Jump to content

President Obama awarded Nobel Peace Prize


Guest Guest

Recommended Posts

It seems premature to me too. I don't think it's doing him any favors politically either, at least not domestically. I suppose it sets a standard and implicitly challenges him to live up to it. Maybe that was the intent. Some have commented that the Nobel prizes have always been for actual accomplishment, not potential accomplishment. That there's no Nobel prize for potential chemistry or potential physics. They make a good point. But perhaps there has been so little accomplishment towards peace lately that just changing the tone and demonstrating at least an intent to work towards peace really does make Obama the best choice. Perhaps it says more about the general state of things than about Barack Obama.

Of course it says more about the state of things than about Obama. He woke up one morning and was told he won something he didn't even seek.

Way too much of a fuss is being made over this. If he uses it for good, that's all we can ask.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Simple fact is this is blatant politicism. I'd have rather seen Bill Clinton get it for his work in brokering the Peace in Northern Ireland..at least he accomplished something tangible. So far President Obama hs NOT, no matter how you spin it. No offense to him, he hasnt had TIME to get anything done yet with all of the domestic issues to work through.

It's not a simple fact. It's your opinion.

You can make a great case for Clinton. But the fact remains that no one has done more to change the course of affairs worldwide than Obama. It may not seem like he earned it. On the other hand, he got himself elected president and turned American foreign policy in a different direction. You may not think that merits the Nobel Peace Prize but the committee did. That's a reasonable choice and we should take them at their word why they did it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As has already been pointed out, there's nothing terribly special about nomination. Someone saw some potential there, and put his name on the list. There's no evidence for your claim that the decision was made in advance, nor does it fit any established pattern. You have no basis for your belief other than your desire to believe it.

Oh, so you believe Obama got the Nobel based upon his "potential" and you think that was nothing terribly special? You're losing this argument, give it up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest 2smart4u
It's not a simple fact. It's your opinion.

You can make a great case for Clinton. But the fact remains that no one has done more to change the course of affairs worldwide than Obama. It may not seem like he earned it. On the other hand, he got himself elected president and turned American foreign policy in a different direction. You may not think that merits the Nobel Peace Prize but the committee did. That's a reasonable choice and we should take them at their word why they did it.

"turned American foreign policy in a different direction"? Gobbledygook.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"turned American foreign policy in a different direction"? Gobbledygook.

I hate (no I dun!) to urinate on the Tumor4u, but.....WATCH THIS!!!...... :lol:

Hey Mr. Gobbledygook?

The Five Pillars of Obama's Foreign Policy

By Michael Scherer / Washington Monday, Jul. 13, 2009

The introductory phase of Barack Obama's foreign policy ambitions concluded on July 11 before the Ghanaian Parliament, when a solo trombonist sounded a few ceremonial notes. Obama had just finished his fourth major address on international affairs in as many months, and a few hours later, he would depart home to Washington from his fourth overseas trip.

All the i's had been dotted and the t's crossed. In sometimes exhaustive, often repetitive detail, Obama has now traveled the world, from Riyadh to Cairo and from London to Moscow — he plans to travel to China and other parts of Asia in the fall — offering up his international vision, a hodgepodge of classic realpolitik, diplomatic determination, community-organizer idealism and charismatic leadership. He has presented what he hopes will become a new public identity for the U.S., less global leader than global facilitator, less savior than responsible partner.

The effect of this change in tone, style and message will not be known for some time. What's more, it can be difficult to measure results in international affairs — to say conclusively, for instance, that Russia's cooperation on nuclear-weapon reductions could not have happened under the Administration of President John McCain or that the willingness of China to increase pressure on North Korea is anything more than a response to the rogue nation's increasing belligerence.

(See pictures of Obama's meeting with the Pope.)

What is known now, however, is the outline of Obama's operating philosophy of world affairs, a set of principles and assumptions that were only hinted at during the protracted presidential campaign. So what is the new Obama Doctrine? Here are five of its central pillars:

1. Biography Matters

During the campaign, Obama told American voters that his election as the first black President of goatherd ancestry and foreign upbringing could itself change geopolitical dynamics. Since his election, he has been working hard to make good on that promise, aggressively marketing his background. In Africa, he spoke about the colonialist mistreatment his Kenyan grandfather faced, and in Cairo he talked about his childhood in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation. He presents himself internationally as he does domestically, as an embodiment of meritocratic achievement that can happen in free and open societies. "I have the blood of Africa within me," he said in Ghana. "And my family's own story encompasses both the tragedies and triumphs of the larger African story." His message was hard to miss: If I can do it, so can you. It was a message targeted directly at the people of the world, not their governments.

