# obama wins nobel peace prize....what is the sound of a right-wing head exploding? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 9, 2009, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172 "2009-10-09T09:07:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/221 "2009-10-09T18:36:23Z")
What should we take away from this? How much Bush fucked over the US image around the world. ---
**Author:** ![Anduril](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c0e974/32.png) [@Anduril](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anduril)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/222 "2009-10-09T18:39:14Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Good grief…thought we dispensed with this already. > > It has been pointed out that the Nobel Peace Prize is frequently given to _encourage_ good work they approve of. If they think you are on the right path they toss the weight of the prize and some money behind you as a means to promote further actions along those lines. > > It is _not_ only about things already achieved. > > Now, you may disagree with that or whatever but it is their prize to give as they see fit and not yours. They seem to think Obama’s efforts so far towards diplomacy is worth encouraging. > > Like most others I think this was pushing it but I am not going to beat on Obama for it since he did nothing to seek the award. They just gave it to him. That’s a very low standard. What exactly are his efforts towards diplomacy that hasn’t been done in the past? Also, it’s one thing to SAY you’re moving towards a certain diplomatic course, it’s quite another to actually DO it. For instance, didn’t he make a lot of promises during the campaigns that he has since backed off? “Efforts towards diplomacy” is SO vague as to make it mean “I like this hopey changey thing that he symbolizes among his fans throughout the world. Let’s give him the Nobel Prize”. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/223 "2009-10-09T18:42:45Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > It has been pointed out that the Nobel Peace Prize is frequently given to _encourage_ good work they approve of. If they think you are on the right path they toss the weight of the prize and some money behind you as a means to promote further actions along those lines. Who, prior to this, won the award under those conditions? I’m sure plenty of people have won and then continued to do good work. But has anyone won before this who was similarly situated in terms of “past achievements” vs. “future potential?” – where the focus was so strongly on the future achievements as opposed to the past achievements? Since it’s “frequently” given this way, this should be an easy question to answer. > [@](#): > > Like most others I think this was pushing it but I am not going to beat on Obama for it since he did nothing to seek the award. They just gave it to him. Of course this is absolutely right. This is no fault whatsoever of Obama’s, and I suspect he’d have preferred they didn’t do this. I’m sure he’d have loved to have this happen two or three years from now, in fact, but I imagine now he’s wincing a bit. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/224 "2009-10-09T18:48:02Z")
If a battleship is aiming to run aground and take out a city in the process; and someone runs up just in time to turn the wheel, yell for the engine room to do everything in it’s power to stop!, or Turn Left!, and avoid the danger, it almost doesn’t matter how little actual effort he put in, or how many other people were involved in solving the problem. The point is, he identified the problem, he resolved to meet it head on, he led the solution and made the calls which avoided the danger. Obama turned the ship in the nick of time; IMHO he deserves a reward. I also think that the world at large is looking for ways to send strong messages to the Republicans. This is another one. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/225 "2009-10-09T18:48:27Z")
[Some measured criticism from the left.](http://www.thenation.com/blogs/notion/482445/the_aspirational_nobel) ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/226 "2009-10-09T18:48:50Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Good grief…thought we dispensed with this already. > > It has been pointed out that the Nobel Peace Prize is frequently given to _encourage_ good work they approve of. If they think you are on the right path they toss the weight of the prize and some money behind you as a means to promote further actions along those lines. > > It is _not_ only about things already achieved. > > Now, you may disagree with that or whatever but it is their prize to give as they see fit and not yours. They seem to think Obama’s efforts so far towards diplomacy is worth encouraging. > > Like most others I think this was pushing it but I am not going to beat on Obama for it since he did nothing to seek the award. They just gave it to him. Bah. What a despicably pathetic standard for the premier peace prize in the world. It’s a gold star beside Obama’s name on the blackboard, huh? How worthless. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/227 "2009-10-09T18:49:27Z")
