The Nobel Committee gives Obama the Peace Prize !?

[elfs]

That doesn't make any sense. As far as I can tell, they gave it to him because he's Not George W. Bush.

The man hasn't done anything yet. He hasn't closed Guantanamo, or come clean on our government's use of torture, or prosecuted those who broke the law, or reduced the ongoing militarization of the police. He hasn't made any steps toward solving America's energy hunger, or our irresponsible farm subsidy policies. He hasn't shut down our wars of choice, nor made concrete steps toward alleviating the suffering we inflicted on countries. He hasn't dealt conclusively with our economic trouble, which inevitably strains our domestic peace.

"He inherited all those things." Sure, and it's his job to fix them. He hasn't done that yet. For what did he earn a Nobel?

Comments

[doodlesthegreat.livejournal.com]

I dunno. I think his speech in Cairo knocked most of the Muslim world for enough of a loop to already do some serious good. As the Nobel chair said, they did the same thing to former West German pres. Willy Brandt at the same time in his administration, for work that most historians now see as the beginning of the end of the Cold War. It's not always given as a recognition of past work, but the promise of the future.

In cinematic terms,

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I dunno. I think his speech in Cairo knocked most of the Muslim world for enough of a loop to already do some serious good. As the Nobel chair said, they did the same thing to former West German pres. Willy Brandt at the same time in his administration, for work that most historians now see as the beginning of the end of the Cold War. It's not always given as a recognition of past work, but the promise of the future.

In cinematic terms, <a href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0120815/>Oslo's Capt. Miller just told America's Private Ryan <i>"Earn</i> this..."</a>

[dornbeast.livejournal.com]

I think his speech in Cairo knocked most of the Muslim world for enough of a loop

Nominations closed in February. Wasn't the speech after that?

[radven.livejournal.com]

Nominations closed months ago, but the decision making process was going on judging right up until this week.

[dornbeast.livejournal.com]

So he was nominated based on two weeks of work, and actions to be chosen later, and that was good enough to qualify as a nominee.

I feel like they've lowered the bar.

[rhonan.livejournal.com]

Um, Obama has been active on the international stage longer than he has been President, and the award is not about being s head of state. He started to have a positive impact on American foreign relations when he took his seat in the Senate. He spoke at great lengths as a candidate against the very policies the GWB followed that imperiled the international community. Keep in mind, while the science and literature prizes are usually about what someone has done, the Peace Prize is often about what someone is doing, or trying to accomplish.

[elfs.livejournal.com]

I thought this morning that if they gave it to Obama for his work on nuclear disarmament, then they should have given it to (or he should have mentioned) the co-sponsor of all of his nuclear proliferation work, Richard Lugar.

[dornbeast.livejournal.com]

Good point. I hadn't tracked his career in the Senate that closely, so I didn't look at it that way.

[resonant.livejournal.com]

BUSH kind of lowered the bar. He's not actively pissing on allies, antagonizing neutrals, and egging on his opponents.