And the Nobel Peace Prize goes to...Barack Obama! - Page 2

That's going to happen right after they figure out how to give Roman Polanski a Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Award.

I agree. That would be so classy the right wing's heads would explode. Though, I'm sure they'd spin it one way or another. Probably would say that it was ALL part of the conspiracy to make him look great, despite "doing nothing."

A talking head on FOX even brought up that they never nominated Bush as if that was a mistake. Gotta love em.

Too soon... I understand they wanna award him something for making America great in the eyes of the world again, but this is way too soon of an award for hardly anything concretely done.

Theodore Roosevelt put an end to a war. Jimmy Carter was awarded for DECADES of charity work and Woodrow Wilson was awarded for his work in creating the League of Nations.

I'm really proud that a sitting American President has won this award. I think it's a really great thing, and yes I'm still a Republican.

My only issue with this is the idea of who else was nominated. There must have been no one totally outstanding.

Turning it down would be a public relations clusterfuck.
If he wants to be modest he'll give the accompanying million cash prize to a related charity.

I love the RNC

Missed the best quote.

Meh. I just ignored its pandering and irrelevance to anything but election politics.

Ouch.

Ack, facebook:

Classy enough?

Fuck yes. Finally.

Good!

Too bad it won't mean shit.

I don't think people (and I believe the Obama Administration itself to an extent) understand what they're exactly up against: The "other side" doesn't give a fuck. It's not about ideas, initiatives, change, hope or any other bullshit. It's about winning elections, tailoring an ideological platform to win said election and holding power. That's the game and the Clintons, while they were Centrist douchebags, came to understand that. It's how they got a second term and Obama should (with his mandate and a friendly Congressional majority who were ready to hop on that bandwagon to starfuck the hell out of him) have been kicking teeth in from Day 1.

Classy statement from Obama there.

All those cuts in education have sure paid off for the right. What rough beast indeed!

Great statement but I wish they'd tied to the Joe Wilson incident

I'm very happy for Obama, and this is a huge honor, but honestly, I would have sooner given it to Bono. I honestly think he does deserve it. Just ask him!

Hey, I just look at this as further cementing the West Wing parallels. I’m just wondering what incurable illness he’s hiding from the public.

Hopefully, it's vitilligo! Maybe then the Right will warm to him.

Any day the international community can give a big middle finger to America-hating conservatives is a good day in my book.

Bono is now the Susan Lucci of the Nobel Prize process.

As for Obama, let's see how deft he is transferring this foreign political capital into some domestic currency. I wish the committee could be more honest about his win being for getting elected president rather than nuclear disarmament.

Mike Huckabee:

Why does the left have the explain the reasoning behind a decision they did not solicit and had no role in making?

Because they're nothing but filthy goddamn communists who are only seeking to rub their superiority in everyone else's faces.

I didn't want to start a new thread to whine about something like this when I could just as easily post it here or in any other thread in this forum. But this has been on my chest for a long time and has caused me to sit back and not post here for about 6 months.

Democrats have the White House, a 79 seat majority in the house, and a veto-proof majority in the Senate. Most people here should be celebrating and starting threads to discuss the efforts and accomplishments of the progressive leadership. Yet every thread here quickly turns primarily into a discussion about how terrible, evil, and racist Republicans and conservatives are, regardless of where the thread starts out. Someone will run to a Fox News article or a statement by a Republican to find something to nitpick. Someone will link to a progressive blogger who has scoured all the radical fringe right wing sites to find the most offensive and racist statements possible. Several others will chime in to say that the statements show what most Republicans and conservatives are really like. Every non-progressive is immediately imputed evil motives. Meanwhile, a DNC spokesman is cheered for saying Republicans are on the side of the terrorists. A Democratic representative is lauded for saying on the House floor that Republicans want people to "die quickly." Outrageous statements on the left are cheered as proof of a progressive backbone. Outrageous statements on the right are decried as proof of conservative plots to kill the president and stage a coup.

