Newsweek has a blog called “The Gaggle.” I’ll skip the tired jokes about how I didn’t know either, and just get to the main point: Ben Adler and Daniel Stone, writers for this blog, are defending the Nobel Prize Committee’s choice of President Barack Obama as the 2009 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.
As you can see, not much is needed in the way of extra humor.
Here are the reasons they give for President Obama’s worthiness:
• President Obama will most likely be remembered as the greatest civil-rights hero since Martin Luther King Jr., because he won the presidency.
• His platform was one of multilateralism and foreign engagement – at times, to the left of some of his own party members.
• He worked in the Senate with Senator Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) on preventing the spread of nuclear weapons.
• He has given some really awesome speeches in Philadelphia (the race speech), Berlin (huge crowd!), and at the last two Democratic conventions.
No, really; those are the reasons they cite.
Martin Luther King Jr. led a movement which resulted in racial integration and the 1964 Civil Rights Act. President Obama won an election in a decidedly less racially-charged environment, and one which was a referendum on the incumbent party’s incumbency during a free-falling economy. Dr. King did not just give a speech on race, he gave The Speech on race. Dr. King’s life was one of great accomplishment. But more than this, how can anyone take this Nobel Peace Prize seriously when it is given to President Obama, and not Mahatma Gandhi?
President Clinton, who at the time of this writing has not released a statement on President Obama’s Peace Prize, actually reduced the number of nuclear weapons in the world. Iran may be preparing to increase that number during President Obama’s administration, with the implicit backing of Russia. President Clinton brought the Israelis and Palestinians together for (what liberals normally view as) substantive peace talks. President Obama, by contrast, has seen Israel announce the building of new settlements in disputed territories. But more than this, how can anyone take this Nobel Peace Prize seriously when it is given to President Obama, and not President Reagan, whose policies brought about the end of the Cold War?
President Obama, while he was still Senator Obama, apparently worked with Senator Lugar to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. Iran and North Korea are still developing their nuclear programs. One possible point of success may be argued in the case of Libya – but it is more likely that the Libyan example was caused by the invasion of Iraq, which President Bush spearheaded and then-state senator Obama opposed.
And then, we come to President Obama’s speeches. I will willingly grant that President Obama is a dynamic speaker. But words must be backed by actions. Substantive change must be made – positive accomplishment, more than anything, is what America demands of its presidents. And this is what America is objecting to today.
It’s not that we don’t want our president – of whatever party – to win a Nobel Peace Prize. It’s that we want him to deserve it before he wins. Newsweek would do well to note that.
Editor at Large
Comments Policy
Obama Teresa
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 16:27 ET by notonmywatchYeah, anyone who think's he's done NOTHING, ZERO, NADA just uhhh, needs to look harder?
Obama Teresa
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Graphical conservative commentary - animations & pictures for posting on forums: http://ubama.org/chucks-pix/
Obama's done 'Jack Squat'
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 16:56 ET by Forest for the Treesand the world knows it; but hey why not give him the Heisman Trophy too? Here is the link to vote him in, we can do it once a day too! I am so excited he will win that, afterall ACORN & SEIU are on top of this vote:
http://promo.espn.go.com/espn/contests/theheismanvote/2009/thanksVote
While we are at it, let's give him an award for breathing, that is 'aspiration' too - okay, its really 'respiration', but what the he$$, that's close enough for the Norwegeans.
But Dude...
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 16:58 ET by jdlybrandHe, like, killed like, a gnarley fly with like, his bare hand. He is so down for that prize thingy!
"What a revoltin' development this is!"
Chester Riley
→ Obama's done Jack Squat?
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 16:58 ET by Cool ArrowLarry Sinclair must be fuming.
doing Jack Squat
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 20:21 ET by konoLarry Craig, too ---- ('You did Jack Squat and you didn't invite me?! Please tell me you didn't use my favorite stall, too...')
Never mind Larry,
Sun, 10/11/2009 - 10:38 ET by boomerconWhat about Chrissie? He's just got to be coming uncrocheted.
