October 9, 2009
Nobel Peace Prize Jumps the Shark
One could argue that having Yassar Arafat awarded the Nobel Peace Prize was the true "Jump the Shark" moment for the Nobel Peace Prize...or even that Al Gore winning for a Power Point presentation on Global Warming Climate Change. But at least Arafat had been involved in something--no matter how disingenuously--that looked like a peace process and Gore had been around for a while doing his shtick (and I realize these are extremely low bars to hurdle that I've set up!). But now the Nobel Committee has awarded the Peace Prize to a President who has done....nothing (heck, they nominated him 10 days after he'd been inaugurated). Hope indeed. As the TimesOnline editorializes:
Rarely has an award had such an obvious political and partisan intent. It was clearly seen by the Norwegian Nobel committee as a way of expressing European gratitude for an end to the Bush Administration, approval for the election of America’s first black president and hope that Washington will honour its promise to re-engage with the world.Mickey Kaus suggests the President should politely decline:Instead, the prize risks looking preposterous in its claims, patronising in its intentions and demeaning in its attempt to build up a man who has barely begun his period in office, let alone achieved any tangible outcome for peace.
Turn it down! Politely decline. Say he's honored but he hasn't had the time yet to accomplish what he wants to accomplish. Result: He gets at least the same amount of glory--and helps solve his narcissism problem and his Fred Armisen ('What's he done?') problem, demonstrating that he's uncomfortable with his reputation as a man overcelebrated for his potential long before he's started to realize it. ... Plus he doesn't have to waste time, during a fairly crucial period, working on yet another grand speech. ... And the downside is ... what? That the Nobel Committee feels dissed? ... P.S.: It's not as if Congress is going to think, well, he's won the Nobel Peace Prize so let's pass health care reform. But the possibility for a Nobel backlash seems non-farfetched.Worth considering because, if some of the statements around the local water cooler are any indication, the backlash has begun. Plus, by declining the award, Obama would show the world that he, like most Americans, still believes that accolades should be earned for actions completed, not promised.
ADDENDUM: This is the best pro-"Obama wins the Nobel Prize" reaction I've read so far:
"Obama won? Really? Wow," said David Hassan, 43, of Pine Brook, New Jersey. "He deserves it I guess, he's the president. He's a smart guy and I guess he's into peace."
ADDENDUM II: President Obama will accept the prize. He's also being very careful:
"I am both surprised and deeply humbled by the decision of the Nobel Committee," Obama said Friday. "To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of many of the transformative leaders who have received this prize."Obama downplayed his own role in having one the prize, asserting it as more of "an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations."
In that light, the president said he would accept the prize.
"I will accept this award as a call to action; a call for all nations to confront the common actions of the 21st century," he said.
The Nobel committee has been a lib infested irrelevant joke for years.
From Sodahead.com
There recently was a death of a 98 year-old lady named Irena. During WWII, Irena, got permission to work in the Warsaw Ghetto, as a Plumbing/Sewer specialist. She had an 'ulterior motive' .. She KNEW what the Nazi's plans were for the Jews, (being German.) Irena smuggled infants out in the bottom of the tool box she carried and she carried in the back of her truck a burlap sack, (for larger kids.)
She also had a dog in the back that she trained to bark when the Nazi soldiers let her in and out of the ghetto. The soldiers of course wanted nothing to do with the dog and the barking covered the kids/infants noises.. During her time of doing this, she managed to smuggle out and save 2500 kids/infants. She was caught, and the Nazi's broke both her legs, arms and beat her severely. Irena kept a record of the
names of all the kids she smuggled out and kept them in a glass jar, buried under a tree in her back yard. After the war, she tried to locate any parents that may have survived it and reunited the family.. Most had been gassed. Those kids she helped got placed into foster family homes or adopted. Last year (2007) Irena was up for the Nobel Peace Prize .. She was not selected.
Al Gore won, for a slide show on Global Warming.
'Nuff said!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Tim at October 9, 2009 8:59 AMCheck this out yourself on the Noble website....
The Deadline for Nominations was in February...
How long had he been in Office?
What a Joke!!!!!
Posted by: Aldo at October 9, 2009 9:36 AMIf Nobel were alive today, he'd dynamite the place!
Posted by: John at October 9, 2009 9:38 AMThe fools at RIF are practically wetting themselves over this.Crowley in the lead of course.I imagine Kmareka will have similar insanity.
This is a travesty,but the "prize" has already been so cheapened that it hardly matters.
The Nobel in the sciences still means something because the recipients actually have to accomplish something concrete and useful.
