Obama won Nobel Peace Prize

cameragirl21 wrote: Not really sure what I think about this--on the one hand, as an American, I'm proud that our president won such a prestigious award. On the other hand, I'm not really sure what he won it for...nothing much has been accomplished yet, just talk and ideas.
Your thoughts?

PrairieMom replied: yeah, I don't get it. He was nominated 11 days into his term. I wonder if he could even find the bathrooms in his new house by then, let alone accomplish something peace prize worthy.

A&A'smommy replied: really I hate to say it but I find it slightly amusing, REALLY I think that they should have given to someone who REALLY earned it. I definitely don't think that he earned it not yet anyway.

DVFlyer replied: I don't know the specifics, but other presidents have won the NPP also. So it may not be unprecedented.

On a totally different topic, McDonald's is giving away Nobel Peace Prizes with every Chicken McNugget Happy Meal.

luvbug00 replied: and he has done what?
I thought it would be nice to hold the door for an old lady ..do i get the peace prize ???

redchief replied:
Methinks the means of conveyance of the McDonald's Peace Prize is just as well thought as the Scandinavians. Wilson won the peace prize for ending WW1 and starting the League of Nations. Roosevelt won for brokering peace between Japan and Russia. Both won the prizes in their second terms. President Obama won in his second month (the secret vote takes place in February). Obama won for beating around the Bush. Has the world been so bereft of peaceable leaders in 2008? Or is socialist Scandinavia awarding formerly prestigious prizes to people for what they could be?

bluebear replied: The announcement drew gasps of surprise and cries of too much, too soon. Yet President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday because the judges found his promise of disarmament and diplomacy too good to ignore.

The five-member Norwegian Nobel Committee — four of whom spoke to The Associated Press, said awarding Obama the peace prize could be seen as an early vote of confidence intended to build global support for the policies of his young administration.

They lauded the change in global mood wrought by Obama's calls for peace and cooperation, and praised his pledges to reduce the world stock of nuclear arms, ease U.S. conflicts with Muslim nations and strengthen its role in combating climate change.



stop with the Obama bashing jokes. it's getting really old.

luvmykids replied: I literally just heard on the late news that the committee gave the award to Obama because "they were impressed by his speeches". It's not an Obama bashing joke, many people "were impressed by his speeches" during his campaign. I hardly think speeches qualify someone to win what was once such a noble award....If that's the criteria they use these days, I'm guessing there are quite a few people just as deserving and I use that word lightly

Kentuckychick replied: I'm an Obama supporter... I don't feel he deserved to be awarded the Noble Peace Prize... but guess what? Neither did he.

He didn't choose to win the award, so I don't think people should be taking it out on him (not that anyone here is). They say he won the award because of his goals for peace and for nuclear disarmament. I say he won the award because he's the first president in the United States who isn't white and perhaps other countries have seen that as a big turn in a country they so hate. And honestly... that is a pretty big accomplishment. Still... not worth the award...

But that's not for us to decide.

luvbug00 replied: i don;'t think anyway is blaming him for winning. Not like he had much say.
My big issue is this is a very noteable and respected prize to recieve and those in the past who have recieved this award
Jimmy carter, Nelson mandela, gorbachov and mother Teresa.
THEY deserve the award, they DID somthing more then just give good speaches.
So for me this is just yea..But whats done is done, so time to hope that he pulls threw on his speaches.

PrairieMom replied: yeah, no bashing here, I just don't think he earned it. I am a little confused by the whole thing.

youngmomofone replied: Yeah well lets see if he does anything he promised.

Calimama replied: I'm a little confused as to why he won also. Does he write his own speeches? If not, his speech writer should win one too.

jcc64 replied: Each and every thing Obama does, wins, says, or doesn't do, win, or say, is seen as another opportunity to score political hay. It was the same thing with Bush. Our country's in a sh*$hole, and all that's getting done is the usual partisan sniping, though this time around, on steroids.

jcc64 replied: Thought those on Obama's back might be interested in his own humility surrounding the nomination:


"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.

"To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who've been honored by this prize -- men and women who've inspired me and inspired the entire world through their courageous pursuit of peace.

"But I also know that this prize reflects the kind of world that those men and women, and all Americans, want to build -- a world that gives life to the promise of our founding documents. And I know that throughout history, the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes. And that is why I will accept this award as a call to action -- a call for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century."