I Prefer Jack Bone
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 20:16 ET by freecitizenActually, I've always been partial to the term Jack-bone. As in, "He's accomplished jack-bone." or "Obama knows jack-bone about how to actually achieve real peace"
Liberal: remove all that's Right, and this is what's Left.
Me I like to say jack
Sat, 10/10/2009 - 06:03 ET by kangarooMe I like to say jack sh-t,
but the kid she swears a little bit
kangaroo
Sat, 10/10/2009 - 06:14 ET by FeynmanFanI'm with you on jack sh-t. No sense beating around the bush.
"Reason and persuasion are the only practical instruments against error. To make way for these, free inquiry must be indulged" - Thomas Jefferson
LOL now thats some language
Sat, 10/10/2009 - 06:30 ET by kangarooLOL now thats some language I can understand.
Barry's done Jack Squat?
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 20:18 ET by konoYo, 'forest', he hasn't even done that.
Newsweek holds a finger to
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 16:28 ET by nolotrippenNewsweek holds a finger to the sun and says, "Behold, I am the eclipse."
We see Newsweek holding a finger to the sun and we say, "Newsweek is off their meds again."
And then they pass gas
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 16:37 ET by legacyrepublicanAnd then they pass gas and announce the stink must come from a Republican never admiting that the stink comes out of a liberal Democrat's lying lips.
I agree. He deserves this
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 16:27 ET by mattmI agree. He deserves this hollow award from such a corrupt and futile organization. It's perfectly fitting.
Deserves it????
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 16:59 ET by motherbeltThe headline should have read:
Nobel Committee Jumps the Shark!
Deserve
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 19:05 ET by Dan DiegoDeserve's got nothin' to do with it. - Will Munny
well ...
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 20:20 ET by mbuelIt's completely removed all doubt about the relevancy of the Nobel Peace prize.
Now it's like being awarded for fourteenth place.
http://clearthehaze.blogspot.com
One name says it all ...
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 16:38 ET by CrashArafat!
Any man of principle would tell them to shove it.
Which is why he won't, even
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 19:45 ET by Dan DiegoWhich is why he won't, even if he goes down in history as the 2nd worst president ever he will have the Nobel laureate title for his library.
I wonder if they will modify "His" medal with a three pound gold chain and some diamonds and stuff? Maybe he'll wear it for all his public appearances like President Camacho.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a177/guitarzan81586/presidentcamacho.jpg
With this, henceforth, the
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 16:53 ET by Chris NormanWith this, henceforth, the Nobel Peace Prize will be called The Nobel Obama Prize.
The "Mainstream" Media: By liberals. For liberals.
This absurd circus rolls merrily along...
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 16:57 ET by PrairieSkyObama is...A Civil Rights leader, champion of multilateralism and foreign engagement, worked with a RINO on nuclear weapons reduction, and gave some great (not!) speeches...Sounds good to me! Yeah, he deserves the Nobel...
Well, he's in some great company...Jimmy "I'm not an anti-semite and everyone who criticizes Obama is a racist" Carter, Yasser "I wasn't a terrorist" Arafat, and Al "I'm not bitter that I lost in 2000 and global warming is real...really!" Gore...Yep, Obama fits right in with this crew of losers and liars.
"The problem is not that people are taxed too little...the problem is that government spends too much." ~President Ronald Reagan
You left out stopping
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 17:05 ET by Kingfish17Don't forget to add Stopping Global Warming to the list of his acomplishments. It might snow in Chicago this weekend. I doubt Bush could have pulled that one off.
"I've sentenced boys younger then you to the gas chamber. Didn't want to do it, but I felt I owed it to them." Judge Smails
Kingfish...Thanks! I forgot...
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 17:10 ET by PrairieSkythat one! LOL!
As for snow, it did snow (I'm not kidding) where I live today (North Dakota)...How that's global warming working for ya, Obama???
"The problem is not that people are taxed too little...the problem is that government spends too much." ~President Ronald Reagan
Brrr...
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 17:20 ET by bigtimerSky...
Snowed here in the last two days as well..it's really cold.
'Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea'~Breitbart
bt...You too? Brrrr is right...
