He deserves itHe ran for president on a very brave ticket that was highly critical of George W Bush’s military engagement in Iraq and he has begun the process of extracting the US from that war.
Add to that the depolarisation of the global political environment that he has brought about by engaging with the world rather than threatening it and you can’t argue that he hasn’t made the largest contribution to peace over the last year.

Freeper says “Basically won it for not being George Bush”and your point is . . .  

Replying to a freeper is like gnawing a hole into a brick wall with your teeth…but…
“OMG did I die over night and wake up in hell!!!”
Now you know where we had to live between Jan. 2001 and Jan. 2009.

“Basically won it for not being George Bush” That by itself should warrant at least two Nobel Peace Prizes.

Really?I never figured that would be an accomplishment. A good thing, sure, but not something deserving an international accolade. At best, it looks like he’s…talked nicely to a few people, repeated things Bush has said in the past concerning Iran/NK nuclear activities only firmer, and talked about doing nice things. Talk, and lots of it, to make a friendlier atmosphere. But I don’t really see actual change.

Validation WIN!I’ll tell you a story…
I’m a hardcore atheist, and my ex is a hardcore catholic.  I won the battle with respect to sending my kids to a public school vice a separate (i.e. catholic) school, on the grounds that, if she wanted to educate the kids in her own religious tradition, she could do it on her own time, not that of the kids’ schooling.  So she did.  Next thing I know, my kids are being baptized. in a catholic bird bath.
I choose to see this as the little stage play that it is.  They got given a bath in a basin that looked like a bird bath, filled with tap water over which some old guy in a country across the ocean recited a poem or two, by some other old guy wearing a funky looking gown and a pointy hat, who also dipped his finger in some motor oil and traced an X on my kids’ foreheads.
A very ridiculous little stage play at that, but it’s all fine and dandy with me.  The kids didn’t have any concept of what was happening, and no damage was done, physical or otherwise.  But here’s my agnostic mother, sitting  in the back row, with a horrified look on her face.  I told her that, by being horrified, she had just validated this whole scenario as being something that actually mattered.
So it is with the Freepers, Teabaggers, and other religious fruitcakes and right wing nutbars.  It seems to me that these people profess to have dismissed the United Nations, the Nobel Committee, IOC and any other international agency as not having any power or other bearing on the affairs of the US of A.
By acting horrified, not just at this wonderful event, but also at the recent awarding of the 2016 Olympics to Rio de Janeiro, they have just validated both of these agencies.  This, if you think about it, is a scream!  Just more hypocrisy from these idiots.

Love it!“Basically won it for not being George Bush”   Amen!
How these people can think that shrub did a good job is beyond me.  Obama inherited two wars started by the US and an economy that was in the toilet.  shrub inherited a budget surplus left by Bill Clinton.    
Congrats to Barack!

60,000 more troops to Afghanistan?That was the next story on the news following the Nobel announcement.  Impressive.  That is peace?  

Obama’s Peace PrizeI guess Obama’s socialist plan for one world government is on schedule. I can hear the black helicopters from here.
In all seriousness, though, how does this square with increasing the troop levels in Afghanistan??

Eh. It isn’t just right wingers who aren’t impressed by Obama being given the prize.
Many people on the left aren’t happy either.

It’s a huge honor that only underscores the impact of Obama’s election as president and his personal charisma.
Whether the award is too soon or not will be up for speculation for weeks. But some on the right aren’t waiting that long

For weeks? For years. They aren’t awarding the prize has an honor, or to underscore Obama’s charisma.
They are awarding the prize as a prod, a goad to him.

Followed by an invasion of PakistanYou will note how the media has been rife with stories about corruption in the Pakistani government, how provinces have been taken over by the Taliban and how those provinces are now strongholds of international terrorism that must be dealt with.  

