# Clueless Idiots: The Nobel Committee **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 9, 2009, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clueless-idiots-the-nobel-committee/513175 "2009-10-09T10:53:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 19
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2009, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clueless-idiots-the-nobel-committee/513175/361 "2009-10-25T15:45:07Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > So are you then trying to say that Obama is totally devious and only you can see through his diabolical plot? Why don’t you go back and read my post, which directly answers your question? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2009, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clueless-idiots-the-nobel-committee/513175/362 "2009-10-25T19:05:47Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Strange, really. I mean, why spend all that time complaining about how liberals are always calling you a racist based on suspicion and innuendo, and then come out and confirm that they were right all along? I don’t complain that they call me a racist based on suspicion. They call me a racist because they are losing arguments with me. And this wouldn’t confirm that I am racist unless a dig at Obama and/or affirmative action is necessarily racist. Which isn’t the case. So I neither apologize nor admit anything - just poke at you and laugh. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2009, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clueless-idiots-the-nobel-committee/513175/363 "2009-10-25T20:55:58Z")
I think you guys underestimate how much Obama has changed the world. It’s not just about America, folks. Since Obama showed up, I’ve been working on two different continents. And on both of them, I can say Obama has changed things for the better. Around the world, Obama has inspired people to believe again that the world is headed the right direction. People were SCARED of George Bush. Everywhere I traveled, people expressed fear about our president and the way the world was going. But now- I’m proud to tell people I’m American. And people respond with enthusiasm. Because, to them, it now looks like the world is back on track. That we can have cooperation and peace again. People are optimistic again- not just about America, but about our future as a planet. They know our president affects their entire lives, but they don’t get to vote for him. This time, the world in general feels like we picked the right guy. And that the most powerful country in the world can go back to being a team player, which makes everyone pretty damn happy. Is being an inspiration for peace enough to merit the prize? Could be. The world is a different and better place than it was a couple of years ago, and Obama has been a big contributor to that. Of course, some of that is “he’s not Bush.” But I think it goes a bit deeper. His whole story is inspiring to people. There are not many places on this planet where someone with his story could aspire to be president. And that makes people look around them and wonder- why not? Why can something like that happen in America and not where they are? And that inspires change… ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2009, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clueless-idiots-the-nobel-committee/513175/364 "2009-10-25T23:37:30Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > And this wouldn’t confirm that I am racist unless a dig at Obama and/or affirmative action is necessarily racist. Which isn’t the case. So I neither apologize nor admit anything - just poke at you and laugh. A dig at Obama involving affirmative action is necessarily racist, since the clear implication of your comment is that he must have been a beneficiary. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2009, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clueless-idiots-the-nobel-committee/513175/365 "2009-10-25T23:45:57Z")
> [@Harborwolf](#): > > I could point out that Gyrate was referring to the weight you place on part of Obama’s acceptance speech that you can use (doesn’t deserve) while not giving equal heft to the part you can’t (accepting the award) This is entirely what I meant. I apologize if my use of the word “cite” in this context was unclear or confusing to anyone. Moving on… ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2009, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clueless-idiots-the-nobel-committee/513175/366 "2009-10-25T23:58:12Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > A dig at Obama involving affirmative action is necessarily racist, since the clear implication of your comment is that he must have been a beneficiary. :smack: Are you kidding me? A specific government policy is instituted for the express purpose of benefiting black people, and **Shodan’s** a racist for suggesting that a black man benefited from it? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clueless-idiots-the-nobel-committee/513175/367 "2009-10-26T12:11:31Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > A dig at Obama involving affirmative action is necessarily racist, since the clear implication of your comment is that he must have been a beneficiary. So saying that anyone benefited from affirmative action is racist? Wasn’t sure if you were a blithering idiot - thanks for clarifying. > [@even sven](#): > > Around the world, Obama has inspired people to believe again that the world is headed the right direction. However, polls in the country where Obama is actually President say [exactly](http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/right_direction_or_wrong_track) the [opposite](http://www.pollingnumbers.com/obama/disturbing-poll-numbers-for-obama-by-harris-interactive-101809001.html). Hell, even the hardest of the hard Left halfwits [agree](http://www.pollingreport.com/right.htm) that the USA is headed in the wrong direction. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clueless-idiots-the-nobel-committee/513175/368 "2009-10-26T12:32:27Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > However, polls in the country where Obama is actually President say [exactly](http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/right_direction_or_wrong_track) the [opposite](http://www.pollingnumbers.com/obama/disturbing-poll-numbers-for-obama-by-harris-interactive-101809001.html). Hell, even the hardest of the hard Left halfwits [agree](http://www.pollingreport.com/right.htm) that the USA is headed in the wrong direction. I haven’t been in the US for a while, and it doesn’t change the fact that he is still hugely popular around the world. And your kidding yourself if you think he’s just our president. His actions can affect people outside of the United States as much or perhaps even more than their own governments. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2009, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clueless-idiots-the-nobel-committee/513175/369 "2009-10-26T15:29:40Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > A specific government policy is instituted for the express purpose of benefiting black people, and **Shodan’s** a racist for suggesting that a black man benefited from it? The point of the post was that Obama accepted the prize because of his experience with affirmative action, i.e., being handed things he didn’t deserve solely on the basis of his race. You have some other interpretation of the post, other than that Shodan is making the assumption that (a) Obama was previously the beneficiary of affirmative action such that (b) he got a position he didn’t deserve (whether in his studies or one of his jobs, which he assumes not because of any actual evidence but because (c) Obama is Black? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clueless-idiots-the-nobel-committee/513175.md?page=18)