What a bunch of bull…what in the world has he changed?

He gave a speech in Cairo, yet Egypt is still a dictatorship, and a de facto US puppet. Israel and Palestine are nowhere near a peace agreement, in fact Israel is even more openly defiant about building settlements on Palestinian land. Iran is actively pursuing nuclear weapons after a fraudulent election (on which Obama spoke out little). Afghanistan and Pakistan are well on their way to being failed states, and Afghanistan is getting worse. He refuses to meet with the Dalai Lama, but he’ll hobnob with world renound human rights abusers in China. He de facto sold out Poland and the Czechs to the Russians. In the Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia (i.e., major hotspots) our standing is unchanged, or in the case of the Middle East, worse. Guantanamo is still open, the unemployment rate is still rising. We’re still bogged down in wars that I’m not sure our leadership fully wants to win. And, despite having majorities in both houses, he still cant seem to get any health care work done.

So new era my ass. They should have given it for business as usual, as “hope” is about all thats new. What has actually changed? What has he actually done to deserve getting the prize over the other candidates?

This is such a goddamn joke. Obama does not deserve the peace prize. What a way to devalue the meaning of the prize.

Interesting how suddenly peace encapsulates war.

The prize’s cut off date was two weeks into his presidency. He didn’t even choose a pet yet, let alone a policy to do anything. That speech sounds like a million dollar bribe as it was dedicated to future products that they wish to happen. If he did anything, it would have been after the cut off date.

Imagine if Bush Jr. got the prize two weeks into his first presidency when that Al Gore thing was still happening. There would be a massive uproar from the left.

Also imagine Sarah Palin getting a Nobel prize in literature before she released her book or Paris Hilton getting a Nobel prize in Chemistry for curing cancer because the judges hope she would find a cure for cancer. Well Obama’s prize is in the same league as those two examples. That award is based on hope and not accomplishments.

Jed Clampett

Why am I not surprised that all those who defended Bush’s bellicose ways and destruction of the economy are now denigrating the current president for something he had absolutely no hand in? Could it be their jealousy and lack of intelligence knows no bounds?

The Nobel Prize has always been a popularity contest for elites, ever since they snubbed Tesla because he wouldn’t allow them to taint his award with a conjoint medal to Edison, despite all of Tesla’s accomplishments and Edison’s travesties, it has been obvious that all the committee has become is a way to promote the individuals the establishment wishes to promote. To them, Tesla was better left in obscurity, given all the inventions that would help mankind that he created.

Yes, Arafat and Perez were given the Nobel and the peacemaker who brought them together and made the agreements possible was snubbed.
I wouldn’t be too surprised to hear that Paulson and Bernake will be soon receiving the Nobel for economics, considering they did such a stand up job transferring wealth from treasuries all over the world to the coffers of the uber-wealthy.
I thik it very likely that the prize was given to Obama merely to create the controversy that the pundits and imbeciles are latching onto… I hope it explodes in their face, just like installing Bush twice has done. Unfortunately, they will never recognize or accept that fact.

In case you haven’t noticed, Pres. Obama is the first to take into consideration the plight of the Palestinian people and put Israel on notice since Carter, given what was done to Carter he is more hampered by the award than helped, however the award is as premature as the one given to Arafat since no real results are evident yet.

I do have high hopes for him, and he has my support as president of my nation and the overwhelming choice of the populace, but I’ve been around long enough to not make myself any illusions and to understand that he requires our help and perseverance to keep the ship steered in the right direction.

Peace, it’s not about an award, but the way you direct resources.

Jed– He actively worked in, and came through, the Democratic party, which had as big a role as the Repubs in both the war and the economic collapse. He and the party are one in the same; if you’re still b.uying that he’s different from other politicians, well, I’ve got a nice bridge in Brooklyn I’ll s.ell you. If the left wants to make him its representative, then he must also bear the criticism that comes with it.

Jed, please elucidate anything Obama has done to stop the violence or make any change in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He’s put the Israelis “on notice,” which counts for squat. Big whoop. The Israelis are still flaunting international law, openly, by expanding their settlements and building new ones, effectively dividing the West Bank. There is still no workable plan for a Palestinian state. And Gaza is such a convoluted mess that it would take a 30 page paper to just to adequately scratch the surface of its problems.

Normally, you actually have to do something to earn the award. Obama, when the deadline was announced, hadnt even been inagurated. He hadnt even enacted any of the policies that are being touted as reasons for him having won. So, I’ll fully support Lech Walesa in his criticism that this was awarded way too early for dumb reasons. If you want to be anti-Bush, do it in another way than by cheapening the name of the Nobel Peace Prize with petty politics, espescially considering those who were snubbed (Particularly the holocaust survivor, and the woman who risked life and limb to remove landmines around the world)

The fact that Obama didnt have the couth to respectfully decline the award does great disservice to his overall character.

‘…didn’t have the couth to respectfully decline the award does a great disservice to his overall character’

Oh snap!! that has to be the funniest thing I’ve heard all week.

I imagine if he had ‘respectfully declined’ the line would be…
‘…didn’t have the culture (couth? really, couth? ) to accept the award and share the proceeds with the poor of this country does a great disservice to his overall character’
See, Bull Spitters are ready to sling their ‘wisdom’ regardless of the circumstances, their only intent is to lower the opponents popularity rating. They know they are lying and do it with gusto, in their diseased minds it’s all fair, they live in a constant state of war with everything not theirs. Sometimes even with their own.

