# 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:** 13
**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, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/241 "2009-10-09T19:15:43Z")
Arafat. ---
**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, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/242 "2009-10-09T19:17:15Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > 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? Post 227. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/243 "2009-10-09T19:21:04Z")
> [@Uzi](#): > > No, what the world wants is the status quo, not world peace. What the world needs now, is quo, status quo It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of. Naw, not the same. Though it’s in all the papers and being widely reported, I’m not sure I believe he actually won it. I know there are a few people who _claim_ to have seen the award certificate, but all we’ve had so far is a report of live winning, nothing like an _actual_ win certificate. I bet some of the Swiss guard who are supposed to provide security for the celebration are going to be reluctant to attend, seeing as how he isn’t the _real_ winner. ---
**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, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/244 "2009-10-09T19:23:45Z")
Might be a good idea to temporarily suspend Kanye West’s passport. Just to be on the safe side. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/245 "2009-10-09T19:25:04Z")
All I’ll say is that, as increasingly happens, I am unable to distinguish reality from an Onion article. I’m not sure what that says about The Onion, or reality. I literally thought this was a joke when it hit my inbox today; totally expected a satirical link. ---
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/246 "2009-10-09T19:32:04Z")
Isn’t he the first American to win without a valid birth certificate? ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/247 "2009-10-09T19:33:45Z")
Like practically everyone I was surprised and baffled by this prize. But after thinking about it a bit I do think it makes a certain amount of sense. A few years down the line it may well be considered an inspired choice. First of all I do think Obama has achieved quite a bit towards making the world more peaceful. As President he wields enormous power and even moderate policy shifts by the US can have enormous consequences around the world. He has already had more of an impact on world history than most of the past winners of the Prize. Secondly winning election matters and can itself push public opinion and policy in a particular direction. In Obama’s case he defeated a significantly more hawkish opponent in the primaries and a much more hawkish opponent in the general. Thirdly Obama has been highly successful at freeing himself form the national security straitjacket that has constrained Democratic presidents since at least Kennedy. For decades Democrats have been terrified of appearing weak on national security and have often bent over backwards to appear otherwise. If Hillary had become president she would have been very much in that tradition. Obama has managed to promote a sane approach to national security without appearing weak. One of his most successful strategies has been co-opting parts of the realist wing of the GOP: people like Bob Gates and Jim Jones who give him political cover. Vision and strategy are often determined early in an administration and become the basis for later successes. Obama has already put together a broad foreign policy framework and a team to execute it. He has articulated a foreign policy vision that appeals both to US voters and the world at large: no mean feat. IMO this is already a significant achievement especially in the context of what came before. The Nobel Prize both recognizes that achievement and hopefully spurs more action to fully realize the potential. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/248 "2009-10-09T19:36:05Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > 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? Fine…go by what the award itself was specified to be (bolding mine): > [@](#): > > On 27 November 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his last will and testament, giving the largest share of his fortune to a series of prizes, the Nobel Prizes. As described in Nobel’s will, one part was dedicated to **“the person who 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”**. > > SOURCE: [http://nobelprize.org/nobel\_prizes/peace/shortfacts.html](http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/shortfacts.html) That says nothing to me about actual results but rather having done the most in an effort to make the world a more peaceful place. As to your challenge: [Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan](http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1976/index.html) received the Nobel Peace Prize for founding a peace movement in Northern Ireland. They had not achieved peace that year. They just set about towards that goal. ---
**Author:** ![toofs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@toofs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toofs)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/249 "2009-10-09T19:37:55Z")
I am currently deployed with the Navy. When I was in Cameroon and in Gabon, many locals were wearing Obama t-shirts. I found it inspiring that the citizens of these countries wear our president on their shirts and not their own leader/ dictators. Not what I expected. Being optimistic about his leadership is one thing, but the Nobel peace prize? How high a pedestal is the world going to put this man? ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/250 "2009-10-09T19:44:57Z")
