Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize - Discuss

[Tio Gato]

I just won the Stanley Cup!!!

I slipped on the ice last year.

[The Poet]

As a rational anarchist, I hold only one political opinion - they all suck. With this in mind, I don't care who wins or loses whatever. Yet though I hold no enmity against Obama, I do not see what he has - to date anyway - accomplished to deserve a Nobel Peace Prize. If his own comments are any true indication, neither does he.

I think the comittee shot themselves in the foot back in the 90's when they made gave it to Yassir Arafat, a known terrorist; who told his people to commit acts of terror in when not in the spotlight, then talk about reconciliation when on the international stage.

[Blueface]

Thought I would post this in case anyone is interested in the complete list of winners of the Nobel Peace Prize to date.

2009 - Barack Obama
2008 - Martti Ahtisaari
2007 - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Al Gore
2006 - Muhammad Yunus, Grameen Bank
2005 - International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei
2004 - Wangari Maathai
2003 - Shirin Ebadi
2002 - Jimmy Carter
2001 - United Nations, Kofi Annan
2000 - Kim Dae-jung
1999 - Médecins Sans Frontières
1998 - John Hume, David Trimble
1997 - International Campaign to Ban Landmines, Jody Williams
1996 - Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, José Ramos-Horta
1995 - Joseph Rotblat, Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs
1994 - Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres, Yitzhak Rabin
1993 - Nelson Mandela, F.W. de Klerk
1992 - Rigoberta Menchú Tum
1991 - Aung San Suu Kyi
1990 - Mikhail Gorbachev
1989 - The 14th Dalai Lama
1988 - United Nations Peacekeeping Forces
1987 - Oscar Arias Sánchez
1986 - Elie Wiesel
1985 - International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
1984 - Desmond Tutu
1983 - Lech Walesa
1982 - Alva Myrdal, Alfonso García Robles
1981 - Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
1980 - Adolfo Pérez Esquivel
1979 - Mother Teresa
1978 - Anwar al-Sadat, Menachem Begin
1977 - Amnesty International
1976 - Betty Williams, Mairead Corrigan
1975 - Andrei Sakharov
1974 - Seán MacBride, Eisaku Sato
1973 - Henry Kissinger, Le Duc Tho
1972 - The prize money for 1972 was allocated to the Main Fund
1971 - Willy Brandt
1970 - Norman Borlaug
1969 - International Labour Organization
1968 - René Cassin
1967 - The prize money was with 1/3 allocated to the Main Fund and with 2/3 to the Special Fund of this prize section
1966 - The prize money was allocated to the Special Fund of this prize section
1965 - United Nations Children's Fund
1964 - Martin Luther King Jr.
1963 - International Committee of the Red Cross, League of Red Cross Societies
1962 - Linus Pauling
1961 - Dag Hammarskjöld
1960 - Albert Lutuli
1959 - Philip Noel-Baker
1958 - Georges Pire
1957 - Lester Bowles Pearson
1956 - The prize money was with 1/3 allocated to the Main Fund and with 2/3 to the Special Fund of this prize section
1955 - The prize money was allocated to the Special Fund of this prize section
1954 - Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
1953 - George C. Marshall
1952 - Albert Schweitzer
1951 - Léon Jouhaux
1950 - Ralph Bunche
1949 - Lord Boyd Orr
1948 - The prize money was with 1/3 allocated to the Main Fund and with 2/3 to the Special Fund of this prize section
1947 - Friends Service Council, American Friends Service Committee
1946 - Emily Greene Balch, John R. Mott
1945 - Cordell Hull
1944 - International Committee of the Red Cross
1943 - The prize money was with 1/3 allocated to the Main Fund and with 2/3 to the Special Fund of this prize section
1942 - The prize money was with 1/3 allocated to the Main Fund and with 2/3 to the Special Fund of this prize section
1941 - The prize money was with 1/3 allocated to the Main Fund and with 2/3 to the Special Fund of this prize section
1940 - The prize money was with 1/3 allocated to the Main Fund and with 2/3 to the Special Fund of this prize section
1939 - The prize money was with 1/3 allocated to the Main Fund and with 2/3 to the Special Fund of this prize section
1938 - Nansen International Office for Refugees
1937 - Robert Cecil
1936 - Carlos Saavedra Lamas
1935 - Carl von Ossietzky
1934 - Arthur Henderson
1933 - Sir Norman Angell
1932 - The prize money was allocated to the Special Fund of this prize section
1931 - Jane Addams, Nicholas Murray Butler
1930 - Nathan Söderblom
1929 - Frank B. Kellogg
1928 - The prize money was allocated to the Special Fund of this prize section
1927 - Ferdinand Buisson, Ludwig Quidde
1926 - Aristide Briand, Gustav Stresemann
1925 - Sir Austen Chamberlain, Charles G. Dawes
1924 - The prize money was allocated to the Special Fund of this prize section
1923 - The prize money was allocated to the Special Fund of this prize section
1922 - Fridtjof Nansen
1921 - Hjalmar Branting, Christian Lange
1920 - Léon Bourgeois
1919 - Woodrow Wilson
1918 - The prize money was allocated to the Special Fund of this prize section
1917 - International Committee of the Red Cross
1916 - The prize money was allocated to the Special Fund of this prize section
1915 - The prize money was allocated to the Special Fund of this prize section
1914 - The prize money was allocated to the Special Fund of this prize section
1913 - Henri La Fontaine
1912 - Elihu Root
1911 - Tobias Asser, Alfred Fried
1910 - Permanent International Peace Bureau
1909 - Auguste Beernaert, Paul Henri d'Estournelles de Constant
1908 - Klas Pontus Arnoldson, Fredrik Bajer
1907 - Ernesto Teodoro Moneta, Louis Renault
1906 - Theodore Roosevelt
1905 - Bertha von Suttner
1904 - Institute of International Law
1903 - Randal Cremer
1902 - Élie Ducommun, Albert Gobat
1901 - Henry Dunant, Frédéric Passy

