What the Nobel Peace Prize means this year....

[dvandom]

As frustrated as many of us may be with the slow (or no) pace at which Obama undoes the damage wrought by the Bush Administration, it may be that we're a little too close to the issue. At least as far as the Nobel committee is concerned, Obama's already come a long way towards keeping things from getting a lot worse, even if he hasn't made things better yet.

In other words, while we're annoyed he hasn't built a bridge across the bottomless pit yet (and seems in some ways content to leave the pit just as it is), some parts of the world are delighted that that car approaching the pit has at least slowed down, if not stopped.

ETA: It was pointed out to me over on Facebook that one thing Obama has accomplished so far has been to get Russia to stop pointing missiles at Norway. Where they vote on the Nobels. So, y'know....

Comments

[5eh.livejournal.com]

my issue is: the applications for nomination were due in February. the dude wasn't even in office a month and he gets nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize? seems a little sketchy/politically motivated to me. if they wanted to pat him on the back for being a Good Boy, they could have done it another way, is my point. I am sure there are Others Who Deserve It More ^TM, so it was disappointing to me.

[dvandom.livejournal.com]

Sure, nominations were due in February. But the list of nominations is pretty long. A lot of people get nominated for fairly political reasons (or even fairly stupid reasons), but never get taken seriously by the committee.

[grant-p.livejournal.com]

Well, Arafat won it before, and he helped several areas set up their suicide bomb recruitment.

Obama is NOT a bad guy, contrary to the rhetoric. I just wish he'd stop campaigning for a job he's already got, and start DOING the job. He's president, it requires a different gear set than 'great oratory crowd rouser', as the game is no longer about being liked, it's about getting results. Being liked does not phase international or even domestic policy, being effective does.

He can turn it around. I don't know that he WILL, but he has the ability.

[dvandom.livejournal.com]

And it's not like they gave it to someone like Henry Kissinger.

Wait....

[grant-p.livejournal.com]

Hey, don't blame me. *I* nominated Beast Machines Megatron...you have to admit, fighting did slow down for quite a while.

[z-gryphon.livejournal.com]

As frustrated as many of us may be with the slow (or no) pace at which Obama undoes the damage wrought by the Bush Administration, it may be that we're a little too close to the issue.

Too close?! Man, I've stood this close to glaciers that were getting their shit done faster. :)

[diosoth.livejournal.com]

Well, the fact a black man actually got elected to the office of president in this country was probably a miracle and a half, to be quite honest. And he did so without the country breaking out into race riots from angry skinheads and Klansmen throwing tantrums.

But in all fairness, the latter isn't so much Obama's doing as the fact many of these Klansmen are dumb enough to walk into a gun shop and discuss assassination goals with the clerk.

Al Gore won it, and all he did was campaign for mature ratings tags on music CDs(even though his original goal was to censor and ban such music) and he keeps talking about the environment being in danger. But you have to pay him $20 to hear his message concerning that. There might be something to do with the internet, too, but knowing Gore he's exaggerating any role in that.

Arafat and Kissinegr won the thing, Gandhi did not. It's little more than an honorary award for popular people of the day.