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 17:43 ET by PrairieSkyIt's 28 degrees and windy here right now...It is October, right? Feels like December...
"The problem is not that people are taxed too little...the problem is that government spends too much." ~President Ronald Reagan
Yep...we've had record cold
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 17:48 ET by bigtimerYep...we've had record cold here as well...algoreglobalwarming can stick it where the sun doesn't shine...along with the rest of his ilk.
'Doubling down on stupid is not a particularly good idea'~Breitbart
after this winter
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 20:26 ET by mbuelGlobal Warming bills will be absolutely rejected by the people.
http://clearthehaze.blogspot.com
Sky, this is a quote from
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 17:20 ET by motherbeltSky, this is a quote from this AP article I linked to early this AM:
Remember that the Nobel prize
has a long history of being awarded more for the committee's
aspirations than for others' accomplishments — for Mideast peace or a
better South Africa, for instance.
In those cases, the prize is awarded to encourage those who receive it to see the effort through, sometimes at critical moments.
That would explain Jimmy Carter and Yasser Arafat.
But I think this time they really have jumped the shark. All Obama has to his credit are speeches.
Jumpin the shark...Oh yeah!
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 17:20 ET by PrairieSkyBIG TIME.
"The problem is not that people are taxed too little...the problem is that government spends too much." ~President Ronald Reagan
And according to the AP,
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 17:23 ET by motherbeltAnd according to the AP, the committee is hoping that he'll eventually produce a record worthy of its prize.
Isn't that special. A Nobel now for "Hope."
mother...The committee is "hoping"?
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 17:33 ET by PrairieSkyThat's priceless...The committee is "hoping" he'll produce a record worthy of the prize...Is that how this works now? You're awarded a Nobel based on the "hope" of what you may do???
I guess the committee has bought into the "Hope" hype of Obama...Geez.
"The problem is not that people are taxed too little...the problem is that government spends too much." ~President Ronald Reagan
OH!!!! that's what
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 17:36 ET by ww thumperOH!!!! that's what all that "Hope & Change BS was about!..........................When you elect a communist for your President... don't be surprised when Communisem breakes out!... WW
mother...You betcha...
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 17:29 ET by PrairieSky"But I think this time they really have jumped the shark. All Obama has to his credit are speeches."
Oh yeah...This shark is jumped, and those speeches haven't been particularly good ones, at that.
"The problem is not that people are taxed too little...the problem is that government spends too much." ~President Ronald Reagan
Error---delete
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 17:34 ET by motherbeltError---delete
They talking about Dr. King, the REPUBLICAN?
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 17:24 ET by SickofLibsThe only "movement" Obama is leading is a bowel movement.
Lets not forget
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 17:28 ET by BKeyserthat Barry did bring together the entirety of white America represented by a police officer from Cambridge, and the entirety of Liberal black academia together for a beer. That's not worth a little recognition?
Mike Sargent.. Nukes.. Bush?
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 17:39 ET by Gary HallInteresting in your comments you mention Clinton, in respect to actually reducing the number of nuclear warheads in the world.
I might note that during the Clinton years, we saw both Pakistan and India becoming members of the 10 mile high mushroom cloud gang. By the time Bush became President, it was looking like they were almost ready to use them on each other (I'm sure that the Bush administration gets no credit for helping to dufuse that crisis).
We also saw N. Korea approaching the mark, apparently pulling it off shortly after Bush arrived.
We know that Bush made an historic agreement with Russia in about 2002, for massive reductions in the total number of warheads - yes, there was some angst in the details of operational vs total warheads.
Just the same.. (in a rush..best I could do in a flash -- the national media stayed rather silent for 8 years, never wanting the public to know of progress) - take a look at the linked graph here:
http://media.economist.com/images/ga/2009w28/Nuclear.jpg
The data - strategic warheads - on the graph is credited to solid sources. What I see is that during the Clinton years (I don't recall serious agreements then), Russian warheads continued to drop, but that US warheads stayed level; but that during Bush, there's this huge drop in US strategic weapons. No wonder the left in the US hated Bush so much. Kidding of course.
