A prize that will cost Obama
James Forsyth 4:33pm
New Majority points out another reason why Obama should have politely told the Nobel Peace prize committee that he would rather they didn’t award him the prize:
“The Nobel Committee has created a pretty little problem for White House counsel Greg Craig this morning. The value of the gift is $1.4 million. Technically, it’s a “Foreign Official Gift,” so it has to be retained by the U.S. government. Donating the money to charity will be very difficult, because first the gift will have to pass through the president’s hands -and the law requires that he must spend $1.4 million of his own money to buy the $1.4 million from the U.S. government.”
My favourite quote on the Nobel Peace Prize comes from a friend who just reminded me that ‘it’s the prize that Gandhi didn’t win but Arafat did.’
Previous
Daniel Korski
October 9th, 2009 4:51pm Report this commentJames
A good point I had not thought of. Giving Barack Obama the Nobel Prize is, of course, silly. Even if you like the guy, even if you think he has remade America’s image, even if you think that he brought his country out of self-imposed isolation, then you are unlikely to believe that he did htis in the first 11 days in office – the time he had to do the necessary peace-making before the nomination deadline passed...
logdon
October 9th, 2009 5:00pm Report this commentRain on Obama's parade? Who'd a thunk it?
http://theopinionator.typepad.com/
Obama Wins Nobel Peace Price - For What?
"OSLO (AP) - President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples," the Norwegian Nobel Committee said, citing his outreach to the Muslim world and attempts to curb nuclear proliferation.
The stunning choice made Obama the third sitting U.S. president to win the Nobel Peace Prize and shocked Nobel observers because Obama took office less than two weeks before the Feb. 1 nomination deadline. Obama's name had been mentioned in speculation before the award but many Nobel watchers believed it was too early to award the president" SOURCE
When I saw the above news - at first glance I thought it was a joke - and when I realized it was for real my next thought was:
FOR WHAT??
Clearly the neophyte President Obama and his untested international policies have produced NOTHING - no substantive results upon which they can be judged. So now the Nobel Peace Prize is given for fledgling ideas?
But there are things about Obama that would appeal to these European elites:
1 He bashes America - so do they - including American writers competing for the Nobel Prize for Literature
2 He apologized for America's supposed "past sins" and arrogance - that's what they want to hear - He apologized AGAIN and AGAIN so much so that the British media begged him to stop as they feared in his doing so Obama was weakening America. But he didn't and when he and his wife Michelle flew to Copenhagen, Denmark to try and talk the Olympic Committee into awarding the 2016 Summer Olympics to Chicago...........he bashed America again.
3 He praises Islam - and their despots - and he grossly overrated muslims numbers and importance in American life -so do they.
4 He bowed and showed subservience to the Saudi King/Islam even as the Saudis are funding the worldwide Global Caliphate and terrorism
5 He refuses to point the finger directly at Islamics for causing terrorism worldwide - in fact the elites along with some European leaders think one musn't even put Islam and terrorism in the same sentence (sound familiar)
6 He bashes Israel and makes them the 'bad guy' in the Middle East - so do they
Thus Obama talked the RIGHT talk and bowed the RIGHT bow----------------and has been prematurely awarded with a prize that should be given for results not lofty rhetoric.
I'm sure the Obama's are ecstatic and will be opening a celebratory bottle of champagne - perhaps in doing so they should ponder that -for most - one needs to first grow and pick the grapes then make the wine and let it age to perfection before being rewarded with the bubbly results.
Death or Tory
October 9th, 2009 5:08pm Report this commentHa ah ha ha ha.....
This just gets better and better - I bet FLOTUS has already spent most of it at Bloomimgdales!
DoT
Dean
October 9th, 2009 5:21pm Report this commentIf this is a "pretty little problem", then how should one describe the problems Obama inherited from the neocons - a collapsing financial system and economy, America isolated in the world, domestic and foreign policies driven by ideological dogma rather than commonsense.
Somehow I don't think Obama is going to be losing much sleep over this "problem".
Bexleyite
October 9th, 2009 5:29pm Report this commentHow easily some people are impressed. How easily some people are bought.
David Lindsay
October 9th, 2009 5:34pm Report this commentHe's not Bush. He'll do.
They once gave it to Henry Kissinger. Obama really is a peacemaker compared to that.
jon dee
October 9th, 2009 5:43pm Report this commentI think the funniest belongs to Fox News.
"How to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 12days."
* nominations ended Feb 1.
*President took office Jan 20.
Even Tony Blair could'nt do that.
Austin Barry
October 9th, 2009 5:58pm Report this commentObama is now hopelessly compromised. Every time the US needs to take robust action Obama will say, "Can't do it, guys, I'm a Nobel Peace Prize winner" and then he'll strut off with that self-regarding, self-satisfied smirk, all ego, all conceit. If you thought he was an appeasenik before watch him now.
The Oncoming Storm
October 9th, 2009 6:02pm Report this commentPersonally I think it should have gone to Morgan Tsvangirai, a man who has shown unbelieveable courage and has held fast to his belief in democracy despite the violence of Mugabe's thugs.
Fergus Pickering
October 9th, 2009 6:04pm Report this commentWhy not give the Peace Prize to Kissinger. He brought peace to Vietnam - by stopping fighting. He shared it with some North Vietnamese whose name, if I ever knew it, I have long forgotten. The combined Arabs and Israelis who got it didn't manage that much. Didn't Gerry Adams get it, or is that just a bad dream? Couldn't it be promised to the Burmese junta if they let their president out of jail?
