Nobel Peace Prize to President Obama

[GrayMouser]

Originally Posted by inked

I, too, thought one had to do something for a Nobel Prize. But there was Al Gore and now Obama, so I guess being an American Democrat is sufficient to get an award now-a-days.

The O man was in office for 10 whole days before the award, right? Dyn-o-mite! Sort of like the source of Nobel funds, huh?

Uh, no. He took office in January and the prize was awarded yesterday, and decided upon in September or October.

He was nominated in January, but the standard for being a nominator is very low:

"Qualified Nominators
The right to submit proposals for the Nobel Peace Prize shall, by statute, be enjoyed by:


1. Members of national assemblies and governments of states;
2. Members of international courts;
3. University rectors; professors of social sciences, history, philosophy, law and theology; directors of peace research institutes and foreign policy institutes;
4. Persons who have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize;
5. Board members of organizations who have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize;
6. Active and former members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee; (proposals by members of the Committee to be submitted no later than at the first meeting of the Committee after February 1) and
7. Former advisers appointed by the Norwegian Nobel Institute."


So, any looney legislator/MP or cloud-cuckoo-land professor can submit a nomination- they usually get about 200.

[Varnafindë]

Originally Posted by inked

The O man was in office for 10 whole days before the award, right?

No, not before the award was awarded - the Nobel Committee has taken longer than that to consider the nominees and make up their mind.

He was nominated after 10 days of office, though. I haven't yet seen anyone telling who nominated him.

Edit:
I hadn't read the above post before posting mine ...
The Committee says that they made their final decision two days ago.

[Tessar]

I sincerely hope that he lives up to the honor, although I think it's much too early at this point . I'm not surprised he was nominated based on 'hope' though, considering the whole Obama slogan and craze/hype that surrounded his inauguration.

[Jonathan]

You guys remember Jerseydevil? I guess he expressed the opinion of many when he said on Facebook that "the Nobel Peace Prize has just lost all meaning and is merely a popularity award now".

Indeed, the Peace Prize has had a change of character in the past few years. The Nobel Committee has broadened its concept of Peace.
Remember the Bangladeshi banker Muhammad Yunus, who got the prize in 2006 for creating "economic and social development from below" with microcredits. And remember the environmentally coloured prizes in both 2004 (Wangarai Maathai) and 2007 (Al Gore and the IPCC). These prizes were not awarded for making peace per se.

If you read the explanation for Obama's award, you will see the Peace Prize has evolved slightly again. No, Obama has not had the time to accomplish that much peace-making yet. And truly, he is not getting the prize for his achievements either. But he is awarded for his visions, his ideals and the hope he has inspired. Or in Obama's own words:

I do not view [the prize] 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.


In other words, the Peace Prize is a strong political signal that in part is intended to lock Obama to his promises of making a better world. Seen from this perspective, I think awarding Obama despite his few accomplishments is a good idea after all.

[Coffeehouse]

Originally Posted by Jonathan

You guys remember Jerseydevil? I guess he expressed the opinions of many when he said on Facebook that "the Nobel Peace Prize has just lost all meaning and is merely a popularity award now".

Indeed, the Peace Prize has had a change of character in the past few years. The Nobel Committee has broadened its concept of Peace.
Remember the Bangladeshi banker Muhammad Yunus, who got the prize for creating "economic and social development from below" with microcredits. And remember the environmentally coloured prizes in both 2004 (Wangarai Maathaiand) and 2007 (Al Gore and the IPCC). These prizes were not awarded for making peace per se.

If you read the explanation for Obama's award, you will see the Peace Prize has evolved slightly again. No, Obama has not had the time to accomplish that much peace-making yet. And truly, he is not getting the prize for his achievements either. But he is awarded for his visions, his ideals and the hope he has inspired. Or in Obama's own words:

I do not view [the prize] as a reckognition of my own accomplishments but rather as an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations.


