Obama Wins Peace Prize

[Fuse]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/10/world/10nobel.html?_r=1&hp
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/10/09/nobel.peace.prize/index.html
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/10/09/president-barack-obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize/

I-am-shocked.

[Anamodiel]

"hopes the award will strengthen Mr. Obama's commitment to promoting peace and the eradication of poverty." "boost the president's ability [to bring] regional peace."

Maybe receiving my diploma 2 years early will strengthen my commitment to being a better student. Maybe giving the Lions the Superbowl trophy will boost their ability to win games.

Or are awards for people who have done something to earn them?

[Adad]

This makes no sense... I just saw a break in special report on it on TV... I'm with Ana.  Don't you actually have to accomplish something to get this?  Maybe I'll get it next year for sitting here doing nothing!

He's speaking now, at least he even admitted he does not deserve to be considered in the same company with those who have won it.

[Lithium]

Because you're black! -Leathal Weapon 2

[Fuse]

I purposely held back opinion until someone else said it...

Apparently you get the peace prize for intention instead of accomplishments - because HE HASN'T DONE ANYTHING YET! Sure as hell didn't do anything in the two weeks he was President before the nomination for the damn thing...

[Fuse]

Sure as hell didn't do anything in the two weeks he was President before the nomination for the damn thing...

How To Win The Nobel Peace Prize In Only 12 Days

[Tecknik]

Nobel Peace Prize just became a joke.

Let's give it to Ronald McDonald next year.

Then it'll be two clowns in a row!

[Lits]

Yeah I'm with the 'he hasn't earned it yet' crowd... but he didn't ask the Nobel people to be weird like that. They're just odd. Or intentionally trying to hurt his public image.

[Fuse]

The Nobel people are trying to HURT his image? Not sure how that works. I wish my manager would try and hurt my economic status by giving me a raise.

[Tbone]

Um, if someone like Sarah Palin was President, we'd be well into WWIII by now. He deserves it just for keeping someone like her away from being that close to presidency. Hahaha!

Seriously, though, it is a bit of a circle jerk between the rest of the world and the U.S. Obama was given the award for influencing the climate of international politics. Remember, the rest of the world used to hate us, and for the most part, they still do. Americans don't seem to give a shit about that...or the rest of the world...at least in their eyes.

Obama has once again given legitimacy to the United Nations. Already, his administration has reopened discussions with Iran, addressed nuclear disarmament and confronted the Western-Islamic divide, the source of so much that is wrong with the world today.

Is the award being used to say "Ok, this means the U.S. is going to play nice now, right?" Yeah, probably. He has a LOT of influence internationally...more so than I would say here at home. It's funny, because the more the "God-fearin, gun-totin" crowd hates him, the more I feel like he's doing his job to go against the grain to change our attitude towards the rest of the world.

In the end, though, yeah, he hasn't earned it yet. I do feel like they are saying "Here it is. Now you'd better earn it, because you have a chance as well as our attention".

[Tecknik]

Nominations ended two weeks after his inauguration.

He hadn't done shit when he was nominated.

This doctor was nominated: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t-n9TniHIs

He's actually done something.  He actually deserved the award.

[Manic Velocity]

Just to play devil's advocate, though I do think it's way too early to award him for anything, the Peace prize is traditionally awarded to people who "put the wheels in motion", so to speak. It's actually rare for someone to be given the award for something they directly accomplished. Most of the time it's because the nominees are long dead by the time their actions produce any real results. Nobels are never awarded posthumously. Longevity of a nominee is just as important as what they did to be nominated in the first place.

[Eroz]

Most of the time it's because the nominees are long dead by the time their actions produce any real results. Nobels are never awarded posthumously. Longevity of a nominee is just as important as what they did to be nominated in the first place.

http://nobelpeaceprize.org/en_GB/home/announce-2009/

[quoteThe Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has attached special importance to Obama's vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.

Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama's initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.

Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future. His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population.