[Blueface]

Official statement from website for reason for award:

"for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples"

Link to aforementioned statement:
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/p...009/index.html

Whether you are from one side or not, remember, this nomination came less than 2 weeks from taking over the office of President of the United States.
Whether you are from one side or not, one must ask, what happened in those 12 days to affect the above captioned statement for the prize.
That aspect requires no political bickering. Just honest, candid inquiry.
There may be a very logical answer some of us are just missing.

Originally Posted by Spitnchew

Ya gotta love the guy nobel or nonobel

Can you blame him!!! Daaaamn

[pmwz]

you are not getting in the hall of fame for playing a great preseason.

[BigFrank]

how about trade the medal in for fix our economy button.

[TheTraveler]

Meh. He gets a medal for thinking about trying to endeavor to promote peace. Pbbttt. I was on the backup team for the team that rescued Scott O'Grady and I didn't get a medal for being in the area and thinking about trying to possibly rescue him. Geez.

It used to be: 1. Do something. 2. Get a medal for doing that something.

What's wrong with that formula? Too old fashioned?

[mithrilG60]

Originally Posted by King James

In this case, I think time in office is worth noting, based on the reasons that they gave for given him the award. Although I would agree time in political office does not matter, in general.

And regardless of time in office, the point you raised about doing nothing to deserve it (at least yet) is an even better reason it is not his time to win.

And that's the real key to it. My point was simply that everyone seems to be referring to the amount of time he spent as President prior to the nomination as if being a head of state or not is somehow a primary consideration. Obviously it's not however as a complete outsider I really don't know much of Obama's history prior to his arrival on the world stage in the presidential campaign. It's entirely possible that he has done things in the time leading up to his current position that would warrant this award. That's why I mentioned that the length of time in his position as US President is irrelevant to the discussion.

That said, I agree with you that this is a very premature honour. I certainly hope that he does enough good over the course of his tenure as President and in his life post-Presidency to deserve the Nobel Prize. He's already off to a very good start just in the way he's attempting to restore the US' battered international reputation and diplomatic efforts (again, just stating the general world perception and not commenting on how deserved or not that perception actually is). Let's just hope he continues on this path and earns this award that's been bestowed.

[hotreds]

[Bigwaved]

The funny thing is that it took about one minute to bring to the world into a more peaceful existence. That moment was when the war mongers were relegated to be the opposition party. The message was clear during the run up to the election that the two candidates were on opposite sides of how to handle diplomacy. That is not a political opinion. Rather, the words out of their mouths. It strikes me as funny that some of the previous posters are applauding the lack politics in this thread. Veiled references must not count.

[jjirons69]

Didn't Al Gore invent the Nobel Peace prize???

This went pretty well, dont ya think Dave? This was like a fuse that could have been lit at any time and everyone was on a higher plane even though you could see some leanings. Don't even begin to tell me we have risen to the challenge of politics? What's next, religion? lol

Please, someone explain to me why he deserves this award? What has happened, has everyone been bent over by this guy?

I love this thread so far and I will refrain from tipping it over the edge.

That list above tells a story.

[King James]

Originally Posted by mithrilG60

I really don't know much of Obama's history prior to his arrival on the world stage in the presidential campaign. It's entirely possible that he has done things in the time leading up to his current position that would warrant this award.

Nope, not really. Was a state senator in Illinois. Then he was a US Senator for about 100 days or so before he decided he was ready to be president, and started campaigning after that.

Originally Posted by King James

Nope, not really. Was a state senator in Illinois. Then he was a US Senator for about 100 days or so before he decided he was ready to be president, and started campaigning after that.

I wonder how many bills he actually contributed to and voted on while he was there for 100 days Such great qualifications for the Nobel Peace Prize, let alone president

[pnoon]

We've been teetering on the edge here for some time. In order to prevent the eventual turn from a discussion about the Nobel prize to a discussion about the president and politics, I'm closing this down.

You all can thank me now or thank me later. It doesn't matter to me.