There is still a little civil political discussion here. There used to be a lot. I loved the discussions I used to have with Jacob Singer, yt, Pop Zeus, Micah, and lots of others I disagreed with. But mostly, this forum has turned into something virtually indistinguishable from the Democratic Underground. Conservatives are demonized here so they can be easily dismissed. Attacks seem to turn personal pretty quickly. How can there be any reasonable discussion where a conservative has to immediately start from a position of proving he/she is not evil, heartless, and racist? As a conservative, I used to feel pretty welcome here. It's been a long time since I've felt that way.

Because large chunks of the conservative movement aren't interested in a reasonable discussion, they're interested in getting Obama out of office for simultaneously ruining the country while not having done anything. And while not all conservatives should be painted with the same brush, it's hard not to when much of the conservative leadership isn't going out of their way to distance themselves from the lunacy.

The Republicans are playing by a different set of rules and the Democrats, slowly, are realizing they can't be playing nice anymore. Democrats have tried reason for years now, it hasn't worked. Time to play dirty. It's a shitty situation all around, of that I will admit to.

I don't know if you've noticed, but a lot of the "progressive bloggers" don't have to scour very hard at all for this kind of stuff lately.

ETA: I don't mean for the first part of that to sound condescending, I seriously don't know how much time you've been spending on the forums lately so I don't mean for that to come off as "WELL YOU IDIOT". Also, for some edification, it's not like the progressive bloggers are perusing some backwater small-fries blogspot for these kinds of comments - this sort of discourse has become much more front-and-center on many conservative blogs and from many conservative commentators and politicians. I can understand the frustration from most of the more level-headed conservatives who see the worst examples being brought forth and don't want that sort of thing to be part of the ideology they're linked to, but at the same time diminishing these sorts of reactions from people does a disservice to those who claim to want to improve the discourse yet whitewash over such statements as either nonexistent or just more fodder from a fringe element. And that goes for both extremes of the political spectrum.

Do you think that this is something specific to CHUD? Because to me it just feels like it's reflective of the current political climate in general, this forum doesn't seem to be handling it any differently than the other places I go to online (most of which are liberal-dominated, to be fair.) I do think there's something unhealthy about the endless staring into the abyss of crazy tea partier coverage and etc, but I think partly it's down to the republican party not having any strong high profile leadership figures right now that could provide solid points to argue against, so it all ends up in a Glenn Beck/Sarah Palin lol at idiots smugfest.

EDIT: This in reply to jvc obviously.

This. Aside from George Will, whose grumpiness is hard not to love, I have yet to see any conservative commentator make reasoned, practical arguments that aren't either ruthlessly partisan or rooted in some kind of fear-baiting or politics of personal insult. Or insults to human intelligence, for that matter.

I know that there are reasonable, civic-minded conservatives out there. My faculty mentor is one, and he is as good and intelligent as they come. We need more like him on TV. We need more conservatives calling out the Fox brigade as ignorant, irresponsible, and unrepresentative.

Interesting comment, jvc. I could provide some defense for a few of the points you make, but overall I don't disagree with you. I do however disagree that it's something that is new. I don't see it as much different than it has been in the past. In fact, I can remember one thread where I was admonished by virtually every poster in the forum as being stupid and crazy. So, from my perspective, the tone hasn't changed much.

That said, I think you make a valid point. I think this forum is reflective of the country as a whole. But I would beware if I were you of false equivalencies. Grayson never said he thought Republicans wanted Americans to "die quickly"--in fact, he has clarified in subsequent statements that he feels Republicans [in Congress] are simply indifferent to the suffering of those with no health insurance or under-insurance. And I think that's a fair statement. There is no equivalency between what Grayson said in arguments on the floor of the House to what Joe Wilson blurted out during an official address to a joint session of congress and the nation. It's apples and oranges. Apples to apples would be the congresswoman who said the Democrats' plan to Seniors was to "drop dead," "death panels," etc.