The literature and "peace" categories have become a left wing joke.
Rigoberta Menchu-the fake Guatemalan refugee who admitted the scam that none of what "happened" to her in the book was true,and still kept the prize and the money.
Al Gore,who got it for the equivalent of a middle school social studies project.
Yasser Arafat,who got it for being a terrorist.
Maybe Chavez or Ahmedinajad can get it next year.
Obama is in the company he deserves.
So, the timber of one's voice, a teleprompter, and being a serial liar are now what it takes to win the Nobel Prize. What a sham.
Posted by: Frank at October 9, 2009 9:59 AMI just checked out Kmareka-I was right-a four star Kool-aid performance by Nancy Green-I just hope she wasn't driving when she heard this-it isn't safe when you're swooning in ecstasy.
Gouda, canambert or fine sharp cheddar to go with this cask of vino?
Nothing more than another absurdity of affirmative action.
How f'n pathetic!
Rhody, Pointing out an absurdity ain't whining and it's not like we're alone, here, as the international community is also scratching their heads. Hell, it's been reported that the White House's first response was "Is this April 1st?" And believe me, I've heard people of all political (or apolitical) stripes chuckle over this one.
Hey Rhody, let's hear you defend it. Go ahead. Make a case for Barack Obama to have been #1 in the world in the last year for the peace process. Ready, set, go!
Posted by: Patrick at October 9, 2009 11:03 AM"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" -excerpt from the Nobel Committe.
Did we elect an American president or world President? Obama's award should be viewed for what it is: an award from an international committee with a clear hatred of American sovereignty that awards its Peace Prize based on its own political aspirations rather than the recipient's accomplishments.
Posted by: jp at October 9, 2009 11:12 AMPatrick, correction: in his first 11 days in office, not even the last year!
Posted by: jp at October 9, 2009 11:25 AMJP, why just in 11 days? Does the award only go to those who hold elected office? Why couldn't they count the full year?
I know he didn't do anything peace-wise before he was elected, by why can't those days be counted on his peace-prize "resume" too?
Posted by: Patrick at October 9, 2009 11:32 AMMaybe if he'd spent 28 years locked up like Nelson Mandela and then averted racial war in South Africa,or repeatedly risked his life to end segregation,like MLK,or been under "house arrest" like the Burmese Aung San Suu Kyi this might be a conversation,but he hesn't risked anything and accomplished exactly what?
Nothing I can see.Maybe they're giving the prize on spec now,like a signing bonus for a rookie ballplayer.
BTW Woodrow Wilson got the prize.One of his less trumpeted "accomplishments" was segregating the US Armed Forces-nice,huh?It took until Harry Truman to undo that disgusting condition.
Liberal icons usually have a LOT of dirt under their fingernails.Maybe not Obama-he hasn't done enough to accumulate much.
I think Rhody is actually being sarcastic,could that be correct?
Ok, let's just review the issues and what Obama's accomplished for peace in his reign so far:
Iraq - nothing
N. Korea - worse
Afghanistan - much worse
Iran - far worse, new nuclear reactors that Obama kept quiet about, WHILE he addressed the UN as head of the security council, so as to not tarnish his speech.
Israel - Palestinian relations - big zero!
Eastern Europe - he has thrown our allies under the bus here to appease Russia.
Now please tell me, why did he receive the Nobel peace prize?
We now know that Nobel prizes mean absolutely nothing.
Along the lines of Mike's comment, SNL finally goes after one of their own:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YT5Kl38fSVY
Posted by: Patrick at October 9, 2009 1:01 PMSame clip, but better quality:
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/clips/obama-address/1163263/
Posted by: Patrick at October 9, 2009 1:02 PM"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" -excerpt from the Nobel Committe.
In other words, the criteria for a NPP is now nothing more than nice thoughts, as opposed to just actual results.
Relevancy and legitimacy FAIL.
Posted by: EMT at October 9, 2009 1:11 PMRemember that old Sesame Street song, "Which one's not like the others?"
Let's try it here:
Desmond Tutu
Nelson Mandela
Mother Theresa
Barack Obama
Mike Huckabee is getting out in front here. But the part that is really interesting is other than this CNN blog post (copied below), you don't hear much about it. But what if Huckabee came out with both guns blazing about what a silly choice this was. Imagine the headlines he'd get.
Here's what Huckabee is saying:
(CNN) – Mike Huckabee is advising his fellow Republicans to temper their criticism of President Barack Obama's Nobel Peace Prize award.
In a posting on his blog, the former GOP presidential candidate writes that members of his party must be careful their comments don't sound like "right-wing whining."