Mr.Obama earned his award because of his successful attempt to start dialogue with the Muslim world and get past this clash of cultures thing of the bush era. He successfully took a tougher line with Israel which will ensure that they treat the Palestinians with more regard or risk becoming an international pariah a la South Africa in the days of apartheid.
He succesfully restored some of America’s moral position by supporting and enacting policy toward US nuclear disarmament. He successfully renewed relations with Russia by respecting their borders, thereby avoiding the prospect of a new cold war that was in the all the media. He refused to take political positions in the Iranian election, thereby not allowing Iran to turn the US into a scapegoat as they did England and Germany.
He helped negotiate the release of hostages from North Korea, bush could never have done that. My question is what hasn’t he done? he fully deserved the Nobel Prize for Peace

Anon– Given the competition, and Obama’s lack on ACTUAL accomplishments, it would have been a much better move to gracefully decline the award. All he had to do was respect the Nobel Committee’s award, but say that, in light of the other nominee’s accomplishments (particularly the land mine lady), that he couldnt accept. Instead, he plays right into the rights hands as an elitist who is interested in solely his own image. It would have been a much more humble move…can you imagine the PR coup? The press would be going nuts, that he actually had the stones to be that humble…and the right would have had to eat its shorts.

Shaka Zulu– Come talk when the Palestinians have a real state, when Israeli choppers and tanks arent mowing down Palestinian civilians. Come talk when Isreal pulls their settlements out of the West Bank, and off the most arable land, which was intended for the Palestinians via international resolution. Come talk when the Palestinians actually have something close to what the world calls life expectancy.

Respected Russia’s borders? If you’re referring to the missile shield, you’ve got to be joking. Its would have been in Poland the the Czech Republic, and would have been a useful tool to thwart Russian agression, as they try to Re-Soviet various areas (ala Georgia). Now we’ve essentially given Russia free range to do what they wish within their sphere of influence, democracy and national determination be damned.

Are you on dope? Theres a new era in the Middle East? All of the states there are still hyper repressive Theocracies or left over Nasserian Pan Arab Soc.ial.ist dictatorships. They only thing close to democracy is current reforms undergoing in Jordan, Morocco, and Iraq. Other than that, the region is just as divided, militant, and anti-US. Look at his poll numbers in the region, they’re as bad as Bush’s. The Arabs have long since realized that no matter who the President is, the US is going to further its own interests so long as the region hold oil…

Iran is still a closed, authoritarian society, actively bent on nuclear weapons, which in all probability they already have. By not saying anything, he’s given creedence to Amadinejad. I dont understand why he feels the need to always side with the oppressors as opposed to the oppressed. We had a real window of democratic regime change in Iran, and instead we sentenced the Iranians to more years of brutal dictatorship.

As for North Korea, they were going to release the hostages anyway. It was a pure PR stunt that the DPRK knew would give it some leverage in the upcoming talks. Lest we forget, they’re actually lobbing more missiles into the Sea of Japan…so, the DPRK has actually gotten more imputent and is acting out more. Fantastic.

So yeah, Shaka Zulu, by either keeping the status quo, or allowing rogue nations to flaunt international norms even worse, I’d say he totally earned that prize, much more than the woman who risked life and limb so that little children dont have to worry about stepping on old landmines.

The hallmark of a freethinking individual is to know when you’re own side is in the wrong. Its quite clear that Obama didnt deserve this award, at least at this juncture. But continue to blindly be a little drone worshiping the cult of the dear leader…

They should have given it to Bush, he did more to destroy the Taliban and capture Bin Laden than any other tyrant in history.
He used lots of uranium tipped weapons, which helped the companies that make them to the tune of billions, and helped reduce the overcrowding in the bombed countries. The radiation escaping from bombed sites will help control population growth for centuries.
Bush should have gotten it instead of Obama, he was so smart, brave, resolute and well spoken that his white stallion should be bronzed with him mounted on top of it.

He deserves it for just thinking about not sending help to our men and women in Afghanistan.Thats right no more troops.He will most certainly get some other type of an award for pulling out completely so the Taliban and Bin Laden can strengthen for another attack on us.Not to mention all of the afghans that will be slaughtered by them.How “Nobel”he is looking.I cannot wait to see the blog after the Oct 29th issue.

Jed Clmapett

Help our men and women in Afghanistan, bring them home now!!!
End a useless war that only drains our pockets and fills the coffers of the military industrial complex and mercenaries.
The only way to prevent another attack at home is to not allow those that originate from countries that ‘hate our way of life’ to come here, do business with us or trade with us.
The only way to prevent people from ‘hating our way of life’ is for ‘our way of life’ to not be so hateful, it should be something to be admired and emulated, not something imposed by force of arms and economic supremacy.

The first and most efficient step would be to stop allowing our corporate greed to have it’s way with the people of other nations, particularly the poor.

Corporate Greed ?? Please someone help this guy. His endless garbage on this blog is a waste of space.

Jed Clampett

you probably think Vietnam was about ‘keeping the people safe from communism’ and had nothing to do with filling the coffers of Bell helicopter, Dow Chemical, Browning arms, etc etc.

Who exactly were they protecting from an idea, communism, in the land of ‘freedom of thought’? The huge conglomerates that would be dismantled if the people were to start thinking that having corporations that are more powerful than government is a bad thing.
You know, government, that thing which is supposed to be representative of the people instead of the economic superpowers that control most of the wealth.

Obama deserves the Nobel peace prize though I doubt he is overly concerned about its significance.
His speech in Cairo before a muslim elite which was clearly stated without Israeli involvement for the first time as well as his speech on race which for the first time a politician included white people as victims of the racist paradigm have already earned him a place in history. The power of speech over so-called actions (more like actionism) needs to be re-considered if America is ever grow into adulthood on the world stage. Just don’t stop rockin’ the crib- which is a form of speach too!