In other words, the Peace Prize is a strong political signal that in part is intended to lock Obama to his promises of making a better world. Seen from this perspective, I think awarding Obama despite his few accomplishments is a good idea after all.

Finally a Swede making sense!

I agree with ever syllable Jonathan. This is a strong political signal, and one that is needed. It is forward-looking, and that is why I commend the Nobel Peace Prize Institute for being daring this year.

[Varnafindë]

Originally Posted by Jonathan

You guys remember Jerseydevil? I guess he expressed the opinion of many when he said on Facebook that "the Nobel Peace Prize has just lost all meaning and is merely a popularity award now".

In other words, the Peace Prize is a strong political signal that in part is intended to lock Obama to his promises of making a better world. Seen from this perspective, I think awarding Obama despite his few accomplishments is a good idea after all.

I believe you've got it right, Jonathan. The Peace Prize is not a popularity award, it is a political signal. Whether it should be a signal and not a recognition of merit, is a different question - but the Committee definitely means to give such a signal and thus to influence world politics.

[Earniel]

I was rather surprised, in fact I checked three different news sources before believing it.

Obama has up until now favourably impressed me with the way he tackled the utter mess in front of him. But... as much as a man may be admired for the energy he put into solving these difficult problems or for his refreshing ideas, seeing results is quite a different matter. In that sense I think the award is a little premature.

But as others has put the idea forward that this awarding was more intended as a signal than a reward for good deeds done, I tend to agree. The Nobel Peace Prize is well, an unparallelled accolade. On the other hand, it's one more heavy expectation that's heaped on Obama. Sometimes I wonder if the world in general isn't expecting too much from only one man...

[Amael]

Originally Posted by GrayMouser

I'm generally an Obama supporter, but count me in with the "way too early" crowd. He really hasn't accomplished anything yet.

Best joke, from Michelle Malkin:

"Where's Kanye West when you really need him?"

Haha I like that joke! Very up and coming!

And I agree, I'm too an Obama supporter. I'm part of the way too early crowd as well.

[inked]

For the record, the O-man was nominated for the prize 10-12 days after his inauguration, so I guess it was for showing up to work for 10 days or so.

At any rate, the LA Times thinks that this has diminished the award. I am inclined to agree - not because he's a Democrat but because he had done nothing to deserve it. As one wag put it, it was like winning Mr. Universe for one's planned and anticipated but not yet begun fitness program.

See LA TIMES: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/...,1431554.story

Everyone does know where the money for the Nobel prizes began, right? (hint to be found in my original post)

[Coffeehouse]

Originally Posted by inked

For the record, the O-man was nominated for the prize 10-12 days after his inauguration, so I guess it was for showing up to work for 10 days or so.

At any rate, the LA Times thinks that this has diminished the award. I am inclined to agree - not because he's a Democrat but because he had done nothing to deserve it. As one wag put it, it was like winning Mr. Universe for one's planned and anticipated but not yet begun fitness program.

See LA TIMES: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/...,1431554.story

Everyone does know where the money for the Nobel prizes began, right? (hint to be found in my original post)

The usual infantile comment...

[GrayMouser]

Originally Posted by inked

For the record, the O-man was nominated for the prize 10-12 days after his inauguration, so I guess it was for showing up to work for 10 days or so.

At any rate, the LA Times thinks that this has diminished the award. I am inclined to agree - not because he's a Democrat but because he had done nothing to deserve it. As one wag put it, it was like winning Mr. Universe for one's planned and anticipated but not yet begun fitness program.

See LA TIMES: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/...,1431554.story

Everyone does know where the money for the Nobel prizes began, right? (hint to be found in my original post)

Or a rookie getting the season's MVP award after a couple of nice plays in his first game....

Of course, if he actually did accomplish the stuff that the Nobel Committee hopes he will, the American right-wing would go even more berserk.

