# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Lethal\_Babydoll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3be4f8/32.png) [@Lethal\_Babydoll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lethal_Babydoll)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/61 "2009-10-09T12:54:14Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Everyone’s forgetting his successful mediation of the Henry Louis Gates conflict. oh, that’s good. i got to use that one at work today. thanks ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/62 "2009-10-09T12:59:56Z")
Call me another liberal who believes this was a very bad decision. My also quite liberal husband emailed me the first thing in the morning about it, calling it quite stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/63 "2009-10-09T13:01:17Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > Offer Hope. > On edit:\*\* Henrichek\*\*, you may be vastly underestimating just how much the world needs and craves hope after the last eight years. They could have given him the prize in his first 10 days. His accomplishment is who he is and what he represents to the rest of the world. I think you may be overestimating how much the USA and Obama means to the rest of the world. Obama is just another US president. He represents US power. But US power isn’t what it used to be. ---
**Author:** ![Reloy3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c68b51/32.png) [@Reloy3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reloy3)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/64 "2009-10-09T13:02:33Z")
I have never been so glad to add my voice into an echo chamber. I support my President, went door to door for him, and am generally pleased with his rhetoric (though I think SNL got it right in criticizing him for not following through with his promises). But he does not deserve the nobel prize, yet. ---
**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, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/65 "2009-10-09T13:05:50Z")
Well, the choices are unfortunately limited: economics, medicine, physics, literature…perhaps if there were a specific Nobel Prize for awesome… ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/66 "2009-10-09T13:06:30Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > I can think of one thing that could justify this decision- that in conducting an honorable & victorious campaign of the U.S. Presidency, he successfully overcame America’s heritage of racial tension. That is not an insignificant thing, though I really don’t think it justifies the Nobel. Then again, a lot of Nobels probably aren’t that justified. Has anyone here ever actually read a book that won the Nobel for literature? The science awards probably would stand more scrutiny though. Well, then he should win an American prize for overcoming racism. That isn’t about world peace. ---
**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, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/67 "2009-10-09T13:09:15Z")
Usually, the Nobel Peace Prize says to the recipient, “Well done!” But, in this case, I think the message is, “Hint, hint!” ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/68 "2009-10-09T13:11:05Z")
> [@wmfellows](#): > > You’re serious aren’t you? > > That’s an absurd reason to award the prize. Perhaps you understand better than the Nobel Committee what the reasons are for awarding the prize. I know that I don’t. The chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Thorbjorn Jagland, [said](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/10/world/10nobel.html?_r=1&hp) after the announcement: > [@](#): > > “The question we have to ask is who has done the most in the previous year to enhance peace in the world,” Mr. Jagland said. “And who has done more than Barack Obama?” I think there is some fixation here that one can not bring about peace by abstract or symbolic means. Perhaps to some people the much-needed injection of genuine, geopolitical game-changing hope is somehow not good enough to merit a Nobel. I disagree, and it seems the Nobel Committee does too. The Committee also noted: > [@](#): > > “Obama has as president created a new climate in international politics,” … “Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play.” It’s hard to disagree with this sentiment. But that isn’t good enough? There should be some minimum amount of time one must be on the world stage before he/she can be awarded a Nobel? Apparently, that isn’t the case. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/69 "2009-10-09T13:12:47Z")
Another big fan of the man, somewhat disappointed at the award. I’ve been a tad disappointed so far at his failure to lead and/or take bolder unilateral action on issues such as Guantanamo, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, or bringing the troops home. And am disappointed at the difficulty he is having organizing his own party in Congress. My initial thoughts were the award was to dissuade him from attacking Iran and ramping up in Afghanistan. Tho I also thought it reflected how much the world (justifiably IMO) despised his predecessor. Turning it down would be the classiest move. ---
**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, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/70 "2009-10-09T13:13:03Z")
Obama walks on water! Well, sure he did, he can’t swim! ---
**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, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/71 "2009-10-09T13:13:07Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > I have to say, it’s good to see that most Obama supporters (at least here) seem to see through the stupidity of this decision and are not letting their judgment get swayed by their admiration for the President. Only because they know they’ll be slammed for it. In RL, how can we really tell? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/72 "2009-10-09T13:19:49Z")
I’m pleasantly surprised to find myself in the majority here. I voted for Obama, have been pretty pleased with him so far, and think he has great potential. But it’s way, way too early to be giving him Nobel prizes. He hasn’t accomplished anything yet except get elected. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/73 "2009-10-09T13:20:07Z")