Deserves it?What next? Henry Kissinger deserved his Prize too?
Extracting the US from Iraq? Yes, if you count the possibility of leaving a large number of troops there indefinitely as “extraction”.
Guantanamo still isn’t closed yet. In fact, Eric Holder has said that they are likely to miss their targeted date for closing it. And even if Guantanamo is closed, Bagram is still around.
Afghanistan is still unresolved. Women and children, civilians and wedding parties, are still being bombed to bloody bits of meat under his administration.

Add to that the depolarisation of the global political environment that he has brought about by engaging with the world rather than threatening it and you can’t argue that he hasn’t made the largest contribution to peace over the last year.

The contribution to peace he has made over the last year have been because it has been the US that has been invading countries, it has been the US that has been threatening to “bomb bomb bomb” countries, it has been the US that has been deliberately provoking countries.
And he hasn’t depolarised anything. He has just adopted less provocative policies.

This is very disappointingNominations for the Peace Prize closed on February 1, when Obama had been in office for only two weeks.
Other winners of the Peace Prize were honored for work they had alredy done. After two weeks in office, what had Obama accomplished to merit such recognition? And in light of his refusal to remove troops and, in fact, his recent saber-rattling about Pakistan…. The Committee jumped the shark here, big time. They have politicized the Prize in a way that demeans past honorees and diminishes the accomplishments of future recipients.

Josh Marshall has a good take on thishttp://www.talkingpointsmemo.c…

To be fair,he ended the missile shield insanity that was aimed at deliberately provoking Russia.
And his policy on Iran is different from Bush’s. He is negotiating.

Henry Kissinger is a winner of the Peace prizeIf you are concerned about it being demeaned, it has already been demeaned. Long ago.
And no, other winners of the prize were not always honoured for work they had already done. The prize has been used as a prod to push the winner(s) to do more, to do better; the prize has been used as to provide support, to provide publicity, to provide protection for the winner.
The prize has ALWAYS been politicised. ALWAYS. The committee has always used the prize for political reasons.

Love, Love LOVE watching the Right lose it over this!

One has to love the inconsistency of the right…Last week they were proudly proclaiming that the “World” has rejected Obama by not giving Chicago the Olympics. This week he is awarded a Nobel Prize and suddenly its all meaningless.
Oh well, I guess they have their hate to get them through the day…they would not be the only ones.
Congrats to President Obama!

If you need the urlof the Free Republic, I’d be glad to look it up on google for you.

The NPP should have gone to U.S. citizens …for electing Obama.  Two weeks in office—he had no accomplishments.  But we had choices.  We could have continued on the Bush path with McCain and Quitter Bible Spice.  Instead, we chose collectively and decisively to enter a new era.
Since taking the oath, Obama has been a disappointment to the left and especially to LGBTs in many ways. I’m glad Obama has earned back some cred for the U.S. on the world stage, but at home, he’s a dud.  I hope this doesn’t embolden him to make his “incremental steps” speech at the HRC and actually feel good about it, instead of ashamed.  Or continue to cave around a public option for health care reform.  But the experience of the last 9 months has taught me not to hold my breath.

hmmm The smart move by President Obama would be to thank the Nobel Committee and decline the award-saying he wants to actually acheive progress before being honored. That would be gracious, humble and smart politics (both domestic and international).
My guess is he does not do that.
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If you need the urlof Daily Kos, I’d be glad to look it up on google for you.

Award
Any one who wonders where this sense of entitlement young people seem to have comes from? Wonder no longer. You can become president of the United States with little or no actual accomplishment. Then go on to win a Nobel without ever having to do any work! Gee maybe I can get an Oscar for my last tantrum. Does actual accomplishment mean anything anymore?

not justThe award isn’t just for past work, it’s also to encourage ongoing work towards peace.  Part of it is a “thank God Bush is gone” award, but the rest is for the beginnings of new policies Obama has put into place…

It is rare for the Committee to be so damned blatant about it, thoughObama was nominated before being in office for two full weeks. I would not at all be surprised to find out that his nomination was submitted before the general election.
This reeks to high heaven of partisanship, far more so than any other Peace Prize award I know of. There is no way this can be spun to make it look positive.