What has Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar accomplished, save for the courage to hope? Has the military junta been disbanded? Is there democracy and human rights in Myanmar? This is a love letter to America, with a dozen roses and a box of chocolates. Do we deserve love? Of course not, but then, who ever does? And if we will only give each other what we deserve, what will we ever have? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/228 "2009-10-09T18:52:13Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > It has been pointed out that the Nobel Peace Prize is frequently given to _encourage_ good work they approve of. If they think you are on the right path they toss the weight of the prize and some money behind you as a means to promote further actions along those lines. > > It is _not_ only about things already achieved. From the link posted by **BrainGlutton** : > [@](#): > > The Committee insists this is not an aspirational prize, no carrot to make the United States and its president better neighbors. Thobjorn Jagland, the former prime minister of Norway who chaired this year’s committee, insists that it’s for work the president has already accomplished, for “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” > > “We are not awarding the prize for what may happen in the future, but for what he has done in the previous year,” Jagland said. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/229 "2009-10-09T18:53:28Z")
[A correspondent for 538.com offers some reasons for the win, although he says the reasoning is “a bit tenuous.”](http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/) As support, he includes Obama’s efforts on nuclear non-proliferation, his stance on climate change (like the EPA’s move to regulate carbon dioxide as a pollutant), strategic changes in diplomacy including a meeting with an Iranian negotiator, and Obama’s re-elevation of UN Ambassador to a Cabinet level post. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/230 "2009-10-09T18:54:31Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > From the link posted by **BrainGlutton** : I don’t take their statements at face value. ---
**Author:** ![Anduril](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c0e974/32.png) [@Anduril](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anduril)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/231 "2009-10-09T18:55:02Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > What has Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar accomplished, save for the courage to hope? Has the military junta been disbanded? Is there democracy and human rights in Myanmar? > > This is a love letter to America, with a dozen roses and a box of chocolates. Do we deserve love? Of course not, but then, who ever does? And if we will only give each other what we deserve, what will we ever have? Don’t start with that. There are a lot of people so much more deserving with ACTUAL accomplishments. Obama is a no-achievement phenom. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/232 "2009-10-09T18:55:51Z")
From John McCain: > [@](#): > > I congratulate President Obama on receiving this prestigious award. I join my fellow Americans in expressing pride in our President on this occasion. Props. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/233 "2009-10-09T18:55:55Z")
> [@Anduril](#): > > Obama is a no-achievement phenom. Do you think if you keep saying that over and over again, it will become true? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/234 "2009-10-09T18:56:57Z")
Once again, John McCain is the only one left in the GOP showing any semblence of class. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/235 "2009-10-09T18:58:31Z")
> [@Anduril](#): > > Don’t start with that. There are a lot of people so much more deserving with ACTUAL accomplishments. Obama is a no-achievement phenom. \*\*Anduril \*\*needs a hug. Volunteers? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/236 "2009-10-09T19:02:25Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > \*\*Anduril \*\*needs a hug. Volunteers? I nominate Barack Obama. ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/237 "2009-10-09T19:07:38Z")
Nah, he hasn’t accomplished enough to deserve a hug. ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/238 "2009-10-09T19:09:24Z")
> [@SecondJudith](#): > > Is being influenced towards world peace a bad thing in the US? What the hell is ‘world peace’? Is leaving the Taliban in power about world peace? How about the Kim Jung in North Korea? If the world wanted world peace they’d get off their collective ass and smack down the dictators of the world that cause such misery over those they subjugate. They should all be in Afghanistan and Iraq ensuring that those countries can’t revert back to dictatorships and can succeed in the modern world. No, what the world wants is the status quo, not world peace. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/239 "2009-10-09T19:12:39Z")
NYTimes:[ > [@](#): > > While in recent decades the selection process has produced many winners better known for their suffering or their environmental zeal than for peacemaking, Mr. Jagland, a former Norwegian prime minister, said he intended to incorporate a more practical approach. > > “It’s important for the committee to recognize people who are struggling and idealistic,” Mr. Jagland said in an interview, “but we cannot do that every year. We must from time to time go into the realm of realpolitik. It is always a mix of idealism and realpolitik that can change the world.” ]([http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/10/world/10oslo.html?hp](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/10/world/10oslo.html?hp)) ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/240 "2009-10-09T19:13:32Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I don’t take their statements at face value. OK, so they’re not telling the truth about why the award was given – it WAS given for prospective future achievements. I’ll re-ask my earlier question: Has anyone else won before this who was similarly situated in terms of “past achievements” vs. “future potential?” – where the focus was so strongly on the future achievements as opposed to the past achievements? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172.md?page=13)