But anyway, your comment is well stated and well taken. It's always a joy to converse with you. Your unique insight and "voice" are distinctly missed.

This this this this this.

When is "that side" going to get a fucking clue and realize that to be taken seriously, they have to start decrying the behavior of assholes like Beck, Limbaugh, Hannity, prett much Fox News as a whole, etc. etc.

Because there's some things that go beyond liberal/conservative for me. Want me to listen to a Republican? That Republican has to come to me and say, "I'm for gay marriage. I'm for legislation of hate crimes. I'm pro-choice. I think church and state should be completely, irrevocably separate. I'm for health care for all people, regardless of any pre-existing conditions. Now can we discuss the things we don't agree on?" I'll happily do so. Those are dealbreakers for me, and non-negotiable, because I believe that for real social change to happen, the country must be dragged kicking and screaming into it. If you're against any of those things, I'm likely offended that you share my atmosphere, and fervently hope for a high-speed collision in your future. I'm not even kidding. Those issues, for me, go beyond politics, and into genuine human decency.

Other issues, like the wars, economics, education, trade? I think we can definitely reach common ground. But until Republicans stop treating certain people like inferior citizens, I have nothing to say to them.

The republicans have gamed the discourse, so when it comes to the majority, if Death Panels is a part of the national discourse, and the Pubs want to not change the health care system, is die quickly that removed from the truth? I don't like the Dems getting reduced into sound bite wars, but if that is how the game is played...

Pretty much sums up how I feel. There is no "compromise" on being a decent human who knows when to shut the fuck up and worry about your own life.

Henceforth shall be known as the obama peace prize and only shall it be presented to Barack Obama.

Just a few quick comments on this subject, which I was delighted to learn on the News this morning:
What a remarkable day for our Republic and Barack Obama! Congratulations to our President, today officially declared the most peaceful man on the planet.


At first I was a little puzzled by this. Impressed and happy, because this is a positive development for his Presidency going forward, but a bit puzzled never the less.


What had he accomplished so far?

Well, then I thought about it in more depth and realized he is perhaps more deserving of this prize than any who have ever received it before.

Sometimes the person who wins will be someone who dedicated their life to getting rid of land mines(as an example). A worthy goal, no doubt. But are there still plenty of land mines in the world? Yes.

So it is about your goal and dedication to it, rather than results necessarily.

From his speech in Berlin, in July of last year, where he declared that his candidacy reaffirmed that the "walls that must now be torn down" are the walls between rich and poor, Muslim and Christian and Jew, I think that set a very important tone. Across the globe, the Obama Presidency has been seen as a symbol of the rebirth of hope, and a new call to work towards change in our time. If only as a symbol than as a man, Obama has indeed inspired many with a renewed faith in what is possible, and shown people that if they get involved and active, they really can do amazing things.

Land mines may be a grave threat to many, but no single land mine has the possibility of wiping out a city. Yet there are tens of thousands of nuclear weapons, sitting in their lauch tubes (or forgotten in some old soviet storage locker), to this very day. Aside from viral warfare, (ok, and climate change) there is no single graver threat to humanity than the threat posed by nuclear weapons.

Obama has made it clear, going back to the campaign, that his goal was nothing less than the total elimination of nuclear weapons. He has made progress in this front with the UN, when he spoke to the general assembly on his commitment that future generations will not have to live with the fear of atomic holocaust. For an American president, perhaps the most powerful man alive on earth today, to make such an unequivocal and profound statement right from the get go of his presidency gives us all a remarkable opportunity. This isn’t some idea he tossed out in year 7, “Oh, and if we could get something done on Nukes before I go, that would be great”. No, he has shown that he feels this is one of the most important issues he has to deal with, and is spending the political capital to see change brought about.


Oh, and lets not forget the Cairo speech, which did more to make America safe and sow peace in the hearts of Muslims than any action undertaken by the previous administration in the past 8 years.


