Barack Obama Wins the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize

Barack Obama has just been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The BBC opines: "In awarding President Obama the Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian committee is honoring his intentions more than his achievements. After all he has been in office only just over eight months and he will presumably hope to serve eight years, so it is very early in his term to get this award. ... The committee does not make any secret of its approach. It states that he is being given the prize 'for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples.' This is of course an implied criticism of former US president George W Bush and the neo-conservatives, who were often accused of trying to change the world in their image." The Washington Post collects more reactions from around the world.

Comments

Re:A Bold Move

[CrimsonAvenger]

In a lot of ways, I think that this is a better use of the prize; not to recognize achievements after the fact, but to encourage and foster new achievements that might not have happened without the award.

I trust I'll get it next year, then.

After all, I've done nothing really to deserve it, but I just might do something "that might not have happened without the award" if I get it.

Stupidest reason ever for the Peace Prize.

Re:Heh...

[Profane MuthaFucka]

I'm not sure I understand quite what you're saying. Are you claiming that in your Republican worldview there is some sort of conflict between what you term "working man" and some other groups which you presumably consider "nonworking?"

Please expound at great length, just so we're all clear on the exact character of your Republican ideas.

Go on.

Re:personally

[Runaway1956]

"In any case, why is "the US President acted only in the interests of the US" a bad thing? At worst, it's a neutral thing."

I guess Adolph Hitler's actions were neutral then.

Re:Al Gore = Einstein?

[CorporateSuit]

To save us from the war against the nation of Warming and its attempted global conquest? A peace prize, really? Screw the people who actually promote peace and settle conflict, it's someone who speaks on shifty scientological rhetoric, fear mongers, and presents a politically polarizing presentation on perishing poles that receives the prize. You're right, it wasn't science that he won it for, since they haven't even scientifically proven that CO2 causes any greenhouse effect (even if it does, its influence is statistically negligable, so much so that the strong positive correlation between CO2 and warming are practically proof that it's NOT cause of global warming, but the warming is the cause of CO2!)

I wonder if I can get a peace prize for ignoring all the hate, violence, genocide going on in the world, selling weapons technology that can only be used against the US to foreign nations, and then telling the civilized nations they'd better buy, in gross surplus, from companies I have stock in, or the penguins and polar bears will be the first to go!

Actually, if that's all I need to do, I don't really want one.