> [@SecondJudith](#): > > I like the theory that the Nobel Committee awarded it to him because they felt bad about Chicago’s not getting the 2016 Olympics. Yes, after the right’s shabby show of hatred for America and the President, it’s only fair that Obama get the Peace price. I wonder how W is taking it? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/74 "2009-10-09T13:23:55Z")
The pain in the ass about the whole thing is that Obama is totally behind the eightball on this one. It’s not like he had a full page ad in \*Variety \*lobbying for the prize. I’d read that he was woken with the news and that he was “humbled.” I’d imagine “embarrassed” would be a better descriptor. It doesn’t matter what he says or doesn’t say - accept it or not accept it - this is just going to wind up a big mess of “Obama the Messiah” shit from the right. Thanks Nobel Committee for throwing another grenade into the mix. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/75 "2009-10-09T13:25:42Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Turning it down would be the classiest move. Living up to it would be better. ---
**Author:** ![flonks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3ab097/32.png) [@flonks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flonks)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/76 "2009-10-09T13:28:43Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Who was he competing against? Apparently this year there was a record number of 205 nominees. > [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Usually, the Nobel Peace Prize says to the recipient, “Well done!” > > But, in this case, I think the message is, “Hint, hint!” I actually really think that this was one of the reasons, and not a bad one. It will be difficult for him to increase the number of troops in Afghanistan for starters. ---
**Author:** ![Gustav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/919ad9/32.png) [@Gustav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gustav)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/77 "2009-10-09T13:36:34Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > Living up to it would be better. Well if he declines it and then lives up to it, maybe they’ll award him the Nobel Peace Prize! ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2009, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/78 "2009-10-09T13:38:19Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > I can think of one thing that could justify this decision- that in conducting an honorable & victorious campaign of the U.S. Presidency, he successfully overcame America’s heritage of racial tension. That is not an insignificant thing, though I really don’t think it justifies the Nobel. Then again, a lot of Nobels probably aren’t that justified. Has anyone here ever actually read a book that won the Nobel for literature? The science awards probably would stand more scrutiny though. It would be difficult, as books don’t win the Noble Prize for Literature. Authors do. You’ve never read anything by Kipling, Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, Sinclair Lewis, Eugene O’Neill, Pearl Buck, T.S. Eliot (perhaps you’ve seen _Cats_?), Faulkner, Churchill, Hemingway, Camus, Pasternak, Steinbeck, Sartre, Solzhenitsyn, Neruda, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, William Golding, Nadine Gordimer, or V.S. Naipaul? Granted, I don’t know all of the laureates in literature (probably not even half) but that doesn’t speak to their low quality, it speaks to my ignorance of world literature. ---
**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, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/79 "2009-10-09T13:39:42Z")
> [@leander](#): > > The right is going to have a fucking field day with this. This is _just_ the break the McCain camp was waiting for! Another baffled supporter checking in. As filled with repugnance for GWB as I am, and as human as I am (which means I can’t quite completely excise getting a small kick out of the slap in the face), I yet think even an insult of this magnitude is offensive. Granted, the committee has greatly diminished themselves with this–what was once an icon is sliding towards irrelevance–so the insult isn’t _that_ great. But just as celebrating Obama’s loss of the Olympics was absurdly partisan, so is celebrating a global insult to Bush. Trying to fathom some shred of reasoning beyond he’s not GWB, the best I can come up with is that he’s an African American, son of an immigrant, raised by a single mother who rose to the Presidency of the United States. A lot of the Right Wing Marketing Machine, Rovian division, successfully diminished it with a quick acknowledgment as part of the get-over-it-it’s-not-a-big-deal, but it’s symbolic import is astronomical. This suggests what an earlier poster mentioned – the Time magazine route – might have been more appropriate. I’m **not** saying that this is the reason. It’s just expressing befuddlement and thinking that there must be _something_ more than he’s not GWB. Other suggestions? (This is GD, after all.) ---
**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, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obama-wins-nobel-peace-prize-what-is-the-sound-of-a-right-wing-head-exploding/513172/80 "2009-10-09T13:42:55Z")
What’s to understand, its a love letter to America, and some of you guys are bitching because the sentiment is corny. Well, of course it is! Does he deserve it? Do we? Does anyone, can anyone, actually deserve such a thing? He hasn’t given them peace, he’s given them hope for peace. And we gave them him! Obama couldn’t have happened anywhere else. America, number one! One flag-waving, red-blooded All American radical says “Yeeeeee-haw! Ride 'em and spank 'em, Barry!” [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=3) [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=5)