For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world's leading spokesman. The Committee endorses Obama's appeal that "Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges."[/quote]

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Building-a-World-that-Gives-Life-to-the-Promise-of-Our-Founding-Documents/

THE PRESIDENT:  Good morning.  Well, this is not how I expected to wake up this morning.  After I received the news, Malia walked in and said, "Daddy, you won the Nobel Peace Prize, and it is Bo's birthday!"  And then Sasha added, "Plus, we have a three-day weekend coming up."  So it's good to have kids to keep things in perspective.

I am both surprised and deeply humbled by the decision of the Nobel Committee.  Let me be clear:  I do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments, but rather as an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations.

To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who've been honored by this prize -- men and women who've inspired me and inspired the entire world through their courageous pursuit of peace.

But I also know that this prize reflects the kind of world that those men and women, and all Americans, want to build -- a world that gives life to the promise of our founding documents.  And I know that throughout history, the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes.  And that is why I will accept this award as a call to action -- a call for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century.
     
These challenges can't be met by any one leader or any one nation.  And that's why my administration has worked to establish a new era of engagement in which all nations must take responsibility for the world we seek.  We cannot tolerate a world in which nuclear weapons spread to more nations and in which the terror of a nuclear holocaust endangers more people.  And that's why we've begun to take concrete steps to pursue a world without nuclear weapons, because all nations have the right to pursue peaceful nuclear power, but all nations have the responsibility to demonstrate their peaceful intentions.

We cannot accept the growing threat posed by climate change, which could forever damage the world that we pass on to our children -- sowing conflict and famine; destroying coastlines and emptying cities.  And that's why all nations must now accept their share of responsibility for transforming the way that we use energy.

We can't allow the differences between peoples to define the way that we see one another, and that's why we must pursue a new beginning among people of different faiths and races and religions; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect.

And we must all do our part to resolve those conflicts that have caused so much pain and hardship over so many years, and that effort must include an unwavering commitment that finally realizes that the rights of all Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security in nations of their own.

We can't accept a world in which more people are denied opportunity and dignity that all people yearn for -- the ability to get an education and make a decent living; the security that you won't have to live in fear of disease or violence without hope for the future.

And even as we strive to seek a world in which conflicts are resolved peacefully and prosperity is widely shared, we have to confront the world as we know it today.  I am the Commander-in-Chief of a country that's responsible for ending a war and working in another theater to confront a ruthless adversary that directly threatens the American people and our allies.  I'm also aware that we are dealing with the impact of a global economic crisis that has left millions of Americans looking for work.  These are concerns that I confront every day on behalf of the American people.

Some of the work confronting us will not be completed during my presidency.  Some, like the elimination of nuclear weapons, may not be completed in my lifetime.  But I know these challenges can be met so long as it's recognized that they will not be met by one person or one nation alone.  This award is not simply about the efforts of my administration -- it's about the courageous efforts of people around the world.

And that's why this award must be shared with everyone who strives for justice and dignity -- for the young woman who marches silently in the streets on behalf of her right to be heard even in the face of beatings and bullets; for the leader imprisoned in her own home because she refuses to abandon her commitment to democracy; for the soldier who sacrificed through tour after tour of duty on behalf of someone half a world away; and for all those men and women across the world who sacrifice their safety and their freedom and sometime their lives for the cause of peace.

That has always been the cause of America.  That's why the world has always looked to America.  And that's why I believe America will continue to lead.

Thank you very much.

[NoCry]

Like it or not chaps he is an amazingly popular statesman on the world front. Whereas under bush the world grew nervous of America and it's role in the world. You guys are the only accesible superpower and frankly Obama has gone a long way in changing the developing world's view of America. Sure, I suspect he is struggling on the national front but his actions internationally (particularly in the early days of his administration) have, like it or not, greatly improved america's world standing and stopped half the planet hating you (the other half I fear you are stuck with!).

[Tbone]

Like it or not chaps he is an amazingly popular statesman on the world front. Whereas under bush the world grew nervous of America and it's role in the world. You guys are the only accesible superpower and frankly Obama has gone a long way in changing the developing world's view of America. Sure, I suspect he is struggling on the national front but his actions internationally (particularly in the early days of his administration) have, like it or not, greatly improved america's world standing and stopped half the planet hating you (the other half I fear you are stuck with!).

I was hoping a non-American would put it into perspective.