09 October 2009

Must Have Been a Slow Year in the Peace Business

Uh, aren't you supposed to actually do something to win the Nobel Peace Prize (see the 2006 Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, who actually accomplished quite a bit besides running a presidential campaign). Shit, at least Al Gore made a half-ass documentary. Politico cites the reason:

"Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future," the committee said. "His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population."
But what major foreign policy breakthroughs has he accomplished, not just promised to accomplish? If these are the standards for winning the award, then Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas" should've won it every year. And, yes, this post obviously means I hate America.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm completely shocked. I heard his speech at the UN and although it had a lot of flash (he is good at making speeches) it held little substance. For all his talk, neither Iran nor North Korea will stop pursuing nuclear weapons. For all his outreach to the Muslim community, he has failed to stop Hamas from pursuing rockets to use against Israel or from committing violence against Christians abroad. He can't even unite his own country on the issue of health care but he is promoted as fostering 'cooperation'. Are you kidding me? Nothing surprises me anymore among the left. I think that they are just crazy.

cheap said...

Is it true........ i can't believe it

Anonymous said...

I'm a big fan of Obama's...

...but still. I think this is the Nobel committee's bid to win the Nobel prize for satire this year.

A-ro

Bag Blog said...

If nominations must be in by Feb 1, what had Obama done at that time or even said that would warrant his nomination. You said it when you said it was a slow year in the peace business.

J. said...

It's a reward to the American people, really, for coming to their senses and kicking the Repubs out of office. It's the "thank god you didn't elect McCain/Palin, now we have a chance" award.

DirtDiver said...

I think "We Are the World" did more for peace than "Do they Know it's Christmas", I don't think "Do they Know it's Christmas" caught on in the Muslim world and "Get your Ramadan on" did not get enough radio play here in the states.

CI-Roller Dude said...

Hey, if enough bad players show up, even I can look good!

NateSF said...

The Dalai Lama also won, but what concrete goals has he really accomplished? The Tibet he fled from in the 50's is just a memory. Free trade with China has made it unlikely that anyone will question China's Tibet policy.

The prize isn't always directly linked to accomplishments, but usually it's given to someone that has spent more time devoted to their cause than Obama has. Giving Obama the prize speaks more to the hope that he'll deliver on the promise of change than his track record.

Obama swept into office with the promise of correcting what the public saw as Bush's mistakes: The war in Iraq at the expense of the war in Afghanistan, the deregulation of Wall Street leading to the ruin of the economy, and healthcare reform. These subjects are points of contention among the normally conservative voters that elected Democrats in their districts/states and could just as easily cause them to punish Democrats running in the mid term elections if they don't agree with how things were voted on.

If the Democratic party loses the majority in either house of congress, it is unlikely that any real reforms will take place in this presidential term. Maybe the Nobel prize committe is giving Obama the prize in case he misses the opportunity to change anything now.

Bag Blog said...

Considering past Peace Prize winners like Yasser Arafat and Al Gore, The Prize is just not worth much - talk is cheap.

amagi said...

“YO OBAMA, I'M REALLY HAPPY FOR YOU, I'MMA LET YOU FINISH... BUT MOHANDAS GANDHI HAD ONE OF THE BEST PEACE MOVEMENTS OF ALL TIME! ONE OF THE BEST PEACE MOVEMENTS OF ALL TIME!!!!”

Mike said...

When I woke yesterday and read this, I really thought it was some kind of joke from Drudge. After seeing that it was indeed true, I read that our Dear Leader had been nominated just a couple of weeks after his inaguration.

The only thing that could explain this award is that the Nobel commitee is "awarding" America for not electing McCain.

olgreydog7 said...

I can't wait for the internet to reveal who didn't win this year. Google Irena Sendler and you will be shocked. Well, maybe not after this year's result.

Ms. Kiyum said...

I just wanted to come over and see if you're alive. The Thais have taken over your Facebook.

Nixon said...

Nate Dog,

I think the Ramon Magsaysay Awards (similar to the Nobel Prize, but only for Asians) are for people who show potential to accomplish great things in the future, but I was under the impression that the Nobel Peace Prize actually meant you already had done some stuff. But whatever, if what J's saying is true, we all won Nobel Peace Prizes. Yeah! It's like when I was Time man of the Year awhile back.

limo hire said...

That was the obvious choice.