Yeah, look how he promised to bring us together, and then see all the trouble he has stirred up with his headlong and relentless pursuit of this prize! I mean, isn’t it a little like Captain Ahab and the Great White Hope, or something?
i think having Nobel Prize Winner in front of your name is a good thing to have. He is lucky they chose him and he should be feeling honored. The prize money is nice too.
Do your gears strip when you try to throw it in reverse that hard? You thought I was wrong when you thought I said it … but now that you know Obama said it, you’re falling over yourself trying to explain your foolishness. Nice try at regaining your balance, though, the fast footwork alone merits a 6.7 or a 6.8.
It seems you think that Obama was the most deserving of the nominees. I don’t understand why you think that. I’m still waiting for you to tell us about all of the great stuff Obama did in 2008. It was a blinding insight to tell us “that man [Nobel] is dead and his work has been passed to a committee”. Good detecting. Was it the fact that the Prize was set up in Nobel’s will that gave you the first clue? I didn’t say it was Obama’s fault that the Committee is ignoring Nobel’s clear instructions.
I said it was wrong for Obama to accept it, because by the terms of the will he has done nothing to deserve it. It was a divisive action, as we can see by this very discussion, and by the host of people passionately disputing the award around the world … quite the thing for a man of peace, innit?
Your silence on matters of substance is deafening. For example, I still haven’t seen anything from you about the DNC saying that Lech Walesa has “thrown [his] lot in with terrorists”. Cat got your tongue?
On this one point, it’s fair to say that the Republicans have indeed decided to side with the terrorists and against the United States. That the DNC was only talking about this one point is made clear in the statement.
It’s also true that conservatives rooted against the US in the Olympics competition. not a word in the DNC statement was false. Suck on the truth.
Diogenes, I’m not sure what “this one point” you are talking about. Are you agreeing that Lech Walesa is siding with the terrorists? It’s not clear what you are saying here.
It’s also not clear what you mean by “against the United States”. Is disagreeing with the President accepting the Peace Prize somehow “against the United States”? And if so, how?
Please fight my ignorance on exactly what you mean here.
Thanks.
PS - I also didn’t understand the DNC position on the Olympics. I was glad that they didn’t go to Chicago, there’s enough corruption there already, thank you very much. There’s also not enough money to pay for them, who is going to foot the bill? Montreal spent thirty years paying off the billion dollar debt from their Olympics … and Chicago was supposed to cost $4.8 billion.
Nor am I alone in this. There are a large number of people from Chicago who didn’t want the Olympics there. A Google search on <Chicago “didn’t want” Olympics> brings up seventeen million pages … I suppose they’re all siding with the terrorists and “against the United States” too. Here’s an example, from Slate Magazine:
Is not wanting the Olympics in Chicago “against the United States”? Not from where I stand. This brainless chanting of “U-S-A, U-S-A”, this insistence that we need to support whatever happens to occur in America, this claim that we have to say our President is always right or we’re “siding with terrorists”, is pathetic provincial boosterism. Lots of patriotic folks didn’t want the Olympics in Chicago, and lots of patriotic folks disapprove of Obama accepting the Peace Prize. We’re not “against the US”, we’re not “siding with terrorists”, we just happen to disagree with you.
The DNC is not helping the Democratic Party by calling us names and insulting us just because we don’t agree with you. Let’s leave that kind of pettiness to the Republicans. That’s not “growing some balls” as the OP states. That’s insulting our friends and allies, which is generally regarded as … well, despite this being The Pit, let me call it “poor tactics” and leave it at that.
Here’s my thing: we all agree that Bush’s attempt to justify things by saying “Because then the terrorists would win.” Is bad. Why is this any different. Why is it bad when one side does it, but not the other?
To me, getting some backbone (or balls, as y’all put it) would involve actually pushing through legislation. It would involve standing up for an issue that will help America, not one that is essentially pointless.
Some guys in Norway gave our president a prize? How does disagreeing with them hurt America? How does agreeing help? They picked an issue that doesn’t matter to get all upset about. This doesn’t sound like they have “grown some balls”. It sounds like they want to dupe the gullible into thinking they have.
Could be it, or it could just as easily be that some guy who works for the DNC, and ought to know better, shot his mouth off. Perhaps they should have gone the whole “denounce, renounce and condemn” route, but maybe they just thought “ah, fuck it, who cares?”. Not exactly earth-shattering news, now is it?
It was DNC Communications Director Brad Woodhouse. Hardly “some guy who works for the DNC”. It is not earth-shattering, but it does hand our opponents a club to beat us with. Here’s the full statement:
Unfortunately, this quote makes me embarrassed to be a Democrat. I am (perhaps inordinately) proud that we elected Obama, but I take absolutely no pride in the President being given a phoney honor by five suckup Norwegians for something he hasn’t done yet. I reserve my pride for real accomplishments. And I was glad that we were not saddled with the Chicago Olympics, that would have been a five-alarm disaster.