"There will be an outcry from those on the right who will say that Obama's nomination, made two weeks into his presidency, is impossible to justify, but I think such an outcry will sound like right-wing whining," Huckabee wrote. "The better response is simply to allow those on the left to explain what he did in his first two weeks as President that merited such recognition."
Sounds like someone who is looking to be the leader of the party soon.
Posted by: Patrick at October 9, 2009 2:54 PM Between the right's hysterical reaction to an American leader winning a Nobel and its absolute glee over the '16 Olympics not coming here, I have just one thing to say:
I miss the old days when it was the liberals who supposedly hated America.
Rhody-just try justifying this choice instead of whining about the "right wing".I think a lot of people of all political stripes see this as a sham.
I guess it's okay as long as we honor n American-how about a posthumous award to Richard Nixon for opening relations with China?Hmmm?
Oh, where do I begin? Maybe people appreciate having a leader of the free world who doesn't dictate to them.
BTW, would Hugo Chavez have been a better choice? :)
I'm having a great time with all these people on the left getting all upset with me today for saying Obama doesn't deserve the award. And then I'm driving home from work, listen to Obama's acceptance speech and right in there, what does he say? He himself says that he doesn't deserve the award. So why is it different when he says it? He and I are simply saying the same thing.
Even better, the Nobel committee themselves admit it's not for anything tangible that he's done. It's for his "hope and optimism". If hope is a factor, then why doesn't he state of RI get it? That is the state motto after all.
Posted by: Patrick at October 9, 2009 7:00 PMRhody-don't bet the house that a turd like Chavez won't get the award one day.I'm surprised Qaddafi hasn't.
I wonder if the folks depicted in "Hotel Rwanda"ever got considered.
The non-science awards of the Nobel Prize have,in recent years, become a series of broadsides for the Eurotrash left.With a fe notable exceptions.
I notice that as usual,you evaded answering my direct question.Whatever you think of me,if you ask me a question,I'll answer without any dissembling or equivalence BS.You oughta try it.
Maybe you ahven't had to testify much in court-I have-evasive answers get you a lot of heat.
You don't have to like my answers-you can always go see the chaplain to get your TS card punched in that case.Ask someone who's been in the service what that means.
Now Obama and his wife can waste more of our taxpayer funds going out on the town and whooping it up yet again.IT'S PARTY TIME!!
BTW, would Hugo Chavez have been a better choice?
He'll get it next year.
Posted by: EMT at October 9, 2009 9:40 PMYou'll be happy to know that the New York Post has caught onto the "Jumping the Shark" analogy. I actually remember when it happened to Happy Days, too!
While I won't be home on Saturday night due to prior commitments, I'm going to tape Saturday Night Live in hopes that they will do a sketch on the Nobel Peace Prize selection process. This debacle has comedy gold written all over it.
Posted by: Will at October 10, 2009 1:04 AMThe lefties on RIF and Kmareka are whining about Republicans and other conservatives "hating" this country over Obama's award.
I just don't like to see the US embarrassed and this empty suit getting promoted as everything just short of the Second Coming is bizarre and frankly embarrassing.
The great pundit Rhody suggests on RIF that maybe Bono should've gotten it.
A rock musician?Oh,yeah.he's also an expert on world economy.Amazing.Just google "Dambisa Moyo" and "Bono" and you'll read an interesting take on the phenomenon of Bono and his ilk by an economist from Africa who is merely the holder of several advanced degrees in economics and a person of some real experience in the field.
But,no we should grovel at the feet of some musician.
When such luminaries(aside from Rhody)as Pat Crowley,"Oswald Krell",and the insufferable "klaus"pontificating from his home office no doubt,are concerned about the lack of patriotism shown by conservatives because they don't drink the Obama Kool-aid,this only reinforces my opinion that this country is heading down a bad path with this president.
Crowley compares conservatives to the Taliban.What an ass.He could much more easily be compared to any garden variety communist agitator that has appeared from time to time peddling their dehumanizing brand of anthill socialism.
The saying "If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck...."couldn't be more apropos in this instance.
Joe - Rush Limbaugh said 'we' along the Taliban and Iran were in agreement. I presume the use of 'we' represents people - including Limbaugh - who define themselves as 'conservative'. It does not appear to be an imperial 'we'.
I think Patrick Crowley was reacting to that message.
Joe, your obsession with me on a personal level is reaching new heights, or depths. If you were as obsessed with putting away criminals, we'd live in a perfectly safe society today.
All we're saying is that conservatives believe they have the exclusive franchise on patriotism. Not true, and I'm sure you're smart enought to realize that when you step away from the PC, you know it.