2. If It's Good for the South Side, It's Good for the World

Nothing has been more central to the President's foreign policy approach than the theoretical lessons he learned as a community organizer in Chicago: listen to different views, understand the various motivations and then focus on the commonalities, not the differences. He repeats these refrains everywhere he goes. "The United States and Russia have more in common than they have differences," Obama said last week, shortly after meeting with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev in the Kremlin. At an April press conference in Trinidad, the President elaborated on his thinking, describing the more collaborative approach to diplomacy as one that can clear away "old preconceptions or ideological dogmas." "Countries are going to have interests," he said, sounding very much the community-organizing theorist. "And changes in foreign policy approaches by my Administration aren't suddenly going to make all those interests that may diverge from ours disappear. What it does mean, though, is at the margins, they are more likely to want to cooperate than not cooperate."

3. Pragmatism Should Often Trump Idealism

Compared with the relatively Panglossian vision of George W. Bush, who sought to remake whole parts of the world under the banner of American moral authority, Obama brings a more conservative, cynical view to the question of when nations should act on idealistic impulses. At a press conference on Friday, the President was asked how he resolves the theoretical conflict between respecting state sovereignty and intervening in defense of the universal rights of oppressed people. "The threshold at which international intervention is appropriate I think has to be very high," Obama said. "There has to be strong international outrage at what's taking place. It's not always going to be a neat decision." The same pragmatism is evident in Obama's negotiating approach. As a rule, he has sworn off the Bush practice of punishing foreign misbehavior by cutting off diplomatic ties or threatening an end to direct conversation. Weeks after the bloody crackdowns began in Iran, the President says he still hopes the nation's leaders will meet with him at the negotiating table before September to discuss Iran's nuclear program.

4. America Is One of Many Nations

The U.S. continues to boast the largest, most powerful military in the world and a gross domestic product nearly twice as large as the next biggest national economy, China. But Obama has made a point of noting, stop after stop, that America's fate is tied to that of developing nations. He also says repeatedly that despite America's commitment to open societies with democratic governance, the U.S. will not seek to impose its views or form of governance on other countries. In Strasbourg, France, in April, Obama described this view, asserting that it takes nothing away from America's extraordinary position in the world to say that the U.S. will not always lead. "The fact that I am very proud of my country — and I think that we've got a whole lot to offer the world — does not lessen my interest in recognizing the value and wonderful qualities of other countries," he said, "or recognizing that we're not always going to be right, or that other people may have good ideas, or that in order for us to work collectively, all parties have to compromise, and that includes us."

5. Young People Matter

As President, Obama has adopted the mantle of chief youth inspirer. At almost every stop, Obama makes an appeal to young people, often addressing them directly through television cameras. "You get to decide what comes next. You get to choose where change will take us," he said in Moscow. "In places like Ghana, young people make up over half of the population," Obama said on his African stop. "The world will be what you make of it." The same refrain was repeated in Cairo and is a feature of his rhetoric elsewhere. As politics, addressing the youth is a well-worn trope. But for Obama it points to a bigger hope: that the change he speaks about will ultimately be generational, and therefore more lasting.

Hey Tumor4u! What was the George Custer Bush Doctrine?

Maybe you can QUOTE SARAH PALIN for that summary, eh deadender??? :lol::lol::lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh, so you believe Obama got the Nobel based upon his "potential" and you think that was nothing terribly special? You're losing this argument, give it up.

I think he's kicking your ass, especially since you misrepresented his position. There's a difference between when he was nominated and when he was selected.

Who did more to change the course of diplomacy in the past year? No one. Obama deserves the award.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"turned American foreign policy in a different direction"? Gobbledygook.

Not if you have a brain. But since you don't, I'll explain it for you.

Our allies are talking to us again. More important, they are working with us. Cowboy anti-diplomacy is over.