So what? Is this the current measure of patriotism, whether we cheer when Mayor Daley doesn’t get his way?
My concern here is that the Democrats are being sucked into acting just like the Republicans. This is the kind of nonsense that I expect from Rush and Glen Beck and Nancy Whatsit with the funny hair, Nancy Grace.
But not from the DNC. Saying that people who happen to disagree with you are siding with terrorists does not do our side any good. And accusing people of lining up with the terrorists simply because they disapprove of accepting awards for things we haven’t done just makes us look both desperate for recognition and terminally foolish.
It is a stupid, messed up thing. Gotterdamerung, it is not.
And while we’re about it, where does that say anything about Lech Walensca? Or is that a clarification of your own?
So after weighing various considerations, Walesa concludes that the award might be construed as premature.
Hamas sourly opposes the award:
“He did not do anything for the Palestinians except make promises,” said Hamas spokesman Samir Abu Zuhri. “At the same time, he is giving his absolute support for the (Israeli) occupation.”
The Taliban:
“He has done nothing for peace in Afghanistan,” wrote Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid. “…We condemn the institute’s awarding him the peace prize. We condemn this year’s peace prize as unjust.”
Rep. Gresham Barrett (R-SC) (via TPM): “Congratulations to President Obama on his prize. I’m not sure what the international community loved best; his waffling on Afghanistan, pulling defense missiles out of Eastern Europe, turning his back on freedom fighters in Honduras, coddling Castro, siding with Palestinians against Israel, or almost getting tough on Iran.”
So Hamas, Taliban and the RNC scrunch their noses. I won’t bother quoting Limbaugh. None of them sounded remotely like Walesa.
John McCain, it must be said, was gracious: “I think part of their decision-making was expectations. And I’m sure the president understands that he now has even more to live up to. But as Americans, we’re proud when our president receives an award of that prestigious category.”
Man. I can’t think of any other circumstance in which winning the Nobel Peace Prize would turn out to be a political liability.
Well, this is what happens when you have a ‘fifth column’ of traitors who would rather their country fail than let a democrat succeed and lunatics making up a significant part of the political opposition.
What happens? Well, in this case what happens is the Democratic National Committee decides to “grow some balls” and become as crazy as the opposition. Yeah, that’s the ticket, that’ll show’em …
Again I say, demonizing the opposition is a loser of a tactic. For the Republicans to do it is understandable. For the Democratic National Committee to do it is execrable.
Well it has been a while since I’ve driven stick and…hey wait a sec. I don’t think you’re talking about driving at all. You really are slick.
“You said no Miami fans would call, so here I am. I’m calling.” I didn’t say that the general undertone of what you said was wrong. I am saying that the rather dramatic way you phrased it was ridiculous. Think I’ve been rather clear on that. I really have been repeating it to the point where I’m sick of it: megalomaniacal idiocy, despicable theft, actions of a spoiled teenager. Probably the most extreme reaction I’ve seen to this here. Thought it was a bunch of malarkey.
Nope. No idea if he was, but the Nobel committee does and that’s what counts.
Don’t have to. I’m not the one who thinks it. The nobel committee is. If only there were a link to their reasoning.
You may want to grab a book. It’ll pass the time while I think of something to not say.
Blinding insight is an upgrade from nonsense, right?
Actually it was all Velma’s deduction. I was in the abandoned kitchen fixing a giant sandwich which my huge talking dog ate when she reached that conclusion. It was funny when Fred tried to unmask Nobel’s corpse though.
Actually you said a bit more than it was merely wrong for him to accept it. Again, why I’m mocking you.
He’s less of a man of peace because you’re a dick? It’s also important to point out that most of those “passionately disputing the award” are doing so in a far more reasonable fashion than you are…except for the RNC, Limbaugh et al, and (dramatic music stinger) THE TERRORISTS!!!
I’m often silent on matters of substance. Fortunately for me this isn’t a matter of substance.
What Lech Walesa said is between him and the guards at Gitmo. Best to not get in the middle.
Ah. You’re not being literal, are you? Fool me once…
Well… it took a long time for Marisa Tomei’s career to recover from that Oscar.
I must say I’m very pleased that John McCain has turned back into John McCain now that the election is over.
Which is excellent news for one or the other of the McCain Campaigns.
Bollocks. When the opposition actually are traitors and lunatics turn-around is fair play. Playing nice gets the Dems nowhere. This is simply, for once, punching the bully in the face. They should keep punching, kicking and biting until the Republicans silence the traitors, kicks out the loons and starts being a responsible political party again.
Traitors, huh? To defeat the enemy, we must become the enemy. Got it.