Friday, October 9, 2009

How 'Nobel' is Barack Obama?

The big news of this day is that President Obama has been awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace. Here is the announcement: (via the BBC)

I was shocked by this announcement. Now don't get me wrong, I am not anti-Obama, I am not some right wing nut that cheered when Chicago lost the Olympic bid. No that's not it at all. My beef is that I don't think Obama has been in office long enough, and I don't think his diplomatic track record is strong enough, to warrant such an award. Here is how Nobel Peace Prize committee head Thorbjoern Jagland defended the decision (via the BBC).

Basically President Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Award because of a few token gestures made towards the peace process in the Middle East and the his desire to see an end to nuclear proliferation. Noble gestures, but Nobel gestures... I think not. The Nobel Prize Committee seems to be to be awarding the President not for deeds done, but for deeds they hope might be done. Kinda like giving an Oscar to a movie that is still in the screenplay stage. A stretch to say the least.

Congratulations Mr. Obama, now go out and earn the prize. Fix up the mess of the guy that was in the office before you. Pull out of Iraq, stabilize Afghanistan, close Gitmo, arrest torturers, find Bin Laden, right the American economic ship. There is a lot on your plate. I do not envy you. I wish you all the luck in the world. Achieve even a couple of these things and hell the Nobel Peace Award would be well deserved. Sit on your hands, achieve none of them, even if they are overwhelming or seem too daunting and I am sorry Mr. President, but the Prize seems more one of popularity and politics. Get to work Obama, you have won the prize, now go out and win the race.

10 comments:

  1. Totally agree He is to new as a president at this stage to have affected any real change for his country or his countries foreign policies Yes I believe that they are jumping the gun in awarding him the prize perhaps in the next couple of years if he has affected positive change in those matters he could be a candidate

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  2. If one wants to get from A to, say, B... one of the most important decisions one has to make is to want to get to B in the first place. And not to C or D or I - 'I' like 'Iraq' for example. Obama changed direction. On many levels. For that he was recognized. That hardly anyone - being sympathetic to the man or not - doesn't get that, even though the comittee spelled it out ad nauseum, shows how timely and important the comittee's decision is. - @Ndege

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  3. Obama's rhetoric in Iraq is different than Bush's, yes, but Iraq is still occupied. Seems at this point to be a lot of hot air.

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  4. It is not just his 'rhetoric' that's different - his approach, values, direction are. 'Hot air' is not part of the problem. Not at all. Realities are however. The war in Iraq is a fact, dealing with it difficult and a major challenge. The 'economy'of debt is a fact, dealing with it difficult and a major challenge. Obama's politics have not caused any one of the problems he has to deal with today - not even a fraction of them. - He may be to blame for believing that at minimum those who elected him would be assisting him - well, themselves, really - in dealing with the issues. But that, so it seems, is not the case. What is the case is a the equivalent of a fat man screaming at his doctor to make him slim - while asking for a super sized McMeal at the same time. - I know it's driving things over the top, but what the fuck... The word that keeps coming to my mind is 'Barabbas' - much less because of the man but because of the situation.

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  5. Again, I am not belittling Obama, or his politics, I just think it is too early to give him a Nobel Peace Prize. He hasn't earned it...YET. The Committee may be right, Obama may become a great beacon of peace, or dare I say it 'hope'.

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  6. But Joseph ... Obama already IS a beacon of peace and, yes, of hope! That's why he was awarded the Nobel Peace prize. Because he really wants to take us into a direction different from the one we were taken into / headed into before. The award is absolutely meant as a motivation -- not for Obama (he doesn't need that) but for all those without whose achieving that goal is impossible: all of us.

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  7. I hope you are right Derek, I really do. I also know how popular and inspirational he is internationally. I simply want him to live up to the accolades. Being a symbol of peace and hope is great, we all drew peace signs on our school books, I simply want to see less of the talk and the symbolics and more real action.

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  8. The action cannot just come from Obama. He can preach peace till the cows come home - if certain powers don't want peace, achieving it will become almost impossible.

    That's where WE come in, those of us who drew those peace signs. Are we still supportive? Or are we not? Are we just by-standers, demanding action? Or are we acting ourselves?

    By definition the President of the so-called free world defines the direction - by talk and by action. Obama has done that - and he continues to do so. To get there, however, is upon us much, much more than on him.

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  9. What Kenyans think: http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/InsidePage.php?id=1144026070&cid=4& - and here: http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/670508/-/unxvta/-/index.html 'nuff said. ;)

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  10. You are right. This award is premature to say the least! I believbe it is apolitical ploy to create an atmosphere which Obama will find it hard to proceed with the status quo in Afghanistan. Thus causing him to drag his feet(as he in deed doing) and put the troops in more serious jeopardy. It is a mistake politically to appease the world oppinion at the risk of allowing military foes to benefit or gain ground in any way. That is exactly what he is doing. The Nobel panels idealist world view is far from the reality we are living. They have just used their Peace Prize as a pawn instead of King.

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