We respect the world again so the world respects us again. If you want respect, you have to give respect.

No one who understands world affairs denies that Obama has changed the direction of our foreign policy. Cheney is furious about it. That alone is a good sign.

For all those reasons, the United States has regained its leadership position and is once again the most admired country in the world.

I know those are hard concepts for you to grasp.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh, so you believe Obama got the Nobel based upon his "potential" and you think that was nothing terribly special?

Sheesh. What I said was nothing special was the nomination date that you were going on about. The date of nomination has no great significance because it's just a nomination, not an award.

You're losing this argument, give it up.

That's an interesting 3-step debate strategy you've developed there, Guest.

1. Make an unfounded claim.

2. When this is challenged, evade the issue and misrepresent what the other person said.

3. Declare yourself the winner.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest 2smart4u
I hate (no I dun!) to urinate on the Tumor4u, but.....WATCH THIS!!!...... :lol:

Hey Mr. Gobbledygook?

The Five Pillars of Obama's Foreign Policy

By Michael Scherer / Washington Monday, Jul. 13, 2009

The introductory phase of Barack Obama's foreign policy ambitions concluded on July 11 before the Ghanaian Parliament, when a solo trombonist sounded a few ceremonial notes. Obama had just finished his fourth major address on international affairs in as many months, and a few hours later, he would depart home to Washington from his fourth overseas trip.

All the i's had been dotted and the t's crossed. In sometimes exhaustive, often repetitive detail, Obama has now traveled the world, from Riyadh to Cairo and from London to Moscow — he plans to travel to China and other parts of Asia in the fall — offering up his international vision, a hodgepodge of classic realpolitik, diplomatic determination, community-organizer idealism and charismatic leadership. He has presented what he hopes will become a new public identity for the U.S., less global leader than global facilitator, less savior than responsible partner.

The effect of this change in tone, style and message will not be known for some time. What's more, it can be difficult to measure results in international affairs — to say conclusively, for instance, that Russia's cooperation on nuclear-weapon reductions could not have happened under the Administration of President John McCain or that the willingness of China to increase pressure on North Korea is anything more than a response to the rogue nation's increasing belligerence.

(See pictures of Obama's meeting with the Pope.)

What is known now, however, is the outline of Obama's operating philosophy of world affairs, a set of principles and assumptions that were only hinted at during the protracted presidential campaign. So what is the new Obama Doctrine? Here are five of its central pillars:

1. Biography Matters

During the campaign, Obama told American voters that his election as the first black President of goatherd ancestry and foreign upbringing could itself change geopolitical dynamics. Since his election, he has been working hard to make good on that promise, aggressively marketing his background. In Africa, he spoke about the colonialist mistreatment his Kenyan grandfather faced, and in Cairo he talked about his childhood in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation. He presents himself internationally as he does domestically, as an embodiment of meritocratic achievement that can happen in free and open societies. "I have the blood of Africa within me," he said in Ghana. "And my family's own story encompasses both the tragedies and triumphs of the larger African story." His message was hard to miss: If I can do it, so can you. It was a message targeted directly at the people of the world, not their governments.

2. If It's Good for the South Side, It's Good for the World

Nothing has been more central to the President's foreign policy approach than the theoretical lessons he learned as a community organizer in Chicago: listen to different views, understand the various motivations and then focus on the commonalities, not the differences. He repeats these refrains everywhere he goes. "The United States and Russia have more in common than they have differences," Obama said last week, shortly after meeting with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev in the Kremlin. At an April press conference in Trinidad, the President elaborated on his thinking, describing the more collaborative approach to diplomacy as one that can clear away "old preconceptions or ideological dogmas." "Countries are going to have interests," he said, sounding very much the community-organizing theorist. "And changes in foreign policy approaches by my Administration aren't suddenly going to make all those interests that may diverge from ours disappear. What it does mean, though, is at the margins, they are more likely to want to cooperate than not cooperate."