Will, SNL has bagged on Obama many times. Maybe you forgot the debate sketch during the primaries last year in which the panelists were all kissing his ass. I thought it was pretty funny (and Obama seems like a self-effacing enough guy to get a laugh out of it, too).
Rhody-you're WAY too thin skinned.I am obsessed with you?You must be smoking something.You make comments and I engage you on them,like I do anyone else.
BTW you don't know what I think about who is patriotic.Many liberals have distinguished military records.If you can find ONE remark I made to the effect that only conservatives are patrriotic,find it and highlight it,otherwise don't allege it.
It isn't unpatriotic to dislike or criticize the president.I actually disliked Bush a lot.I dislike Obama.From the first time I saw him speak in 2004 he sounded like a BS artist.Apparently that's what people want.Well,they got it now.
I have never watched SNL,so I don't know what you're talking about.
Most of what is on the networks is mind rot.
I like Cspan,Fox News,Discovery,History,Travel, and the TLC channels.
If you can really point out Obama's body of work or sacrifice that would merit a Nobel Prize,please enlighten me.
I've asked two or three times now,and all you do is act paranoid.
Robert-I don't listen to Limbaugh,so unless what he says becomes big news,I'm unaware of it.Crowley is a full-time agitator.I don't even think he'd deny it.
Posted by: joe bernstein at October 10, 2009 3:17 PMOh rhody, After reading all your comments here, I've notice that you've contributed absolutely nothing to this debate besides liberal mudslinging and rhetoric. SNL has bagged Obama "many" times. Give me a break, the one you care to mention, in case you weren't really paying attention to it, was a dig on the media, not Obama. BTW if you're going to poke fun, as in the cheese shtick, at least spell camembert correctly, it kind of loses it's edge when you don't. Oh and I'm not an America hater, just a Chicago hater. Whoooopie!
Posted by: bobc at October 10, 2009 3:32 PM Bobc, are you are the man Paul Simon spoke of who "hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest?" Guess you don't watch SNL regularly.
But any difference of interpretation is just "liberal mudslinging and rhetoric," right?
And Joe, given that you have done more than anyone else here to raise the level of personal vitriol (against a number of different people) in this forum, I have one thing to say before parting this thread: I do not know Art Handy personally, but if he inspires you to say the kind of things you do about him, God, the man must be doing something right. :)
Rhody-if you think Art Handy is doing the right thing,you must be as much of a sick degenerate as he is.Talk about me being vitriolic?You run your smarmy mouth from the cocoon of an alias and think you're a big deal.
Handy is one of two people who voted to oppose Jessica's law.If you agree with him,there's something wrong with you,and I'm not kidding in the least.
One more thing Rhody-you seldom miss a chance to make a smartass remark about how I could have done my job better-I would very much enjoyed having taken you to work with me,particularly on one or more of the 900 or so drug search warrants I helped execute-mabe YOu could've been first throught the door or window,or been assaulted with a handgun,machete,motor vehicle,or linoleum cutter,or any of the other nice implements I ran into.
Something tells me you wouldn't have had a real good time.Got something else to say,know it all?
Gouda, canambert or fine sharp cheddar to go with this cask of vino?
All very impressive points (minus the mis-spelling)
Between the right's hysterical reaction to an American leader winning a Nobel and its absolute glee over the '16 Olympics not coming here, I have just one thing to say:
I miss the old days when it was the liberals who supposedly hated America.
Oh wow, that's deep, let me ponder on that juicy little tidbit awhile.
Oh, where do I begin? Maybe people appreciate having a leader of the free world who doesn't dictate to them.
BTW, would Hugo Chavez have been a better choice? :)
Hugo Chavez a leader of the free world. Gee, I never thought that there were only two extreme choices. Na, way to narrow for me, swing and a miss rhodey.
Bobc, are you are the man Paul Simon spoke of who "hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest?" Guess you don't watch SNL regularly.
But any difference of interpretation is just "liberal mudslinging and rhetoric," right?
I love Paul Simon and for that matter SNL. Have since the very first season. Oh the memories. You have all the charm and sensibilities of the landshark. Unfortunatley you have no clothes. I fail to find an interpretation in any of your BS.
Chavez has mildly criticized Obama's selection,likening it to rewarding a pitcher who PROMISES to win 50 games and strike out 500 batters.he must be reading AR on the sly(just to see what free media is all about)and BTW baseball is a major national sport in Venezuela.Has been since the Thirties.
Castro praised the selection.Castro,RIF,Kmareka,Rhody-birds of a feather....
micky b
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