Obama united the LGBT community and headed off a CLASS WAR….lol

I agree, that would be a very wise decisionI doubt very much he would do this, though.

Obama won the peace prize for not being CHENEY

nothing?Obama was the first “peace” candidate ever successfully elected in this country. He’s reinstituted international diplomacy. These are remarkable accomplishments even if the unfolding of his policies isn’t as fully realized as we’d like.

The nominations closed before Obama had been in office two weeksLet’s go with your assertion. What had President Obama done to further peace BEFORE the nomination period closed on February 1, 2009?
I’ll wait.
Still thinking?
Ok, I’ll help you out: All he did was not be a Republican. And his actual actions since taking office — backing off on promises to withdraw from Iraq, escalating the war in Afghanistan, saber-rattling about how Pakistan is a dangerously growing Taliban threat, working hard to keep Gitmo in operation, abject refusal to take any steps at all even to investigate alleged war crimes by the Bush administration, much less pursue the war crimes that have been documented — do not look at all like what I would expect peace to took like.

Yup. It is not possible to spin this any other way. n/t

Delete the ad, moderators.

Obama’s actionsReally, I don’t believe he US should intervene militarily anywhere.
But your list of facts is pretty much completely made up.
1) Obama is doing exactly what he said he would regarding Iraq. It’s a gradual draw down. If you thought he said he would do something else you weren’t paying attention.
2) Escalating the war in Afghanistan. Well, the escalation is coming more from the Taliban sensing blood in the water, but even so, again Obama said over and over that Iraq was the bad war, Afghanistan the just one.
3) Working hard to keep Gitmo in operation. Dude, it’s Congress preventing him from closing it by blocking transfer of the detainees.
4) Pakistan. Again, exactly what he said during the election. Exactly. And there IS a growing Taliban threat in Pakistan, do you disagree with that?
5) war crimes. I don’t recall this being one of his election planks. Mores the pity, perhaps, but it wasn’t there.

Am I the only one……….………looking forward to Keith Olberman tonight? The reason I say KO is because I can’t stomach listening to Rush LIMPbaugh, but KO always shows the segments where LIMPbaugh’s head explodes. And we ALL know his head is going to explode over this.

Unfortunately I agree with the Freeper on this:

Basically won it for not being George Bush

Where’s the peace?  

Can I pick mine up?I’m not George Bush either!!!

Though this phrase is tired and overused:In this case it applies: The Nobel Peace Prize has jumped the shark.

So when will Obama finally withdraw from Iraq?Note, leaving a large bunch of US military there is not a withdrawal.

2) Escalating the war in Afghanistan. Well, the escalation is coming more from the Taliban sensing blood in the water, but even so, again Obama said over and over that Iraq was the bad war, Afghanistan the just one.

So, if Obama said that the Iraq war, and the Afghan war, and the Pakistan war, and starting a war with Iran are all just, he would be for “peace” then?

3) Working hard to keep Gitmo in operation. Dude, it’s Congress preventing him from closing it by blocking transfer of the detainees.

Try the detainees in a court of law. If you can’t convict them, you release them.

4) Pakistan. Again, exactly what he said during the election. Exactly. And there IS a growing Taliban threat in Pakistan, do you disagree with that?

Yes, when you are blowing women and children to bloody bits of meat, it really is shocking that the natives would take offense. Shocking.
What right does Obama have to dictate to Afghanistan, and to Pakistan about the Taliban? Especially with rockets and drones?
You have made no case whatsoever that Obama is interested in peace.

you’ve made a good argumentthat Obama has done what he said he’d do. And that he’s dealing with a lot, and deserves patience and the benefit of the doubt.
But it isn’t by any metric a persuasive argument he’s that he’s earned PEACE prize.

yes the award……that went to mass murderer Henry Kissinger is now tainted!

in this case……I actually don’t like Obama’s policies on Iraq, Afghanistan, or Pakistan. I don’t think the problems in these three ecountries have military solutions that are “our” responsibility. I’m not going to defend Obama’s positions. As I think I already said, that’s actually not my point.

this goes beyond demeaning the prizesorry but the prize is meant to honor those who accomplished something significant towards peace

Unlike his predecessors, Obama was selected not for substantive accomplishments, but for his “vision” and inspiring “hope” at the beginning of his presidency CNN

the only thing more disgraceful than his nomination and “win” is the fact he did not politely decline the nomination knowing he has not yet earned it.

