Obama awarded Nobel Peace Prize

[NoDayButToday]

He's speaking now. One of the first things he said was that he doesn't feel he deserves the award. He also made a statement about how it isn't for things he achieved but instead sees it as a "call for action" to continue with his efforts.

[Penny Lane]

This is fucking fantastic news for his critics... now they can mock him on a whole new level. I think this was a mistake, as much as I like and believe in him.

[cmmdee]

Originally Posted by nancydrew

Yo Obama, I'm happy for you and I'm gonna let you finish, but *insert far more deserving person here* is the best peace keeper of all time!

Sorry couldn't help myself.

Originally Posted by HWBL

Where was Kanye West to interrupt the announcement ceremony?

I was waiting for the Kanye jokse to start

[HWBL]

He doesn't feel he deserves the award, but he does accept it.....

Now, one commentator already said, Obama has to (work his butt off to - my
words) earn it. Tall order, way tall order.

[celeb_2006]

Originally Posted by *DIVA!

^^The WH knows this and is doing damage control..

Hopefully. It's gonna get worse when he actually shows up in his tux at the ceremony.

Extraordinarily bad timing.

[celeb_2006]

Originally Posted by HWBL

He doesn't feel he deserves the award, but he does accept it.....

word

[Grimmlok]

(CNN) -- President Obama on Friday said he was "surprised and deeply humbled" by winning the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.

President Obama, speaking Friday, said the award was "an affirmation of American leadership."

"I do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments, but rather as an affirmation of American leadership," Obama said from the White House Rose Garden.

"I will accept this award as a call to action."

Obama said he did not feel he deserves "to be in the company" of past winners.

The Nobel announcement was a stunning decision that comes just eight months into Obama's presidency.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it honored Obama for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."

The decision appeared to catch most observers by surprise.

The president had not been mentioned as among front-runners for the prize, and the roomful of reporters gasped when Thorbjorn Jagland, chairman of the Nobel committee, uttered Obama's name.

Nominations for the prize had to be postmarked by February 1 -- only 12 days after Obama took office. The committee sent out its solicitation for nominations last September -- two months before Obama was elected president. Video Watch announcement of 2009 Nobel Peace Prize »

The Nobel committee recognized Obama's efforts to solve complex global problems including working toward a world free of nuclear weapons. Video Watch CNN's Christiane Amanpour's analysis »

"Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future," the committee said. Ed Rollins: Obama now must earn it

Jagland said the decision was "unanimous" and came with ease.

He rejected the notion that Obama had been recognized prematurely for his efforts and said the committee wanted to promote the president just as it had Mikhail Gorbachev in 1990 in his efforts to open up the Soviet Union.
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"His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population," it said.

The announcement caught the White House off guard. One senior administration official said "we were quite surprised."

Some analysts have speculated that the prize could give Obama additional clout as he forms a strategy for the war in Afghanistan and attempts to engage Iran and North Korea. Another senior administration official told CNN he hopes the White House can "use it for the positive."

The domestic political consequences are unclear. Supporters hope the prestige associated with the prize will strengthen the president's hand in the health care reform debate. A top Republican from George W. Bush's administration, however, argued that "this will backfire on them for a while" and asserted it was "a gift to the right." Laureates to Nobel winners: Prepare for 'lightning bolt'

Obama's recognition comes less than a year after he became the first African-American to win the White House. He is the fourth U.S. president to win the prestigious prize and the third sitting president to do so. Video Watch John McCain's reaction to Obama be awarded prize »

Jagland said he hoped the prize would help Obama resolve the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Video Listen to Jagland explain why Obama was this year's choice »

Former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, last year's laureate, said it was clear the Nobel committee wanted to encourage Obama on the issues he has been discussing on the world stage. Praise, skepticism greet Nobel announcement

"I see this as an important encouragement," Ahtisaari said.

The committee wanted to be "far more daring" than in recent times and make an impact on global politics, said Kristian Berg Harpviken, director of the International Peace Research Institute.

And Wangari Muta Maathai, the Kenyan environmentalist who won the 2004 Peace Prize, said the win for Obama, whose father was Kenyan, would help Africa move forward.

"I think it is extraordinary," she said. "It will be even greater inspiration for the world. He has shown how we can probably come together, work together in a cooperative way."

The award comes at a crucial time for Obama, who has initiated peace missions to key parts of the globe.

Obama's envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, has returned to the region to advocate for peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. Mitchell met Thursday with Israeli President Shimon Peres. He plans to meet Friday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before talking with Palestinian leaders in the West Bank. A view from Egypt: Obama honor premature

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton starts a six-day trip to Europe and Russia on Friday. On the trip, the secretary will discuss the next steps on Iran and North Korea, and international efforts to have the two countries end their nuclear programs.

The centerpiece of the trip will be her visit to Moscow, where she will work toward an agreement to take the place of the Start II arms control pact, which expires December 5. She also will address the new bilateral presidential commission that is working on a broad range of issues, from arms control to health.

Mohamed ElBaradei, who won the 2005 peace prize for his efforts to prevent nuclear energy being used for military means, said Obama deserved to win for his efforts to bring Iran to the table for direct nuclear talks with the United States.