3. Pragmatism Should Often Trump Idealism

Compared with the relatively Panglossian vision of George W. Bush, who sought to remake whole parts of the world under the banner of American moral authority, Obama brings a more conservative, cynical view to the question of when nations should act on idealistic impulses. At a press conference on Friday, the President was asked how he resolves the theoretical conflict between respecting state sovereignty and intervening in defense of the universal rights of oppressed people. "The threshold at which international intervention is appropriate I think has to be very high," Obama said. "There has to be strong international outrage at what's taking place. It's not always going to be a neat decision." The same pragmatism is evident in Obama's negotiating approach. As a rule, he has sworn off the Bush practice of punishing foreign misbehavior by cutting off diplomatic ties or threatening an end to direct conversation. Weeks after the bloody crackdowns began in Iran, the President says he still hopes the nation's leaders will meet with him at the negotiating table before September to discuss Iran's nuclear program.

4. America Is One of Many Nations

The U.S. continues to boast the largest, most powerful military in the world and a gross domestic product nearly twice as large as the next biggest national economy, China. But Obama has made a point of noting, stop after stop, that America's fate is tied to that of developing nations. He also says repeatedly that despite America's commitment to open societies with democratic governance, the U.S. will not seek to impose its views or form of governance on other countries. In Strasbourg, France, in April, Obama described this view, asserting that it takes nothing away from America's extraordinary position in the world to say that the U.S. will not always lead. "The fact that I am very proud of my country — and I think that we've got a whole lot to offer the world — does not lessen my interest in recognizing the value and wonderful qualities of other countries," he said, "or recognizing that we're not always going to be right, or that other people may have good ideas, or that in order for us to work collectively, all parties have to compromise, and that includes us."

5. Young People Matter

As President, Obama has adopted the mantle of chief youth inspirer. At almost every stop, Obama makes an appeal to young people, often addressing them directly through television cameras. "You get to decide what comes next. You get to choose where change will take us," he said in Moscow. "In places like Ghana, young people make up over half of the population," Obama said on his African stop. "The world will be what you make of it." The same refrain was repeated in Cairo and is a feature of his rhetoric elsewhere. As politics, addressing the youth is a well-worn trope. But for Obama it points to a bigger hope: that the change he speaks about will ultimately be generational, and therefore more lasting.

Hey Tumor4u! What was the George Custer Bush Doctrine?

Maybe you can QUOTE SARAH PALIN for that summary, eh deadender??? :lol::lol::lol:

Looks like your Messiah has a lot to do and he only has 3+ years to go. The Congressional vote next year will spell it out for you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looks like your Messiah has a lot to do and he only has 3+ years to go. The Congressional vote next year will spell it out for you.

When you want it done.......give it to a BUSY MAN.......President BARACK OBAMA!! ;)

You SEETHE, Tumor4u!! SPLENDID! :D

Hey DEADENDER!!.....

Didn't I read in the forum that you were incessantly predicting President Rudy Guilliani?

:blink::lol::lol: heheheheheheheheheheheh!!!! :lol::lol::lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest 2smart4u
Not if you have a brain. But since you don't, I'll explain it for you.

Our allies are talking to us again. More important, they are working with us. Cowboy anti-diplomacy is over.

We respect the world again so the world respects us again. If you want respect, you have to give respect.

No one who understands world affairs denies that Obama has changed the direction of our foreign policy. Cheney is furious about it. That alone is a good sign.

For all those reasons, the United States has regained its leadership position and is once again the most admired country in the world.

I know those are hard concepts for you to grasp.

Sec of State Hilliary Clinton met today with the Russians to bring them on board with cutting off Iran. She was given a flat NYET. So much for "world respect", "most admired country", "leadership position". Take off the blinders and recognize the world considers Obama a pushover. Did I mention

Obama got rejected on the first vote for the 2012 olympics ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sec of State Hilliary Clinton met today with the Russians to bring them on board with cutting off Iran. She was given a flat NYET. So much for "world respect", "most admired country", "leadership position". Take off the blinders and recognize the world considers Obama a pushover. Did I mention

Obama got rejected on the first vote for the 2012 olympics ?

If you were to check it out you would find that Obama had nothing to do with the olypmic rejection. Geez you are such a F**KING idiot!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sec of State Hilliary Clinton met today with the Russians to bring them on board with cutting off Iran. She was given a flat NYET. So much for "world respect", "most admired country", "leadership position". Take off the blinders and recognize the world considers Obama a pushover. Did I mention Obama got rejected on the first vote for the 2012 olympics ?

You asshole.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...