Usually for the Nobel Peace Prize,… you have to cause great destruction first and then do something positive like Yasser Arafat or Henry Kissinger.
So it isn’t news that the Nobel Peace Prize is often a very strange award. They just wanted to prove that another time.

Obama the clear choice for the Nobel Peace PrizeObama brought back a little thing called diplomacy that had been completely absent the previous 8 years. Obama brought all of the UN Security Council to the table on imposing sanctions on Iran. Something Bush failed at because he tried to bully everyone. Obama told the world he was listening with the Cairo Speech, and because he listens, the world then listens to him when he speaks. There is not a single person who has done more to promote peace, communication and understanding in the world in the last year than Obama.
The world is a better place today than it was under Bush. Talking, communicating, is what is required for Peace. Not just Obama giving Speeches, but the whole diplomatic corps. Bush had career diplomats leaving in droves because he was such an idiot.
A fraction of Obama’s success comes because he is black and so the world was willing to give him a listen after decades upon decades of White Imperial Presidents dictating to the world. But Obama did not rest on his laurels and coast, he built up diplomacy upon the welcoming ears and hearts of the world.
McCain did not have Obama’s advantage in the world, and would have continued Bush’s dictatorial ways.  

Jury is still out but . . .I think that this proves something to us all. Apparently this country may have underestimated the worldwide impact of Obama’s election as president.  

But at least Kissenger got it AFTER he had done stuffThe Committee did not even bother to do that much for Obama.

Perhaps the meaning behind the prize should be consideredI agree, the jury on Obama’s accomplishments is clearly still out. However, the committee made it very clear this award was not about accomplishments. To encourage peace, you have to do more than just award people for accomplishments made. Technically, much of the world is still in turmoil so any past awards made are based on permanent peace yet to be achieved. What is notable here is the message behind this particular award. The world is at a state today where there are several problems looming (world economy, environment and two pivot wars to start). What is needed currently is vision that will address these and other issues immediately, with the outcome not to be known for many years out. This was a smart move on the part of the Nobel committee, clearly demonstrating there have to be more the one way to encourage peace. What I find interesting is, when individuals in the middle east were interviewed for their reaction, there was a lot of ‘well he (Obama) hasn’t accomplished anything in the region.’ While this is true it is also telling how people put their own destiny towards peace in the hands of others not realizing that the key to peace requires personal ownership of the concept. Overall, the committee made the right overture. Let’s hope it was worth it. Better yet, let’s stop griping about whether it was earned or not and make peace happen ourselves!

At least?Kissinger (or Arafat or some other undeserved winner) should have gotten an award for destruction and death, not for peace. By that standard Obama should order carpet bombing and then negotiate ending it.

You are basically saying that he got the prizebecause he isn’t Bush.

Obama told the world he was listening with the Cairo Speech, and because he listens, the world then listens to him when he speaks.

Is Obama listening to the world on Iraq, Afghanistan, Gaza, global warming?

A fraction of Obama’s success comes because he is black and so the world was willing to give him a listen after decades upon decades of White Imperial Presidents dictating to the world.

Now you have a half black imperial president dictating to the world.

McCain did not have Obama’s advantage in the world, and would have continued Bush’s dictatorial ways

What does this have to do with McCain? The new standard for the Nobel Prize is now to not be Bush, and not be the imaginary ogre McCain?

Not worldwideObama is really popular in Europe, his election improved US standing in Europe.
http://www.spiegel.de/internat…

Your analysis fails to includethe fact that the US meddles a lot in the Middle East.
The US isn’t some neutral observer in the Middle East, so the response of people in the Middle East towards Obama isn’t just a case of people expecting Santa Obama to grant all their wishes.