"I could not think of anybody who is more deserving," said ElBaradei, the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Video Listen to ElBaradei react to the announcement »

As the news of Obama's win broke online, postings on social network sites Twitter and Facebook expressed surprise. Many started with the word: Wow. Video Watch how online community reacted »

The last sitting U.S. president to win the peace prize was Woodrow Wilson in 1919. The other was Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. Jimmy Carter had been out of office for more than two decades when he won in 2002.

This year's Peace Prize nominees included 172 people -- among them three Chinese dissidents, an Afghan activist and a controversial Colombian lawmaker -- and 33 organizations, the highest number of nominations ever.

The Nobel recipient receives a prize of about $1.4 million.

This is insane! Wtf has he done to earn this this? WHAT!

- gays are still second class citizens
- filed a legal brief supporting Bush's arguments that Bagram detainees have no rights
- supported Israel's exemption from nuclear disclosure
- supported shelving a report on Israel's Gaza war
- relied on a 2001 congressional resolution to detain people indefinitely without charge
- allowed torture to continue at Guantanamo
- approved Afghanistan/Pakistan airstrikes that have killed more people in 9 months than in Bush's last year
- continued 2 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan


Good fucking god, this is absurd!

[bychance]

Freepers are going to go insane

These people cheered America's loss of the Olympics. They'll be furious at America's win of the Nobel Prize.

[Grimmlok]

to hell with the freepers, i'm going insane! lol

if he had any brains at all he would have declined and said " i can't accept this, there is too much work to do"

[bychance]

Originally Posted by nancydrew

Yo Obama, I'm happy for you and I'm gonna let you finish, but ROSA PARKS is the best peace keeper of all time!

Sorry couldn't help myself.

Was that funny? LOL. I'm not good at these things. I was thinking of putting Al Gore first.

[Shinola]

Originally Posted by Grimmlok

This is insane! Wtf has he done to earn this this? WHAT!

- gays are still second class citizens
- filed a legal brief supporting Bush's arguments that Bagram detainees have no rights
- supported Israel's exemption from nuclear disclosure
- supported shelving a report on Israel's Gaza war
- relied on a 2001 congressional resolution to detain people indefinitely without charge
- allowed torture to continue at Guantanamo
- approved Afghanistan/Pakistan airstrikes that have killed more people in 9 months than in Bush's last year
- continued 2 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

Thank you. Abso-fucking-lutely correct. I am in utter shock. I know ordinary, nonfamous people in my community who do so much more for the cause of peace and human rights than Obama has.

I don't think he should've accepted the award.

[witchcurlgirl]

I guess we can now include the NYTimes and WaPo in the freeper category. Because they seem to think there was a mistake here. Here's an excerpt from the WaPo piece today:

Obama is the third sitting U.S. president–and the first in 90 years–to win the prestigious peace prize. His predecessors won during their second White House terms, however, and after significant achievements in their diplomacy. Woodrow Wilson was awarded the price in 1919, after helping to found the League of Nations and shaping the Treatise of Versailles; and Theodore Roosevelt was the recipient in 1906 for his work to negotiate an end to the Russo-Japanese war.

In contrast, Obama is struggling over whether to expand the war in Afghanistan, preparing to withdraw from Iraq, and searching for ways to build momentum to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and assemble an international effort to stop Iran’s nuclear program.

Timeline: Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize (washingtonpost.com)

[celeb_2006]

Gawd I hate freepers, THEY should be the ones being shipped to Afghanistan

[effie2]

Ι hope he ll donate the money...
Next year it will be Brangelina...
These Nowergian dudes did him a great disservice really,even people liking him are either angry or laughing.

[word]

The Best Nobel Prize Tweets


Twitter has been buzzing about the President's Nobel prize this morning, and it's been enormously entertaining. Here's a sampling of our favorite tweets so far. (Blogging about tweeting, very postmodern I know.)


Farhad Manjoo, Slate (@fmanjoo)
- Yo Barack, I'm really happy for you and imma let you finish, but Morgan Tsvangira was one the most peaceful dudes ever.


Brian Beutler, Talking Points Memo (@brianbeutler)
- RT @SenArlenSpecter: Congratulations President Obama on winning the Nobel Peace Prize/Translation: I'M A DEMOCRAT AND I LOVE YOU

- Conservatives last week: Hooray, America failed! Conservatives this week: Boo, America succeeded

- Clearly Obama should appoint an unaccountable Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Czar

Baratunde Thurston, Liberal Political Comedian (@baratunde):
- Possible US/Norway quid pro quo in the Obama #Nobel decision: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_...f-Erikson-Day/

Mike Madden, Salon.com (@mikemadden)
- Oslo must have realized it might take a Nobel laureate to get Blue Dogs, progressives to agree on healthcare reform.

Ana Marie Cox, Air America (@anamariecox)
- You know who also has a Nobel Peace Prize? Kissinger. (Not actually a joke.)

- Apparently Nobel prizes now being awarded to anyone who is not George Bush.

Ezra Klein, Washington Post (@ezraklein)
- Think the Right is mad now? Wait till Obama donates his winnings to ACORN.

- Obama also awarded Nobel prize in chemistry. "He's just got great chemistry," says Nobel Committee.

Richard Kim, The Nation (@richard_kim)
- Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize for Behaving Like Normal American Imperial President



The Gaggle : The Best Nobel Prize Tweets