# In hindsight, did Obama deserve his Nobel Peace Prize? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 3, 2010, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-hindsight-did-obama-deserve-his-nobel-peace-prize/562827 "2010-12-03T16:50:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 4
**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:** [December 10, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-hindsight-did-obama-deserve-his-nobel-peace-prize/562827/61 "2010-12-10T17:57:09Z")
Eh? Clinton appeared as dovey as mainstream politicians get and was challenging a hawk who had just orchestrated arguably the most successful US military action in history… and won. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-hindsight-did-obama-deserve-his-nobel-peace-prize/562827/62 "2010-12-10T18:00:36Z")
> [@flickster](#): > > Nobel - No > Academy Award - Yes You are aware of course that Al Gore never won an Academy Award. It went to Davis Guggenheim. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-hindsight-did-obama-deserve-his-nobel-peace-prize/562827/63 "2010-12-10T18:08:39Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Eh? Clinton appeared as dovey as mainstream politicians get and was challenging a hawk who had just orchestrated arguably the most successful US military action in history… and won. ``` In an election where national security was almost completely off the table and the economy was by far the biggest issue. Despite the financial crisis I think Iraq, Iran and terrorism were quite important issues and national security played a bigger role in 2008 comapared to 92. And while Bush senior had won a war he wasn't really that hawkish, certainly compared to McCain. ``` The withdrawl of combat brigades from Iraq is another accomplishment which I doubt would have happened under McCain. And saying it followed Bush’s timetable doesn’t diminish that. It’s one thing to set a timetable for withdrawl and quite another to actually accomplish it. ---
**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:** [December 10, 2010, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-hindsight-did-obama-deserve-his-nobel-peace-prize/562827/64 "2010-12-10T18:13:45Z")
That’s a good point (that national security was a non-issue in '92). ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-hindsight-did-obama-deserve-his-nobel-peace-prize/562827/65 "2010-12-10T19:05:53Z")
The Nobel committee wanted to issue a general congratulations to the idea of electing a minority–specifically black–to the office of Presidency. And part of their psychology was also a reaction of their hatred of President Bush, who was, it’s fair to say, a warmongering nitwit for invading Iraq. At the time of the Award, President Obama had done absolutely nothing beyond what every President tries to do publicly–chat up the general notion of a peaceful world, while dealing with the practical problem of enemies. As a perennial skeptic to almost all “peace processes,” prizes and feel-good knee-jerk liberalism, I have thoroughly enjoyed what I suspect is a significant discomfort on the part of the Nobel committee with President Obama’s actual–and practical–approach to conflict (as, for example, his escalation and perpetuation of the war in Afghanistan, or keeping Gitmo open). Here’s what the Committee is humming now: “Meet the new Boss…same as the old Boss…” between clenched teeth. But hey, at least he’s Black. It’s not like their blunder of giving a Prize to the Chief Carbon Consumptionist, Al Gore, for his tireless (but carbon-intensive) fight against Anthropogenic Global Climate Catastrophe–or whatever the current acronym is. ---
**Author:** ![flickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7bcc69/32.png) [@flickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flickster)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-hindsight-did-obama-deserve-his-nobel-peace-prize/562827/66 "2010-12-10T19:49:32Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > You are aware of course that Al Gore never won an Academy Award. It went to Davis Guggenheim. Made no mention of Gore, still thinks Obama is deserving of an Academy Award for his portrayal of a sitting President. All Gore deserves is a swift kick in the a\*\* ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-hindsight-did-obama-deserve-his-nobel-peace-prize/562827/67 "2010-12-10T20:16:04Z")
> [@flickster](#): > > Made no mention of Gore, still thinks Obama is deserving of an Academy Award for his portrayal of a sitting President. > > All Gore deserves is a swift kick in the a\*\* Since you’re veering so far off topic, I propose that Gore has seen enough punishment for one life. > [@](#): > > There was one exact moment, in fact, when I knew for sure that Al Gore would Never be President of the United States, no matter what the experts were saying – and that was when the whole Bush family suddenly appeared on TV and openly scoffed at the idea of Gore winning Florida. It was Nonsense, said the Candidate, Utter nonsense. … Anybody who believed Bush had lost Florida was a Fool. The Media, all of them, were Liars & Dunces or treacherous whores trying to sabotage his victory. > > They were strong words and people said he was Bluffing. But I knew better. Of course Bush would win Florida. Losing was out of the question. Here was the whole bloody Family laughing & hooting & sneering at the dumbness of the whole world on National TV. > > The old man was the real tip-off. The leer on his face was almost frightening. It was like looking into the eyes of a tall hyena with a living sheep in its mouth. The sheep’s fate was sealed, and so was Al Gore’s. … Everything since then has been political flotsam & Gibberish. ([Hunter S Thompson](http://proxy.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?id=906189) on Florida 2000) ---
**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:** [December 10, 2010, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-hindsight-did-obama-deserve-his-nobel-peace-prize/562827/68 "2010-12-10T20:27:44Z")
> [@flickster](#): > > Made no mention of Gore, still thinks Obama is deserving of an Academy Award for his portrayal of a sitting President. Ronald Reagan certainly should have gotten one for portraying somebody who had a fucking clue, and he was actually an actor. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-hindsight-did-obama-deserve-his-nobel-peace-prize/562827/69 "2010-12-10T21:02:17Z")
The criteria for evaluating nominees for the Nobel Prize for Peace is pretty ambiguous ("…shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses,") and subject to a wide range of interpretation. The inclusion of Theodore Roosevelt, Elihu Root, Austen Chamberlain, Henry Kissinger, Mother Teresa, Yasser Arafat, and Al Gore in the list of Nobel Peace Prize laureates indicates that an unwavering dedication to ethical peace, disarmament, and improvement of living conditions is not a definitive or restrictive criteria for evaluation of candidates. It is as often given away as a political gesture as awarded for actual accomplishments, as it clearly was with Barack Obama as a snub (no doubt in response to baseless rumors that George W. Bush, who has done even less to deserve consideration, was ever nominated). Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2010, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-hindsight-did-obama-deserve-his-nobel-peace-prize/562827/70 "2010-12-10T21:19:40Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Ronald Reagan certainly should have gotten one for portraying somebody who had a fucking clue, and he was actually an actor. I don’t think anyone seriously thought that Reagan had much of a clue even before he got up in front of the Tower Commission and claimed no recollection of authorizing or being informed of weapon shipments. But seriously, Reagan has a better claim on being a legitimate candidate than Obama on the basis of disarmament insofar as his accomplishments in international relations. I don’t speak, however, of his veiled threats, bombastic statements about “Evil Empires” or ill-informed dreams of an improbably effective Strategic Defense Initiative ABM system, but the personal friendship that he forged with Mikhail Gorbachev allowed the two men to come to essential terms on the reduction of strategic nuclear weapons and the elimination of intermediate range nuclear weapons which were the most destabilizing class of weapons in the European theater. The success that Gorbachev could claim in getting the Americans to agree to Soviet proposals while at the same time effecting a substantial reduction in launchers, mutual inspection of each others remaining arsenals, and overall liberalization of relations between NATO and the Warsaw Pact gave Gorbachev even more suction with the Politburo and further marginalized the remaining hardline elements agitating for expanded weapons development and testing. This allowed Gorbachev to fulfill the promise so hoped for by Khrushchev’s attempted reforms and liberalization that were undermined following the Cuban Missile Crisis. Stranger [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-hindsight-did-obama-deserve-his-nobel-peace-prize/562827.md?page=3)