And of course, I always like to end with a couple of notes from the left on Clinton:
Bob Geldof, humanitarian and the organiser of Live Aid, claimed"
(;~> gary
One might assume Bush was
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 20:13 ET by Mike SargentOne might assume Bush was trading in smaller, older warheads for more efficient, high-yield warheads.
Either way, anything much over 1000 warheads (nominally high-yield fusion weapons) will, as Churchill said, simply make the rubble bounce. Good graph though, I'll stick that in my back pocket for use against future libtards :D
Mike..
Sat, 10/10/2009 - 11:31 ET by Gary HallYea to some extent there was certainly a want to modernize the older stockpiles. And as I noted, there is an angle here to destroying deployed warheads vs stockpiled warheads; however, the agreement that Bush reached with the Russians in about 2002 - did seek to greatly increase by many thousands, the number of nukes being destroyed - with the target date for the announced goals to be met by 2012.
I believe that the agreement proceeded rather well. Obama, of course, is proposing to take all of this to a new level; 'boosting the battered Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty at its five-yearly review in 2010,' 'attempt to conclude a new legally binding treaty to replace their 1991 strategic arms reduction treaty (called START-1) which expires in December,' and aiming for the eventual elimination of all nuclear weapons.
Cheers (;~> gary
"the eventual elimination of
Sat, 10/10/2009 - 12:26 ET by Dan Diego"the eventual elimination of all nuclear weapons" Sounds like domestic gun control, disarm responsible nations so only rogue nations have nukes.
He has given some really
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 17:54 ET by GregEHe has given some really awesome speeches in Philadelphia (the race
speech), Berlin (huge crowd!), and at the last two Democratic
conventions.
BLAHAHHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHH!!!
In the words of Benjamin Franklin......
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 17:54 ET by Gecks"A man who lives on hope will die of starvation"
or something to that effect.
What a baffooooooooon!!!! I couldn't even listen to his speech this morning when he feigned modesty.
When Al "I invented the internet" Gore won, the integrity of the prize gasped for breath, now the knife has been plunged into it's heart.
"Your right to Life, Liberty, and the Persuit of Happiness ends at my front door, and my wallet!"-Me!
Sure would make Mother
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 17:58 ET by GregESure would make Mother Theresa, a deserving recipient, question its value.
Benjamin Franklin quote
Sat, 10/10/2009 - 05:31 ET by DontFeedTheTrolls"He who lives upon hope will die fasting." Good quote found on Quoteworld.org. Thanks Obama for starving us all.
D
Write your Congress and Senate and tell them what YOU think!
Keep the ILLEGALS out, join NumbersUSA to send free faxes to your reps.
the nobel prize money
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 17:59 ET by michiganruthObama says he's giving the $1.4 million in prize money to charity. how much you wanna bet it's one run by ACORN?
Re Charity
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 18:46 ET by slickwillie2001My thinking as well. Or maybe that church in Chicago. Someone pointed out today the fact that his trip on our plane to pick up the award will cost taxpayers far, far more than the prize he pockets.
I don't ever expect
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 17:59 ET by ConservativeRexI don't ever expect Newsweek to pay attention, but it isn't just America laughing at Obama, partner, the whole world is cracking up. In the future any real advocate for peace that has actually done something to deserve it ought to rightfully turn this POS down and tell them thanks, but no thanks. I think they would get a lot more respect doing that then accepting it.
Si Vis Palem, Para Bellum
moan moan moan, complain,
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 18:00 ET by criticalthinkingmoan moan moan, complain, gripe! An American won the Nobel Peace Price. this is the worst thing ever, how horrible, lets all sit around and debate about whether he deserved it. god, i hate when americans succeed. complain complain, curse. darn americans, so successful!
→ criticalthinker
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 18:03 ET by Cool ArrowThanks for joining in.
Maybe you can explain the accomplishment (he achieved in 12 days) that won him the award.
What was he successful at.
Don't hold your breath
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 18:12 ET by Scuba DudeDon't hold your breath waiting for a response CA. Critical non-thinking is just driving by. Thinks he can agitate us with his drivel.
