale it seems fairly sensible. He has promoted diplomacy and free exchange of ideas.. sounds like peace to me.

The Iraq war is an unfortunate blemish...

[RickJ]

The man has been in office for 9 months, and what has he accomplished?

As I understand it nominations must be submitted by February 1st so he would have been nominated several weeks after taking office.  During February and March the committee evaluates the who of the nominees and eliminates those whose accomplishments are inadequate. 

So the actual question is "What did Obama accomplish in the first after 2 months in office that merited the award?".   

from - http://nobelprize.org/nomination/peace/process.html

He has promoted diplomacy and free exchange of ideas.. sounds like peace to me.

He hasn't done any of that; he just talks about it. 

The way to promote the use of diplomacy is to be successful at it by getting the things you want out of it; not by giving away the store and getting nothing return.  A case can be made that ineffective diplomacy does more harm than good by establishing a position of weakness and further entrenching the other party's position with violence of one kind or another being the eventual outcome.

[InCreator]

Nobel Committee members' tongues taste like Obama's ass now.

[loominous]

The commitee is smart enough to have anticipated the reaction, which suggests that it was designed more as an attempt to pin Obama to his rhetoric, rather than a pat on his back.

[Ponch]

As I understand it nominations must be submitted by February 1st so he would have been nominated several weeks after taking office.  During February and March the committee evaluates the who of the nominees and eliminates those whose accomplishments are inadequate. 

That just makes this whole episode even more bizarre.

On the other hand, it seems it's now become quite easy to get a Nobel prize. CJ's certainly done as much for world peace as any of us. Do any of you know how we can get him on the nomination list for next year?

[Harry]

The man has been in office for 9 months, and what has he accomplished?

As I understand it nominations must be submitted by February 1st so he would have been nominated several weeks after taking office.  During February and March the committee evaluates the who of the nominees and eliminates those whose accomplishments are inadequate. 

So the actual question is "What did Obama accomplish in the first after 2 months in office that merited the award?".   

Um, no, the actual question that follows from what you're saying is "Who are the other nominees, and why are their accomplishments small enough to be considered inadequate when compared to Obama's?"

If what you're saying is true, then the reason for him getting the award is not what Obama has accomplished, but the fact that nobody else that was nominated has accomplished more than him.

[Darth Mandarb]

Do any of you know how we can get him on the nomination list for next year?

Simple.  Have him stop doing anything but making promises.  He'd be shoe-in for sure then!

[RickJ]

Um, no, the actual question that follows from what you're saying is "Who are the other nominees, and why are their accomplishments small enough to be considered inadequate when compared to Obama's?"

Well you got me there.  There were only 197 nominees for the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize.  Among them were Father John Dear, Hu Jia, Wei Jingsheng, Thích Quảng Độ, Mordechai Vanunu, and the African Union whose lifes' works are clearly inadequate when compared with Obama's spectacular first 12 days in office.

For example Father John Dear, S.J., who was nominated by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, has written only twenty books on the subject, been arrested a mere 75 times for protesting for peace, and has devoted his life to changing the world.

In Archbishop Desmond Tutu's letter of nomination he says "He is a man who has the courage of his convictions and who speaks out and acts against war, the manufacture of weapons and any situation where a human being might be at risk through violence. Fr John Dear has  studied and follows the teachings of non-violence as espoused by Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., he serves the homeless and the marginalized and sees each person as being of infinite worth. I would hope that were he to receive this honor his teachings and activities might become more widely accepted and adopted. The world would undoubtedly become a better and more peaceful place if this were to happen."

I see what you mean, clearly inadequate, clearly.   

[Mr Flibble]

I don't understand how a man who runs a country which is engaged in a war in another country can earn any kind of peace prize.

[veryweirdguy]

Devil's Advocate time!

http://goingonabearhunt.blogspot.com/2009/10/obamas-nobel-prize.html

Disclaimer: I did not write this, I'm just taking credit for posting it here.

[Crimson Wizard]

I don't understand how a man who runs a country which is engaged in a war in another country can earn any kind of peace prize.

Well, they once gave this prize to Gorbachev, who brought a huge country to a dissolution, which was accompanied and followed by struggle between nationalistic powers and a number of bloody local conflicts.

[Ponch]

Have him stop doing anything but making promises.  He'd be shoe-in for sure then!

That's all there is to it? Hell, I've been promising my next game for over a year now and I still haven't delivered. I have a great track record of broken promises. I can't wait to get my Nobel! That kind of money can buy a lot of hookers!

- Ponch

[TerranRich]

By my calculations, if I release By the Sword, I can win the Nobel Peace Prize for 5 straight years.

[kconan]

  I like the guy and hope he eventually chills on the idealism so he can get things done, but yea its still way too early...We get it World, you are happy he's not Bush.

  The worst selection by far was the dude who invented the lobotomy (1940s I think).