So to sum up, I think the prize was well deserved. It is to recognize President Barack Obama and his vision, and to affirm that the rest of the world is listening, and ready for leadership.

It is a pretty powerful statement, and I do not see how you could be an American Citizen and not be enthusiastic about it.

EDITED TO INCLUDE ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS: As for Afghanistan, well perhaps being “Nobel Peace Prize Winner and sitting President Barack Obama” will influence his thinking and help get us the hell out of there. Unless he is planning to divorce Michelle and marry the daughter of a Taliban chief (the way Alexander did to win peace), this war will sooo not be worth it. Seriously though, this comes right as he is making decisions on troop deployments and the future of our involvement there. Does anyone here really not want their Commander In Chief under the spotlight on the world stage as a “Peace Maker” when he is grappling with these issues and trying to outflank McChrystal? He now knows in very stark terms just what the rest of the world expects of him. This is a good thing for us, I think that is pretty obvious

Oh, Rush:

I tend to look at this award as show of support for the president's inarguably peace-driven agenda. Its not that he hasn't accomplished all these great things for peace, its that he is undoubtedly working foreign policy towards peace on many different fronts. That challenge might be made slightly easier with the prestige of the award.

They are like a disease. I used to have high(ish) hopes for Huckabee as someone who, despite my disagreeing with him on some issues, could at least talk over the bullshit and make some attempt at ethical, civil debate. But now he's seems to be carrying the Fox banner. Shame on him.

The man doesn't have to achieve world peace to get the peace prize. What the man's done for America's image abroad, especially with the Middle East already, as well as his current efforts are in themselves enough to merit the award in my opinion.

It's not his fault he's being tasked with one of the biggest fucking tasks of the century. Namely reversing 8 years of damage in foreign policy and the economy.

Also, I'm sure the Nobel Prize panel have a much more sophisticated method of choosing their winners than:

- "That Obama's cool huh ?"
- "Word".

Obama to donate $1.4 million prize money
Heck yeah!

(Dunno if that was already mentioned here, but that's a gracious move.)

The Nobel Prize process was rendered pointless when it was given to Mr Roboto for his docudrama on Global Warming.

This would have been an outstanding award to give Obama...after he had achieved a great act in the name of peace.

If they're giving it out based upon potential, they can send it my way. I've got all kinds of unfulfilled potential, according to Lady Vivisector.

Really? What have we accomplished in the Middle East?

It's really unfortunate they decided to do this now, it's actually pretty unfair to the president and it doesn't help at all in any way.

Get ready for criticism of which charities he choose to give it to.

Hey! I get it! 'Cause, like, Al Gore is kinda stiff and everything, right? Right? And docudrama! I get it! I get it! HAR!

Why the fuck do so many Americans get so pissed off when its flagrant and obvious the dumb shits don't follow the news? Evidently a lot of Chewers don't either; at least not closely enough.

Not meeting with the Dalai Lama is a bitch move, and extremely irritating. It's also irrelevant to what the Committee is awarding. This is about nuclear disarmament, from the beginning to the end. Obama has already accomplished more to that end than damn near any world leader I can think of other than Gorbachev (and that was largely unintentional).

I'm really quite sorry if this doesn't seem like a big deal to the reactionary fuck-brained primates clawing about the face of this fine country. It is a big deal. If anyone isn't familiar with exactly what has been going on on that front, read an international journal or something. I can't countenance the flaming ignorance. Nuclear weapons are kind of a big deal, and anyone half assed familiar with the President's speech in Prague, and with the follow-up action to that speech being made with Russia and England (primarily), wouldn't be surprised by this at all.

This only demonstrates profound ignorance about the threat posed by climate change. It is the single greatest danger to humanity, and the wars and death that will result from the havoc wrought by changing climates are so great that anyone who works to avert this disaster is more than deserving of a prize for peace. What greater obstacle to peace could there ever be than wars over water, food, and millions of displaced climate 'fugees wandering the globe?