I don't know how anyone can find fault with any of the above. But I'm certain many will find a way.

luvmykids replied: I'd read his remarks, and don't fault him, I'm aware he didn't even know he was nominated until very recently.

FWIW, it's not even about politics or partisanship for me....I've never denied that Obama can give good speech. It's the simple fact that such a prestigious award was given to someone for their intentions and ambitions rather than their actions. How many people have great aspirations? Lots. Time will tell if he earns this great show of faith the committee has in him; honestly, I hope we can say in hindsight that they were right but in the meantime, it leaves me puzzled as to the train of thought that went into the decision.

jcc64 replied: Actually, the move to award someone's intentions and ambitions with regard to the Nobel Peace Prize is with quite a bit of precedent. President Carter was awarded the same prize for his efforts (which failed) to broker peace in the Middle East, same thing for other players in the ongoing conflicts in the region over the years whose names elude me at the moment (if you're interested, I'll dig them up) but who ultimately, accomplished very little.

luvmykids replied: The key word is "efforts"....that means they've attempted rather than talked about.

At any rate, my point was that it's much more about the reason for the award than the recipient.

MommyToAshley replied: First of all, let me start by saying that I don't like most of Obama's domestic policies and don't agree with some of his foreign policy either.

I can certainly understand that some think that Obama doesn't deserve the Nobel Peace Prize as they don't see anything he has "done". From where I sit, I agree there are others more deserving of the award. But, maybe that's the problem, we only look at things from where we sit and don't look at things from another perspective. If he really has changed the perception that the rest of the world has towards the United States, then maybe that in itself is a worthy accomplishment.

I know the comments here are not politically motivated, and I respect everyone's opinion. But, I hate that our elected representatives use moments like these, as well as the bid for the Olympics, as a time to play politics. There's a time to put politics aside and come together as a nation with one voice, and I think this is one of them. Why does it have to be a disaster like 9-11 that brings us together?

I find it ironic that we were appalled when Kayne West took the stage and demanded that someone other than Taylor Swift was more deserving of the VMA award, but it's ok for politicians to do the same to Obama on a worldly stage.

jcc64 replied:

You rock, Dee Dee. I completely agree with the Kayne West analogy. Nicely said.

redchief replied: First, I want to make sure everyone understands I wasn't Obama-bashing. I was Norwegian (5 in particular) bashing. I'm glad that people are pleased that our president has won an award for making some promises. I only hope that he can make good on them. I'm not sure it's possible given that the Taliban and Al-Queada have publicly stated that they hate Obama as much as they did Bush. When will the world understand that these terrorists don't think like we do?

I will say this, though. I shall not bash President Obama if he is able to broker peace. Until he does, though, I actually think accepting such a prize could be a liability for a country at war.

What I find profoundly sad is that there truly wasn't another public figure in the world deserving of the award. The rest of the world seems content to let us get all of the blood on our hands.

coasterqueen replied: I just laughed. That's all I'll say.

My2Beauties replied:

Hillbilly Housewife replied:
Maybe that was enough.

Go W.

MommyToAshley replied:
I do understand the concern here, but I would hope that accepting this award would not prevent him for making necessary decisions when diplomacy fails. With that said, I am concerned about Afghanistan and why it is taking so long to make a decision. We should either give the troops everything they need to succeed, or pull them out of there completely.

redchief replied:
I agree, Dee Dee. Leaving them under equipped and short staffed is only going to get more of our troops killed. I don't envy Obama's job either, being faced with the possibility that he may not be able to fulfill his Afghan exit goals. In retrospect I think he may have been a little too inexperienced in the game of big league politics. I think he's been genuinely surprised at the tenaciousness and effectiveness of his adversaries, and he still doesn't seem sure about how to deal with it all (if you remember I listed his inexperience with Washington politics as a possible plus before he was elected).

I honestly want this country to succeed internationally, and I hope Obama can figure out how to use his obvious magnetism to that end, as long as that end doesn't weaken the US any more than it is now. We've still got three trying years ahead of us wherein Iraq will have to be closely monitored, Afghanistan may be a monkey on our backs and Pakistan, North Korea, Somalia, and Iran will present difficult challenges. We face a strengthening Russia and a stalwart China on the political stage as well. The real shame is that the only substitute batter we have with any clout is Great Britain, and they're stretched pretty thin.