Frank
October 9th, 2009 6:20pm Report this commentI was thrilled when I heard that a coloured person had a chance as presidential candidate, but dismayed when he proved to be such a light weight lefty during his campaign. He was elected because it made people feel good and non racist voting for him. His election to the peace price is certainly inverted racism and when he is voted out as a one term failure that will be attributed to racism by many.
What a pity for us all that Colin Powell did not grasp his opportunity.
bill watson
October 9th, 2009 7:21pm Report this commentunreal...where exactly does one live where the word "colored" is still in common usage? I have lived all over the united states and Europe, and to me this is usually a sign that the person desires a return to the "good old days" of segregation and inequality. "colored" implies that the norm is white, and that others are changed from that norm. Your point is well taken, but your verbiage makes me distrust your objectivity!
Breaking News
October 9th, 2009 7:38pm Report this commentNorway confirms award of the Nobel Prize for Irony to Oslo suits. Also confirmed is the six months and nine days delay in announcing their 2009 contribution to the worldwide April Fools day jests. 'It must have fallen between the crackpots', a spokesman said.
Frank
October 9th, 2009 8:03pm Report this commentJust what descriptive would you have me use then?
General Zod
October 9th, 2009 8:48pm Report this commentPerhaps Frank is a Rockspider from the Orange Free State.
Avery
October 9th, 2009 8:50pm Report this commentbill watson, you are typical of the inward looking moralists your nation is full of. "Coloured" is still used colloquially in some parts of the world (eg South Africa) just as "Jap" is used but not in a derogatory way in Australia and NZ. (Kind of like "Brit"). In addition to policing the world perhaps Americans would like to be the world's speech police as well?
Frank P
October 9th, 2009 9:09pm Report this commentThe No-balls 'Peace in our Time Prize'? I thought Chamberlain had been given a one-off non-repeatable prize for that unbeatable act of infamy. But a now, a similar 'achievement' deserves a similar putty medal, perhaps. It must have been as welcome in the Oval Office this morning as a dog turd on his Persian Rug. Bwaahahahahaha. Just what was needed to puncture the hubris and, after only 9 months to introduce the Nemesis. But just as well he didn't do what he should have done and rejected it, or his standing would have been enhanced. As it is, even his most slippery supporters will be embarrassed as they are are forced to dream up horse shit in the attempt to justify it. Toe curling! And wonderfully appropriate! A tin accolade for a tin god.
Frank P
October 9th, 2009 9:14pm Report this commentBreaking news: more awards for Obama:
http://americandigest.org/mt-archives/enemies_foreign_domestic/all_the_glittering_prizes.php
Will it never end?
Derek
October 10th, 2009 12:43am Report this commentbill watson The use of the word "verbiage" merely to mean "vocabulary" or "wording" rather than with its pejorative and valuable connotations of verbosity is increasing; but then so is the number of people with slack standards in the language. This trend can also be observed in the more and more frequent misuse of the word "peace".
Derek
October 10th, 2009 1:19am Report this commentFrank P I notice that the site to which you directed us, American Digest, notes that nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize this year had to be in by February 1st, at which date Mr. Obama had been president of the USA for fewer than 10 days. Hm.
Now if the Nobel authorities were minded to create an additional prize for Fiction, there would be considerable merit in awarding this to Mr. Obama; though I would also expect to see Mr. Brown as a nominee and giving Mr. Obama a good run for his money.
logdon
October 10th, 2009 10:42am Report this commentOf all the sites which represent realism in this world of lunatic fantasists Jihad Watch comes up trumps. Time after time.
Here's a brilliant synopsis of this latest jaw dropping piece of news.
Nothing ad hominem, just a brilliant bare bones dissection as to why this travesty is so wrong.
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2009/10/yes-virginia-barack-hussein-obama-deserves-his-nobel-peace-prize.html
logdon
October 10th, 2009 10:56am Report this commentBill Watson.
Careful, your self righeous pedantry is showing.
Coloured/black? Who cares? Does 'people of colour' not have that self same word as it's adjectival noun?
This is classic 'liberal' make it up as you go, as in the case of a police officer reprimanded for using the term 'nitty gritty' because some linguistically challenged plod decided it meant the lowest deck unfortunates in a slave ship.
It turned out to be nothing of the sort, bilge would be more appropriate.
Just like your assinine comment.
John
October 10th, 2009 11:46am Report this commentFrank is not a racist, he's my brother. In the community in which we grew up the word "coloured" was used in order to be courteous because "black", now quite rightly a proud description, was an insult. Thank you for your comments Avery and Derek. How’s my English Derek? – I did my best…..
Frank P
October 10th, 2009 3:54pm Report this commentThe last word on this weekend's fiasco - or rather the last depiction. Says it all!
Frank P
October 10th, 2009 3:56pm Report this commentApologies, this link should have followed:
http://powip.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Obama-as-Rockwell2.jpg
TomTom
October 10th, 2009 9:34pm Report this comment"thought Chamberlain had been given a one-off non-repeatable prize for that unbeatable act of infamy."
His half-brother Sir Austen Chamberlain shared it with Dawes in 1922.....
Sarf Lunnon
October 10th, 2009 11:46pm Report this commentNational Association for the Advancement of Colored People - the modt venerable and respected of organisations.....
Back to top