Obama '08?

@spendius,

spendius wrote:

Do you all believe that Mr Obama wasn't consulted first?

Of course he was. All other 204 nominees have been in Norway, Obama, too (why did he fly to Denmark???).

Same is, as everyone knows, with all the nominees for the other Nobel prizes ...

What the Nobel committees report about how's done, is just a hoax. Or maybe, such was done 100 years ago ...

1 Reply

I'm not one of those people that see's a conspiracy anytime Obama's name is mentioned in a positive way, but this is to much.
He had only been president for 11 days when his name was placed into consideration for the prize.
He probably hadnt found all the bathrooms in the WH yet by then.

What were his accomplishments to even be considered eligible, after only 11 days?
This seems to me to be a purely political award, with no actual merit behind it, IMHO.

I am not one to believe the crap put out about the supposed unreasonable worldwide adulation for Obama, but this sure seems to fit that description.

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@Cycloptichorn,

Cycloptichorn wrote:

maporsche wrote:
I think most people believe that the winner of this award should actually have done something to earn it. Looking at the list today I see a lot of people who have real, actual, accomplishments that have led toward peace. I couldn't have named any of them before today, but my expectation is that to win a prize, you must have done something to earn it.

The Nobel committee disagrees with you on that one.

If it does, it would be going against the express will of Alfred Nobel:

Quote:

Alfred Nobel's will prescribed that the Peace Prize was to be awarded by a committee of five persons chosen by the Norwegian Parliament (Storting) and should go to the person who accomplished "the most or the best work for fraternity among nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the promotion of peace congresses."

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@Walter Hinteler,

Quote:

Of course he was.

If that's a fact then some big lies have been told and some mummery has been perpetrated.

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@nimh,

nimh wrote:

Cycloptichorn wrote:
maporsche wrote:
I think most people believe that the winner of this award should actually have done something to earn it. Looking at the list today I see a lot of people who have real, actual, accomplishments that have led toward peace. I couldn't have named any of them before today, but my expectation is that to win a prize, you must have done something to earn it.

The Nobel committee disagrees with you on that one.

If it does, it would be going against the express will of Alfred Nobel:

Quote:
Alfred Nobel's will prescribed that the Peace Prize was to be awarded by a committee of five persons chosen by the Norwegian Parliament (Storting) and should go to the person who accomplished "the most or the best work for fraternity among nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the promotion of peace congresses."

Well, they obviously DID disagree, b/c they gave Obama the prize.

I'm not sure why you have such a bee in your bonnet over this one, Nimh. This is hardly the first time the prize has gone to people who didn't really deserve it.

Let me ask you; out of the 'finalists,' which one has done more to promote the most or the best work for fraternity among nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the promotion of peace congresses?"

I only ask, because it seems that Obama hasn't exactly done nothing in that respect. He has taken the most powerful nation in the world and changed it's foreign policy goals and directions quite a bit.

Cycloptichorn

2 Replies

@Cycloptichorn,

Cycloptichorn wrote:

I'm not sure why you have such a bee in your bonnet over this one, Nimh.

It's hardly just me, Cyclo. Seriously, other than you, Walter and Soz here on A2K I have not heard anyone have a good word about this today - and I'm surrounded by lefties. Reactions range from nonplussed to "he should turn it down". The overwhelming consensus is simply, "WTF?"

You saw the same on the Obama Nobel Prize thread, with posts from Dlowan and Msolga to eBeth and Fbaezer saying it's very premature - at best.

I think it's not good for Obama, I think it's not good for the Nobel Prize, and I think it's a shame for the other apparent top nominees to whom getting it would have meant so much more. That's three reasons to have a bee in my bonnet right there.

Meanwhile, you seem to see this primarily through the prism of how great an opportunity this is to rile up the rightwingers. Which is a) misdirected, since it's as many libs as reps you're arguing with, and b) seemingly indicative of the level the nobel prize committee took its own decision on. Which is a shame, really, but that just brings me back to the previous para.

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@Cycloptichorn,

Cycloptichorn wrote:

He has taken the most powerful nation in the world and changed it's foreign policy goals and directions quite a bit.

This.

1 Reply

@nimh,

Quote:

I think it's not good for Obama, I think it's not good for the Nobel Prize, and I think it's a shame for the other apparent top nominees to whom getting it would have meant so much more. That's three reasons to have a bee in my bonnet right there.

Don't get me wrong - I don't think it is particularly helpful for Obama in any way. It doesn't do anything for him or give him any sort of power or authority that he didn't have before. However, it hardly hurts him and it's not outside of the bounds of believability that the Nobel committee would select Obama. Arguments can be made that his position and the foreign policy that he's trying to implement answer Nobel's goal better than the other finalists, whose work seems to involve human rights issues to a greater extent than it does fostering a 'brotherhood between nations.'

My beef is with those who are using the fact that he received an unsolicited award as an opportunity to knock him. I find it interesting that so many who have been somewhat absent from the politics forum - including you - were inspired to come back and put in their two cents about how much Obama didn't deserve this award.

