President O'Bama Nobel Laureate...

[Banquo's Ghost]

How true, most of his appeal rest on the colour of his skin... Would Obama be chosen as a candidate if not because of his colour? Heck no. He would not have rose so high in the first place, before he got nominated either, if he was white. But that is politics - so nothing to grumble about here. It is not as if the business of politics even pretends to be fair and balanced (God, how FOX butchered that slogan... just like "maverick" and Sarah Palin)

Yes, I think he would have been chosen, regardless. He is very bright, a fine orator and spoke movingly to the spirit of the times. The great compliment to the American electorate from his election was that race didn't play too much a part in it, either positive or negative.

Not to mention that the Clinton campaign bungled quite a lot out of sheer arrogance - as did McCain.

He was an inspirational candidate for an electorate that wanted to hear some good things about their future. Now he's a president that needs to deliver. This is the same for anyone - aspiration is always more fun than practice.

Now, I might not disagree if you argued that he got the Peace prize because of his colour. That is the kind of empty-handed, paternalistic gesture at which we Europeans are terrifically good.

[Aemilius Paulus]

Yes, I think he would have been chosen, regardless. He is very bright, a fine orator and spoke movingly to the spirit of the times. The great compliment to the American electorate from his election was that race didn't play too much a part in it, either positive or negative.

That is true, but notice I said that it was unlikely he would ahve risen to Senatorship in the first place, without his colour. What do you think? Being black in Chicago matters.

[drone]

Beats handing it to a terrorist, I guess, but wth?

The deadline for nominations was Feb 1. So he was nominated on the strength of 11 days in office. And since then he has been all talk about hope and change, but has pretty much kept the course of the previous administration. What a joke the NPP has become.

[Aemilius Paulus]

What a joke the NPP has become.

Well, to be fair, it was always the weakest prize... Often times it was awarded to famous, but perhaps not as much deserving individuals.

[Agent Miles]

Reagan ended the Cold War without firing a shot and Obama gets the NPP for good intentions. Just another example of the "Audacity of Hype".

[Aemilius Paulus]

Reagan ended the Cold War without firing a shot and Obama gets the NPP for good intentions. Just another example of the "Audacity of Hype".

Yep. But you forgot Reagan was a Republican war-hawk who spent untold billions on weaponry. How could those commies in the Nobel Prize Committee select him?

Very sad, because indeed, it was he who gave the final kick that brought down USSR. The Brezhnev economic stagnation crippled out industrial capacity and when the new arms race began, USSR could not take it.

However, at the same time, if not for that imbecile, naive fool of Gorbachev, USSR would have largely remained. He should have went the Chinese way - retaining the totalitarian rule but with capitalism. But he wanted both capitalism and democracy...

Now that I think about it, I usually gave Regan more credit than he deserved (think of the fact that it was he who started the large US national debt), but definitely, the bloke deserved some sort of a prize for his efforts.

[Louis VI the Fat]

I would've given the prize to Bush for ending Saddam's tyrannical regime.

Am I serious? Well, surely more serious than the Nobel comittee. What a joke this.


Ah well. They have been known to give the Peace Prize to peculiar candidates. Like Henry Kissinger, Yasser Arafat and mother Teresa.

[Lemur]

Reagan ended the Cold War without firing a shot and Obama gets the NPP for good intentions. Just another example of the "Audacity of Hype".

Well, in fairness the Soviets kinda did it to themselves. There's been a lot of documentation coming out lately ... I mean, Reagan was on the right side of history, but he did not personally dismantle the Soviet Union, or play the key role in its collapse. That would be Gorbachev.

Anyway, I don't mean to derail the thread. Honestly, I think this is a net loss for Obama. Much better to get this sort of thing after you've done something.

AP, a senator is a state-wide office, so being black would have harmed Obama as much in downstate as it helped in in Chi-town. Note that the current mayor-for-life is white. You could (and should) make the argument that Obama would never have become a state legislator if he hadn't been black. That's fair.

[Crazed Rabbit]

A zing from the Taliban;

At the other end of the spectrum, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told the Reuters news agency the award was ridiculous.

"The Nobel prize for peace? Obama should have won the 'Nobel Prize for escalating violence and killing civilians'," he said.

CR

[Husar]

A zing from the Taliban;


CR

They're the ones to talk about violence and killing civilians...

Also this might be relevant to the discussion:

I am both surprised and deeply humbled by the decision of the Nobel Committee.

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.

So, was he trying to summarize this thread?

[Proletariat]

Why the hell is this on the front page of google news? It's a gay reward no one ever cares about. Miss Universe is a bigger deal. Talk about a slow news day

[Fragony]

used to be something before it became strictly political sadly, it has been hijacked it no longer means anything. Way to go leftieloonies, keep a professional distance for a change. Now obama I can even understand because of his exceptional ability to read what's in front of him, but Al Gore?

[HoreTore]

I'd rather have it awarded based on results.

It already is - and it's called "His Majesty the King's achievement medal".

But that wasn't the one Obama got, so it would have to be something else then, now wouldn't it?

Why the hell is this on the front page of google news? It's a gay reward no one ever cares about. Miss Universe is a bigger deal. Talk about a slow news day

Hey, besides the times Norway is rated the best country in the world by all credible sources, this is our one time in the spotlight. Stop ruining it!

Anyway, read an interview with the head of the committee, Torbjørn Jagland, in the morning paper just now, in which he specified even more why obama got it.

He said that Obama had been on the cards along with a dozen others all the time, but it was 2 recent events that singled him out and eventually earned him the prize - canceling the missile shield and his UN thingy about nuclear disarmament.

Oh, and I just realized I haven't stated my own opinion on here... My opinion is that some guy in Kongo should've gotten the prize. Perhaps someone working with the centers for rape victims in eastern Kongo. But I'm used to never seeing my "favourite" getting the prize, so I little problem with Obama getting it. The only negative thing is, of course, Afghanistan, it pains me to see someone who engages in war get the prize.... But hey, he's doing more positive stuff, so what the hey.

Also, I'll let you silly foreigners in on a little secret: Norwegians have a serious diplomacy-fetish. Whenever someone says the word "dialogue", you get 4,8 million instant boners here. Yes, even the women get one. Don't ask. The committee is all norwegians, all nominated by elected norwegian politicians. Obama has been quite fond of dialogue.... You still wonder why he got it?

[Fragony]

And Al Gore? nah

[Ice]

It already is - and it's called "His Majesty the King's achievement medal".

But that wasn't the one Obama got, so it would have to be something else then, now wouldn't it?

Oh in that case, I see no purpose for the award. I more or less follow Whacker's logic on this one.

[Ironside]

Now, I might not disagree if you argued that he got the Peace prize because of his colour. That is the kind of empty-handed, paternalistic gesture at which we Europeans are terrifically good.

Only if they proclaimed it openly as reducing racial tensions. He's not the first black to get the price and the colour of the peace price wnners seems to have mattered little before.

I get the feeling that some of the choises (like this year) are only there to attract attention, maybe because that committee only gives out one of the prices. Compare with last year with a reasonable winner, how many remember him?