Donald Rumsfeld: Obama Didn't Deserve The Nobel Peace Prize (VIDEO)

Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said over the weekend that President Obama didn't deserve the Nobel Peace Prize he received in 2009.

"He had not accomplished a thing when he got the Nobel Prize, it was given to him on hope -- had to have been, because there wasn't anything that he'd done. He'd been in office 15 minutes," Rumsfeld told CNN's Candy Crowley in an interview.

Asked by Crowley if he thought the president had been successful in improving the nation's image abroad, which she said might be evidenced by the seemingly shrinking number of anti-American protests on the streets of foreign nations, Rumsfeld objected.

"I don't think there's data that supports that, I think he has made a practice of trying to apologize for America," Rumsfeld claimed.

Despite his apparent disagreement with the merit of the president's brief legacy, Rumsfeld did say that he was pleased with the Obama administration's apparent willingness to keep some of the most controversial national security structures implemented during the Bush presidency.

"They are keeping Guantanamo Bay, they are keeping indefinite detention, they are keeping military commissions," Rumsfeld said. "They have come to the conclusion that it's easier to campaign than it is to govern."

WATCH (comments start around 4 minutes):

Comments

[allengoldchain]

05:49 PM on 03/15/2011

haha even Obama admitted that he didn't deserve to be given the award since he hadn't done anything to deserve it. What he should have done, at the time, was to decline the award becuase he didn't deserve to be at the level all all those before him and received it. Now the Nobel peace prize should just be stuffed in random cereal boxes. The awards aren't worth the level of prestige it once had.

[One FreedomOne]

04:00 PM on 02/23/2011

Obama is as deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize as Rumsfeld is receiving the Defender of the Constitution Award at CPAC. On Mancow's radio show 2 days ago it was revealed that Rumsfeld was unaware that 3 buildings fell on 9/11. I think Rumsfeld has been eating too much of his own Aspartame.

[allengoldchain]

05:50 PM on 03/15/2011

hahah Mancow.. haha is his first name Rachael

[tonedef]

10:02 PM on 02/22/2011

And what do you deserve, Donald?

[CaptainRenault]

05:48 PM on 02/22/2011

Will someone please come and remove this annoying barnacle from the backside of public political discourse?

^ ^

[Smoking and Starving]

03:52 PM on 02/22/2011

who gives a fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuk what that old pukecon thinks.

[DinSea]

03:39 PM on 02/22/2011

He is one of those bitter old white dinosaurs who need to retire to their porch rocking chairs and bicker amongst themselves. Their time came and went .. they stayed a little too long at the dance. They do not serve us ... and now are only part of the problem.

[Alexandra Smith]

02:48 PM on 02/22/2011

Wasn't this the same guy who said that we "shouldn't criticize the President in a time of war"? Or did he just mean the President HE liked?

[The Commish]

03:34 PM on 02/22/2011

So nobody should tell the truth and say that Obama never deserved the Peace Prize? Like it or not, it's still true.

[Alexandra Smith]

04:11 PM on 02/22/2011

I'm not saying whether or not Obama deserved or didn't deserve the Peace Prize. The point I'm making is that this is a guy who said that Americans shouldn't criticize the President while the country is at war, and yet that's what he's doing. I'm just saying he's a hypocrite.

[SoccerNana]

10:11 PM on 02/24/2011

Yep, nobody, you shouldn't.

[mw21]

02:24 PM on 02/22/2011

First off, President Obama doesn't apologize for America. He apologizes for what Donald, Dick and George did. They acted criminally and boldly boast of it in print and on camera. President Obama won the Peace Prize because of you, Mr. Rumsfeld and you Mr. Cheney and you Mr. Bush. He won because of the contrast that the world perceived. The world was so tired of your war-mongering that they felt immeasurable relief at Obama's triumph.

[DUMAMAY]

02:18 PM on 02/22/2011

I don't know why people still listen to this Rum-smell !!

[DarkandStormyNight]

03:10 PM on 02/22/2011

Exactly ;-)

[eden4barack08]

03:37 PM on 02/22/2011

Shameless media giving criminals a platform.

[Lazlo Jamf]

02:13 PM on 02/22/2011

While Rumsfeld should be locked in a cell in eastern europe somewhere, he is right, Obama did not and will probably never deserve the Peace Prize. Guantanamo and extraordinary rendition are still in place, drone attacks on civilians has increased, Iraq is a US colony, Afghanistan has seen escalation, the US is still selling arms to dictators across the world and the ambassador just vetoed a UN resolution seeking to recognize a clear violation of international law. This is a peace prize?

[eden4barack08]

03:35 PM on 02/22/2011

"..the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has attached special importance to Obama's vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons."

This is why they gave it to him, not because they expected him to reverse Bush's 8 year messes overnight.

[copperbrown]

02:08 PM on 02/22/2011

That guy hasn't got ANY sense of

REALITY thats it

Send him sailing off the coast of east africa

[Cakey4814]

02:06 PM on 02/22/2011

Darn..are they running out of people to bash the President that they're going back to this man who has been trashed by his own people?

[SoccerNana]

10:15 PM on 02/24/2011

Desperate people do desperate things.

[spotieotie]

01:53 PM on 02/22/2011

What a schmuck. This guys got SOME nerve.

[alewis14151]

01:53 PM on 02/22/2011

Oh, Donnie! Could it be you're jealous?

[magnoliabird]

01:48 PM on 02/22/2011

This is what jealousy looks like.