The Obama Administration: THE most fiscally irresponsible Administration EVER
→ CT imitates Bo
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 18:17 ET by Cool ArrowHe's like the Presidential dog. Taking a dump on Air Force One.
Clean-up on aisle one
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 19:28 ET by Sergeant ROCKAnd here I thought he was standing on his head when that happened.
"I ask, Sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people. To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them."
George Mason
CT
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 19:30 ET by MrShyObama's American?
Got proof? No, you don't. None of us do.
The problem with the (for
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 20:21 ET by Mike SargentThe problem with the (for lack of a better term) birther argument is this:
Until Barack Obama is proven to not be a natural-born citizen of the United States, or beaten in an election, he is -- IS -- the President of the United States. The burden of proof is not on Obama, no matter how much you or anyone else wishes it to be. Prove your position, and then we can talk.
Of course, then you have two courses of action:
So you're up a creek, even if you prove it. You're wasting time, energy, and MY CREDIBILITY AS A CONSERVATIVE.
Shut up about the birth certificate, and focus on Virginia/New Jersey, and then on the Congressional elections of 2010. We have our hands full there too, and those outcomes are something we can influence. Stop wasting your energy on crap you can't prove OR change.
proving without evidence
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 20:45 ET by kono"Prove your position, and then we can talk."
That's what subpoenas are supposed to be for. When the one public record that can clear up the question is sealed-away from public eyes, the whole legal/moral landscape that supports presumption of innocence is being gamed by the accused. Remember, the IRS forces people to produce all their private financial records so the agency can prove misconduct.
Cheapening a once great honor
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 19:52 ET by UnsaneI would prefer, oh cowardly drive-by poster, that an American get the prize on something called merit.
Theodore Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1905. Why? He negotiated a treaty between Russia and Japan in Portsmouth, NH. But then, I do not expect you to grasp that, despite your laughable screen name. I'm just falling back on history, which is apparently something about which you know nothing.
Giving your God, His Majesty The Shahinshah, a Nobel Peace Prize only further cheapens the award. (I still cannot understand why Mohammad Yunus got the Peace Prize instead of the Economics Prize, for instance.
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
→ That's funny
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 18:25 ET by Cool ArrowBill Kristol predicted Sarah Palin will win the Pulitzer Prize for literature, before anybody reads her book.
Makes perfect sense, given today's event.
A non-PC Pulitzer?!
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 20:39 ET by konoBut isn't the Pulitzer another one of those awards like the Nobel -- pretty much by Liberals, for Liberals?
I think that in the very
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 19:25 ET by stancoyleI think that in the very near future we will find out that the White House and other adminstration officials were behind this peace prize BS. So don't be surprise when it comes out. These people calculate everything, all the way down to when and where Obama has a bowel movements.
not-so-hidden motives
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 20:34 ET by konoThe Nobel committee is making a very visible blessing of Obama's plan to demote America from superpower status and fold her sovereignty into a new world gubm'nt. They see that as the route to peace, confusing peace with the mere absence of armed conflict (which spotlights how mindbogglingly myopic they are about the essential link between peace, freedom, and justice).
He won because of his intentions? Cool. I intend to become a star football player and break a lot of records. So gimme my Heisman Trophy.
What's Newsweek Thinking????
Fri, 10/09/2009 - 20:44 ET by BourbeauNever mind, it's not important. It's writing and reasoning like this that has brought Newsweek to the brink of closure. It's only a matter of time, and they will have no one to blame but their own stupidity. Memo to Newsweek: If anyone was asked on Thursday to name the most unlikely thing that might happen in the next twelve months, no one, including Newsweek, would have picked the Nobel Peace Prize going to President Obama. And why would that be? Very simple; everyone would agree he has done nothing to deserve such an honor. Congratulations to the President for his award. If he's able to accept an award knowing full well he has done nothing to deserve it, so be it. Just don't expect everyone else to agree with his judgment.
The
Sat, 10/10/2009 - 11:18 ET by jessieHThe Nobel means nothing, anymore. Not only does obama not deserve to win, he has done nothing to be nominated. It's all a big joke on the world.