He’s going to be insufferable after this…
Apparently, someone decided it would be a good idea to award Barack Obama the 2990 Nobel Peace Prize.
Honestly, I’m almost speechless. Really? The Nobel Peace Prize?
I mean, okay, granted, it’s not as though the Peace Prize really has much meaning anymore, not after Arafat won it back in the day. That’s kind of like awarding Stalin some sort of prize for defending Ukrainian national interests. But still…a peace prize for Obama? At least when they gave it to Arafat, they had the excuse that Arafat had participated in Middle East peace talks. What’s Obama done?
Okay, he’s increased the USA’s debt by something like $1.4 trillion, will increase it by a further $2 trillion next year, and then will continue to increase it by about $1 trillion per year thereafter. That’s something, right? And he’s promised to close Gitmo, although nobody seems to be sure when that’s actually going to happen. Unemployment has shot up to 17%…that’s probably good for the economy.
He did pledge to stop development on anti-missile defences in Poland…does that count for anything?
The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it was honouring the 48-year-old US President for “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples”.
The five jurors, elected by the Norwegian parliament, also said in their citation that they had attached “special importance to Obama’s vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons”.
Er…well, if they say so. He hasn’t really done much for international diplomacy either, except for getting Iran to come to talks, the outcome of which was…an agreement to hold more talks at some later date. But at least he didn’t get all hardline on them about their burgeoning nuclear weapons development programme. There’s that commitment to a world without nukes!
And should we mention Obama’s latest proposal for ending the war in Afghanistan? The one that involved some level of partnership with the Taliban? That’s putting the “Peace” in “Peace Prize” right there, that is.
Update: Gotta love it when the British press decides to be nasty about it:
Mr Obama becomes the third sitting US President to receive the prize. The committee said today that he had “captured the world’s attention”. It is certainly true that his energy and aspirations have dazzled many of his supporters. Sadly, it seems they have so bedazzled the Norwegians that they can no longer separate hopes from achievement. The achievements of all previous winners have been diminished.
Heh.
Further Nastiness: James Delingpole: “Here are my theories as to how it might have come about:”
3. The other candidates on the shortlist were Robert Mugabe; Osama Bin Laden; Ahmed Jibril; and the late Pol Pot.
Har!
Ugh: Nominations for the prize apparently closed in February of 2009. That would be two whole weeks into Obama’s presidency.
I guess the secret to getting a Peace Prize these days is a distinguished few years of service voting “present” as a sitting US Senator.
A better Catholic than me observes:
I am trying to find a reason to be proud as an American for this award, but I can’t find any. I have to add my voice to those of the skeptics and naysayers. This award was given prematurely, to the wrong person, and for the wrong reasons. This error cheapens the award and risks making it meaningless.
Now, I don’t want to end on a sour note. I hope that Mr. Obama from now on works to earn his prize. I hope that he honors his promise of not funding abortion and protecting conscientious pro-life objections it in his health care reform, promises already voided by the Democract majority in Congress. I pray that he stops supporting groups and causes that aim to destroy the natural, traditional family. I pray that he doesn’t bring into his team fringe, extreme left-wing ideologues that seed division, contradiction, and turmoil but not peace. Let us pray for this intention and maybe, 4 years from now, we may look back and say yes, Mr. Barack Obama has earned his Nobel Peace Prize and I will be proud for him and for all of us.
I’ve never encountered Teófilo’s blog before. It’s a gooder, which I’ll be adding to my “daily reads.”
