Friday, October 09, 2009

And the consolation prize for not getting the Olympics is...

...The Nobel Peace Prize. This is a joke right? What war has he stopped? Has he negotiated a single treaty of any significance? What monumental contribution has he made to the cause of human rights? (I pause here to acknowledge that liberals consider abortion to be a fundamental human right.)

The late Pope John Paul II who helped topple Communism, tirelessly stood up for peace and helped prevent at least one war, spent his life championing human rights and fighting for the poor and dispossessed was repeatedly snubbed by the Nobel committee, probably due to his support for the unborn. And yet they can give the award to this ZERO? I could even see a plausible argument for Jimmy Carter getting it a few years ago. But this is just too much.

I am going to go out on a limb here and predict that this will be somewhat controversial. It's not exactly a state secret that the process for awarding the Nobel Peace Prize is highly politicized. But this is repulsive and has severely diminished my regard for the award.

If the president wishes to avoid a great deal of ridicule I think he would be well advised to politely decline this wholly undeserved honor.

12 comments:

Chrys said...

I read that the deadline for nominations was February 1st. The President was inaugurated on January 20th. It certainly wasn't awarded for what he accomplished in 10 days. After a history of absurdities (Yasser Arafat, Al Gore) and equally absurd snubs (Pope John Paul II preeminent among them), the Committee has removed all doubt and rendered itself utterly ridiculous. They should rename it the Sally Fields Prize for people that European leftists just really, really like.

Anonymous said...

really, sir: why would anything surprise you amidst the orgiastic love fest cum white liberal guilt trip surrounding the candidacy and election of our kenyan-indonesian imam? "colour, communism, and curettage" would make a great campaign slogan for one whose strong suite is racism, big government, and abortion as sacrament - all in lock-step with european thinking.

Chris Jones said...

If the president wishes to avoid a great deal of ridicule I think he would be well advised to politely decline this wholly undeserved honor.

Spot-on, John.

I am not one who hates President Obama. I differ with him on a number of issues, but I wish him the best and I hope (rather than expect) that he will do good for our country. But he has done precisely nothing concrete to advance the peace of the world. At best, the Nobel committee has given him this award for potential, not for accomplishment. As such, it cheapens the past awards which were given for some kind of accomplishment.

The President would rise considerably in my estimation if he had the courage to decline the award.

Anonymous said...

I think it more a rebuke of Bush and neo-cons than anything else.
The revulsion that Bush created was really quite universal but "Americans", in their solipsism, rarely comprehend the views of the rest of the world, ( except by labeling these as "liberal").

Anonymous said...

If any of you really think a far-left politician is going to turn down any kind of award, you're crazy. I'm certain large amounts of money--probably tax-payers'--exchanged hands for this "honor." And probably Obama and friends are wondering why it too so long for him to "win" it.
Angela

John (Ad Orientem) said...

Chris,
Excellent comment. I am not a member of the Obama Hate Club and I have little patience for extremists or the tin foil hat types who think he is not a natural born citizen etc. But my political differences with him are profound and I could never vote for him absent an about face on abortion.

Unfortunatly I don't expect him to decline the award. This will expose the President of the United States to a great deal of ridicule at a time when we can not really afford a weak leader with so many urgent matters on the table. Also it may serve to curb his willingness to use force in circumstances where such may be called for (think Iran's nuclear plants).

All in all this is very regrettable.

In ICXC
John

John (Ad Orientem) said...

All,
Please try to avoid unsubstantiated accusations or promoting weird conspiracy theories. I am not a fan of those sorts of things as I think that they are almost always untrue and also they serve to weaken the case against President Obama on the legitimate issues.

In ICXC
John

John (Ad Orientem) said...

On side note of purely personal pique I am somewhat put off by the timing of this foolishness. I was up late last night working on the post that immediately precedes this one (which topic is to me far more interesting than Zero's silly awards). I had just finished and posted it when the news broke about Obama.

Even on my own blog the man preempts more legitimate topics of discussion. Ugghh.

Under the mercy,
John

The Archer of the Forest said...

I likewise turned on my computer this morning to read the news, and about fell out of my chair. I seriously thought I had accidentally surfed onto The Onion website. When I realized it was not a satire, but a real news story, I was speechless.

Maybe one day he can earn it, and if he does, I will applaud him. However, until he actually has some peace filled dirt under his fingernails, I can't see this as anything other than a Nobel Prize for Not Being President Bush.

And the tragedy is that both Peace and the ideals of the Nobel Prize have become a mockery of what they could truly stand for.

Anonymous said...

The Nobel Prize has officially jumped the shark.

dr p said...

John

One need be neither neocon nor conspiracy theorist to be utterly revolted at the media's sycophancy regarding the man from "vote early, vote often" Chicago, and would that his support of abortion were all that was objectionable about him. He has already exposed the US to ridicule, and from my reading of Hurriyet and Today's Zaman, American conspiracy theorists are not the only ones who believe him to be a crypto-Muslim. The Archer of the Forest is right about needing to see some real peace work from Obama, but I trust that the former is not holding his breath.

Anonymous said...

Hmmm? Odd when you play holier than thou. " And yet they can give the award to this ZERO? " Calling our President a zero? But you get all pissy when people talk that way about Metropl. Jonass and the Orthodox Converts in America group? You tell others about protocol on YOUR blog than choose to do the "Do as I say, Not as I do" one-upmanship game. Your "Guidleines for Comments" is so typical of all the converts who play intelligentsia as if that makes you wise to the Church and those outside Her? - Signed, first name BOB