World

For Obama...Is it the Nobel "Peace" or "Political" prize?

by 158 | October 11, 2009 at 07:02 am

176 views | 18 Recommendations | 10 comments

WHICH DEMOCRATS HAVE WON THE PRIZE RECENTLY?

Former President Jimmy Carter won in 2002 for "his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts,"

In 2007, former Democratic Vice President Al Gore shared the award with the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

I do not like president

Carter but he probably

deserved the Nobel prize.

VP Gore and president Obama

certainly did not deserve it. It

appears that indeed politics is

involved in awarding this prize.

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tikun

at 07:39 on October 11th, 2009

This was a very clever move that the political elite in Norway did in awarding the "peace" prize to Obama. They want to encourage him to come into line with the EU worldview. Norway's conduct in the Middle-East and in particular with Israel is also suspect. They had a history of supporting Hitler with raw materials and transportation that many say caused the war to continue an extra year or so.

They want to encourage US of A away from a capitalist, free and democratic country with its traditional and unique view of the world because it scares the crap out of them. With all that oil that Norway sits on it is not hard to see that their interests lie with many of the enemies that want to destroy the fabric and integrity of the American system.

A super EU with a titular head that is NOT elected by the people but by the elite elected officials is just the beginning. Obama apparently sits among them.

Hugh Askew

at 10:21 on October 11th, 2009

Hit the nail right on the head with a large hammer, tikun.

Barry ORegan

at 08:48 on October 11th, 2009

Oh you just know it is political

158

at 08:50 on October 11th, 2009

Very good comment.

I agree.

I do not like this possibility but I think you are right.

Tomitheos Linardos

at 09:02 on October 11th, 2009

It seems to be a popularity contest, so based on that it makes sense that Obama's attempts for peace were brought to the forefront and to the world stage with this Nobel peace prize recognition. I am sure others without such a high profile as Obama this year, probably deserved it more than he did; perhaps even more so, and another probably needed the cash reward more than the president of the USA.. so in retrospect I agree with BA, it is political and maybe the decision, controversial or well deserved, will bring some topics to light that will in some way help things on a large scale in the long run. So was that the underlined reason for the win? As members of the public majority, we'll never really know.

158

at 09:09 on October 11th, 2009

Thanks for a good comment.

I agree with your analysis.

And we can not know why they decided for Obama, for sure.

Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke

at 11:00 on October 11th, 2009

The issue of why or why not Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize has been discussed around the world since its announcement on Friday. At NowPublic this has been no different. Most even at NowPublic, both left and right leaning authors, have reacted with surprise and amazement.

The composition of the Norwegian panel for this award makes the answer of why relatively simple. 2 from the Norwegian Labour Party, one socialist and progressive conservative and one from a Norwegian right party. Was it political? Duh?

158

at 11:11 on October 11th, 2009

My problem with this is I can see nothing president Obama has done to advance peace.

It was the same as with Gore. This is supposed to be a peace prize, not a political or popularity contest.

Thanks for the information on the judges.

tikun

at 01:00 on October 12th, 2009

Here is some interesting comments from the Wall Street Journal.

Thus a conservative can argue that Obama deserves the Nobel Peace Prize because it is already so devalued. Commentary's John Podhoretz:

The Nobel Committee chose him wisely because he does, in fact, represent the organization's highest ideals.

He is an American president queasy about the projection of American power. He is an American president who rejects the notion of American exceptionalism. He is an American president eagerly in pursuit of legitimacy to be granted him not by those who voted for him but by those who do not cast a vote and who chafe at American leadership. It is his devout wish that America become one of many nations, influencing the world indirectly or not influencing it at all, rather than "the indispensable nation," as Madeleine Albright characterized it. He is the encapsulation, the representative, the wish fulfillment, the very embodiment, of the multilateralist impulse. He is, almost literally, a dream come true for the sorts of people who treasure and value the Nobel Peace Prize.