> [@Gustav](#): > > I don’t know if there exists any respectful way to turn down a nobel prize. Certainly not that won’t be used against him. ‘I cannot accept this prize yet as I do not believe I have earned it. I would love to accept this honor but I can only do so if I deserved it, which I do not at this time.’ People would eat that shit up. ---
**Author:** ![Honesty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f04885/32.png) [@Honesty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honesty)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/251 "2009-10-09T19:46:51Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > . How is that supposed to work - "My generals recommended a troop increase, and it sure makes sense that this would work as well as the surge did in Iraq. But the Nobel committee gave me a shiny plaque and a big check. > > So fuck it." > > Another reason why he better turn it down. > > Regards, > Shodan What is this idea that Obama is obligated to defer to the decisions of the general? I think this logic underlies an unsaid, but certainly not unfelt idea that Obama is supposed to act as a “co-general” of some sort because he lacks “experience”. It is unfortunate. Obama is the “Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States”. The final decision rests with him. Read up on Truman. - Honesty ---
**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, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/252 "2009-10-09T19:48:03Z")
It would insult those who gave it to him. What he HAS said is perfect – “I don’t deserve it, but I will accept it as a call to action.” ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/253 "2009-10-09T19:49:10Z")
> [@Scylla](#): > > Isn’t he the first American to win without a valid birth certificate? He _has_ a valid birth certificate. It shows clearly that he was born in Babyland General Hospital in Cleveland, Georgia, where Dr. Xavier Roberts personally signed the delivery certificate. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/254 "2009-10-09T19:50:11Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > It would insult those who gave it to him. It would be a national dishonor to have Oslo declare war for refusing to accept the Nobel Peace Prize. ---
**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, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/255 "2009-10-09T19:50:31Z")
Jeez, **Dio** , don’t use the word “perfect” when talking about Obama, you _know_ how that upsets them… ---
**Author:** ![Kearsen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@Kearsen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/256 "2009-10-09T19:50:37Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Thanks for proving my point. What point was that? I am far from a right looney, yet even I can distinguish the false justification for which this was given. If this was a prize that could be given PRIOR to something justifiable being done, then ok, but it never has been before. ---
**Author:** ![Kearsen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@Kearsen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/257 "2009-10-09T19:52:45Z")
> [@Honesty](#): > > What is this idea that Obama is obligated to defer to the decisions of the general? I think this logic underlies an unsaid, but certainly not unfelt idea that Obama is supposed to act as a “co-general” of some sort because he lacks “experience”. It is unfortunate. Obama is the “Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States”. The final decision rests with him. Read up on Truman. > > - Honesty Much like Bush, I’d rather the “Commander in Chief” rely upon those with the experience and knowledge than to go with his gut when it comes to people’s lives on the line. ---
**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, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/258 "2009-10-09T19:54:34Z")
Worldwide respect, admiration and affection for an American President. Dreadful consequences abound. Woe is us. ---
**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, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/259 "2009-10-09T19:55:48Z")
> [@Huerta88](#): > > All I’ll say is that, as increasingly happens, I am unable to distinguish reality from an Onion article. I’m not sure what that says about The Onion, or reality. A lot of us have been dealing with this for many years. You get used to it. > [@elucidator](#): > > Post 227. You could might also say this about Shirin Ebadi and Kim Dae Jung, to name two recent laureates. > [@mswas](#): > > ‘I cannot accept this prize yet as I do not believe I have earned it. I would love to accept this honor but I can only do so if I deserved it, which I do not at this time.’ > > People would eat that shit up. Some would, but when you compare this to what he actually said, you can see why many others wouldn’t. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/260 "2009-10-09T19:56:40Z")
> [@Scylla](#): > > Isn’t he the first American to win without a valid birth certificate? Teddy Roosevelt couldn’t possibly have been born in the USA, because a guy that tough had to have been from Krypton. [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=12) [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=14)