That doesn’t wash, either… Bush was gone, even if no one ran against him. Award a guy for being present at a legally-guaranteed event? Nope - Then the Constitution should be the one getting the award.
I still think is it’s hangover Obamania in the northern lattitudes.
That is my point - for non-USA residents, Obama winning was perhaps a turning point in what they view as efforts towards world peace. We can hash over what Obama had done, or not done, since he has been elected - but for many other countries, Obama’s election alone was reason enough to breathe a collect sigh of relief.
Again - was this a valid reason? Who knows. It seems to have been the major political turning point of the year in the eyes of the Nobel Committee.
Which still stikes me as stupid, and beyond stupid - Bush was gone, baby! Two and out; thems be da rules. A tree stump could’ve replaced him - Awarding Obama for being the legal equivalent of a tree stump is hardly respecting of the supposed dignity of the award. Do they disprespect their award that much?
Edit: Italics on wrong word
Or McCain/Palin, which arguably wouldn’t have been a great improvement.
Oh, I dunno - McCain strikes me as pretty much a blockhead, and Palin’s about as bright as a stump…
But let us presume you’re correct - Then the American people should be getting the award.
While this has always worked in the US so far, following the rules of term-limits isn’t always a given in other countries, when a powerful man comes to office and then perpetuates great crimes.
And I can see that other countries might have had moments of doubt that we’d follow through on two-and-done this time, with GWB being seen as such a great and powerful evil. Who cheerfully subverted our constitution in a number of other ways.
(Obama supporter here, who thinks this complicates things sure, but there is no shame in his award, just a sense of ill timing.)
I politely didn’t mention you spelled latitudes incorrectly, but whatever. Excuse my typo.
Hedda Rosa:
Really? Who seriously doubted that Bush would go away again? Anyone who knows anything about America would know better. Anyone too ignorant to know that, or too illiterate to look it up, has no place awarding anyone anything.
“Let me be clear: I do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments, but rather as an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations.”
I think he is saying exactly what I have been saying in this thread.
Agreed, DMark.
I applaud the decision. I think it was made for all the right reasons.
The efforts Obama has been making to restore U.S. diplomacy, and recover our prestige on the international stage, will go far in terms of bringing peace.
I take it from the tone of this thread that the headline is NOT a joke, which I honestly thought it was. It truly devalues the award AGAIN for me, after Gore won it. The Peace Prize should be given to someone who’s been mitigating a civil war for a decade, or championing the farmers of Ecuador against the government and cartels that want to take their land. Obama’s not even been in office for a year!!!
No, this is not just because I didn’t vote for him. Really.
Guys, you are aware that Obama’s been working for nuclear disarmament for years, right?
Actually, no. But since I see no signs of actual nuclear disarmament, I would class that under “work in progress.”
I hope this is a kick in the rear for him and his people to realize that he’s in a position to do a lot, not just talk about doing it, and it’s time to do more of the doing because a lot of the Western world would be behind him. I think he’s got all sorts of amazing potential, and I don’t want it squandered.
That is the way the Nobel science committees do it, but that is NOT really in keeping with the rules. His will specifies that the prizes are to be given to those who did the most “in the last year”.
But the committees have ignored that part, because they have been burned in the past by honoring scientific work that turned out to be wrong.
The “Worthiness” gulf between the Scientific and Non-Scientific Nobel Prizes is really interesting- if someone wins the Nobel Prize for Physics, you know they’ve done something really important and respectable, but the Nobel Peace Prize isn’t nearly as prestigious.
Aung San Suu Kyi and the United Nations Peacekeeping Forces have both been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, in 1991 and 1988 respectively. The United Nations themselves were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001, FWIW.
Even someone from another country, who doesn’t suffer from “It can’t happen here” syndrome?
Personally, if Bush wasn’t such an incompetent I wouldn’t be surprised if he would have made himself dictator for life. Fortunately, he and his supporters were as incompetent in instituting one party rule as they were in everything else.
That really says it all doesnt it ?
That’s almostly pit-worthily paranoid and without any kind of basis in obserable fact.
UNO deserves the award (whether Kofi Annan did is something is debateable), the UN has on balance been a force for good in the world.
As for he prize, well considering the Obama-love going aroud, I full expect him to be canonized by this time next year.