Global Warming pact, nuclear disarmament, Israeli withdrawal from Occupied Territories and establishment of a Palestinian State, getting Iran to shelve its nuclear weapons program without even getting to "Bomb, bomb, bomb; Bomb bomb Iran", closing Gitmo, forbidding torture and extraordinary renditions, strengthening international law and institutions....

[inked]

Looks like a great fitness plan, doesn't it? But then the guy who won the Prize for the microcredit initiatives had to actually implement the plan and demonstrate its working and worth. Sorta like those scientists who had actually done research that benefited humanity.

What, precisely did the O-man do in his first 10 days in office that deserved a Prize, is the question, I believe. The answer is nothing worth a Nobel Prize. Which means that the Nobel Prize is cheapened, coming off as lead with gold paint to protect the exposed? Give me a break. The Prize is diminished to whoever can tell the best election story?!

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Originally Posted by Amael

Haha I like that joke! Very up and coming!

And I agree, I'm too an Obama supporter. I'm part of the way too early crowd as well.

Very *fingersnap* NOW...

[Alcuin]

Cartoon “No-Bush Nobel”, Daryl Cagle, MSNBC.com. Normally, I’d link it in with [IMG], but he wants $10 for that. You can click on it. And, I should think, MSNBC qualifies as the ultimate in politically correct, non-“ infantile”, sophisticated news and commentary.

[Jonathan]

Originally Posted by inked

What, precisely did the O-man do in his first 10 days in office that deserved a Prize, is the question, I believe.

What's up with your "10 days" mantra? That's when he was nominated. A presumptive award or not, but Obama was president for a lot longer than ten days before the Nobel Committee made their decision - a decision based not only on that initial nomination mind you.

[Coffeehouse]

Let's be clear about this: this isn't a life-time achievement award and it has never been. President Obama is not being awarded the prize for long-term achievements of his life, but for the message he has brought out over the last year. He is being acknowledged for the scale of the problems that he is trying to tackle and getting an encouragement that he is moving in the right direction. In the words of the Nobel Committee:

"For 109 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".

There is one way to approach this: sit back and point fingers at a man who is sacrificing some serious political clout.

Let's face it, Obama could have cut away most of his agenda and people wouldn't blame him. He could simply push the serious economic problems of the US to the next President, including heathcare and energy efficiency.

Obama doesn't have to do anything.

Instead he has CHOSE to do a whole lot more than the election promises he was elected on. He has pulled out some heavy multipronged attack on every major issue confronting the nation he is leading, and facing humanity. And he's doing it with a diehard-attitude.

So I have two words to say to people with this tiresome, whining, hypocritical, narrow-minded, sofa-sitting mentality accusing and ridiculing Obama for actuality having an agenda that goes behind the next election and his own party: **** off.

[inked]

Alcuin, very perceptive cartoon link. Very accurate rendition.

Coffeehouse, I note that you are very inclusive of those who disagree with you today. Have you any Rolaids about to aid that nasty indigestion? Perhaps an O-laid or some such?

Meanwhile, the Nobel Prize was originally funded from the vast profits accumulated by the inventor of___________________________?

For peace's sake!

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Coffee,
I think that the annoyance is not so much that Obama has a vision. Everyone has a vision of the way things should be. I think people are more concerned with the cultic proportions attributed to his vision and his person by many people. It's clear that the Nobel Peace Prize is seen by many as a result of this mythic-messianic idealization of Obama, as the Seer, the Avatar of Hope. Behold, all things are become new, and all that.

[Tessar]

Originally Posted by Coffeehouse

So I have two words to say to people with this tiresome, whining, hypocritical, narrow-minded, sofa-sitting mentality accusing and ridiculing Obama for actuality having an agenda that goes behind the next election and his own party: **** off.

Classy.

Everyone please keep this thread respectful. I am referring to several people in this case on both sides of the argument.

[Mari]

It was interesting to see how surprised Obama himself was. I think except for the committee everyone was and I'm not quite sure that is the way to go >_<