The 'he should turn it down' meme is fatuous and juvenile, nobody expects him to turn it down and it would be an insult to many around the world if he did. I understand the WTF reaction - it isn't much different than what my own reaction was. But then I thought for a second about the Nobel prize, about the criteria, and about past selections from the committee, and it made a lot more sense.

The whole sturm und drang thing coming from the other side is just a fun bonus to the entire discussion, because at the end of the day - as everyone knows - this is a meaningless award. It's a private award given out by a group of people who make arbitrary decisions. It carries no special weight, other than what people assign to it. If Obama receiving the award causes the Nobel prize itself to lose legitimacy, so what. The whole thing was a farce to begin with. Watching people get so upset over it (on both the right and the left) provides me with a good deal of amusement.

Cycloptichorn

0 Replies

@DrewDad,

DrewDad wrote:

Cycloptichorn wrote:
He has taken the most powerful nation in the world and changed it's foreign policy goals and directions quite a bit.

This.

I'm sorry to say that I don't quite understand, sir.

Cycloptichorn

1 Reply

@nimh,

Obama gets to pocket $1.4M for achievements the Nobel Committee wants him to accomplish in the future. In any other capacity this would be considered either a political contribution or a bribe....

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It might be to have Norway on the "Not to Be Bombed" list.

Hitler ordered the Luftwaffe not to bomb Blackpool. And it wasn't.

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@slkshock7,

nah - he won't be pocketing it - the whole charitable donation thing was already announced

1 Reply

@Cycloptichorn,

Cycloptichorn wrote:

It's hard to see how Obama needs to be defended, from receiving an award which he didn't ask for and cannot reasonably decline. What exactly needs defending?

People are saying that Obama doesn't deserve this award; you're defending him, saying that he does. Or at the very least, you're making jabs at those who are saying that Obama doesn't deserve it.

Is that not defending Obama?

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@Walter Hinteler,

Um....no.

What in my post would lead you to ask that question? Did you mis-read it?

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@Cycloptichorn,

Cycloptichorn wrote:

You love to bitch about Obama. I mean, you really seem to enjoy it. I'm sure you will protest that you don't, but I don't believe you. So let me ask you, as someone who voted for Obama, exactly what have you done to stay active politically? To help him accomplish the health care bill or other bills?

When a president makes choices/decisions that I disagree with; I will call them out on it. I did it with Bush and I will continue to do it with Obama. When Obama makes decisions I agree with, I post my agreement as well. But like any message board, the most interesting topics are the ones that you can argue about. If I just agreed with you every time you post (like others here do), that'd make for a pretty boring conversation, wouldn't it?

As far as being politically active, I've written my representatives on 3 seperate occasions about topics that I felt they should hear my voice on (including the health care bill). I'm active on this board, discussing politics with other people. I keep my family abreast of what is going on in the world around them. I've challenged and discussed with several of my coworkers (the one's who believe the crap about death panels) the real impact and results that one could expect regarding the health care bill. I have direct political conversations with close to 20 people in any given week; many/most of whom disagree with me (because, like this board, they're more fun to talk to and argue with).

Most of my political/community involvement is at the local level. I attend my city council meetings every other week. I volunteer for city events (for example, I organized a 5k fundraiser for the police department just last month, we raised over $7,000, which isn't bad for a town of 25,000). I've mentored children who need stronger positive influences in their lives. I run and raise money for several charities. I donate over 5% of my salary to various charities and causes (some political). I volunteer my time to various organizations on my own and through the volunteerism committee that I rank highly on at work.

Quote:

My guess is: nothing whatsoever. Because it's way, way easier to sit around and bitch, than it is to actually work towards something.

Screw you Cyclops.

1 Reply

@ehBeth,

A bribe is a bribe....whether the recipient keeps it or gives it to charity.

1 Reply

@slkshock7,

You're quite serious, aren't you?

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@maporsche,

maporsche, You shouldn't let Cyclo get to you! I also see many short-comings about Obama's presidency during his first nine months, and will call him on it. If Cyclo sees those only as bitching, what more does he expect from us? I have written to the white house and congress on those issues I have disagreed with, and I will continue to bitch away at things I believe are inconsistencies to his campaign rhetoric and what he actually does in office.

I say, tough ****.

1 Reply

@nimh,

I agree with you 100%; expectations are good, but we don't even know what the real results will be this early in his first term.

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@cicerone imposter,

I wouldn't say these things if what I saw was a mixed bag; but I feel perfectly free to call out repeated negativity on the part of Dems towards Obama, the same way that you and others feel free to call out Obama when you think he's doing wrong.

I mean, ****. MaP complains about Obama and the Dems more than the Republicans here do. A lot more. Never misses an opportunity to knock the way things are going. It gets tiresome. If you claimed to be a supporter of the guy, try ******* supporting him some instead of playing the Concern troll all the time.

I've said it before, this is the Politics forum, not the 'play happy make nice friends' forum. Just like the two of you, I call 'em exactly as I see's em.

Cycloptichorn

2 Replies

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