Obama's Nobel Peace Prize: HuffPost Bloggers Weigh In

President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize early Friday morning in a decision from Oslo that surprised many people, not least among them Obama himself. HuffPost bloggers have offered opinions that range from skeptical to angry to adulatory. Scroll down for the roundup.

Comments

[Kevins]

No one has ever "achieved world peace"--not even Christ would win the Nobel Peace Prize if it were for "accomplishing" peace, an end to wars, the elimination of conflict....

What Obama did, from the morning he entered the White House, was change the environment for the whole world regarding the prospects for peace, regarding peaceful diplomatic resolutions, regarding respecting world treaties and agreements, regarding respecting the peoples of the world, regarding what had til then been the hooligan use of weapons.

Obama did EXACTLY what is the mission of a Nobel Peace Prize laureate: he made straight the path toward peace.

[chris block]

Where is the steak to go with Obama's sizzle?

Our President won the Nobel Prize for peace because his election immediately changed our relationship to the world. In that instant the rest of the world believed that a big rich nation could with a long history of racism and a recent history of terribly misguided foreign policy could elect a black man named named Barrack Hussein who believed in talking to countries even when they don't do what we say. To say that Obama hasn't accomplished enough is to discount the vital role that relationships play in effective leadership-whether in our families or on the global stage.

It is also to trivialzie vital role that aspirational leadership plays in the 21st Century. When the world is moving as fast as it is leadership must constantly aspire to the future. The Nobel Committee recognized that Obama manifests a future based on dialogue and hope rather than ultimatums and fear.

[huffy2001]

See, here is what is so fun about this. The right wing spend all of its time either;

1. Denigrating the NPP as a completely meaningless and worthless sop of/to the left
2. Objecting mightily to the recipients of it.

If it's such a meaningless honor, why do they care so much to whom it's given? Sounds like Nobel envy to me.

[noweknow]

What is Norway's agenda?
What do they hope to gain by bribing President Obama with a Noble Peace Medal?

[Kevins]

Ask Orly Taitz.
I'm sure she has some crackpot idea.

RNC is there to help when you think there just

Rn't
'Nuff
Conspiracies

in the world.
You keep eating them up, we'll make more.

[dynwit]

I for one am very proud of what Obama has done (not just SAID) on the international stage. He persuaded the European heads of state to participate in a global financial bailout that helped stabilize the market at last. He met directly with Middle Eastern leaders and assured them he was a negotiator not a w@rmonger. He encouraged other nations to work toward climate change solutions even if the U.S. can't get on board right away due to obstructionist politics here at home. And most astoundingly, he's got the world working once again toward the elimination of nu c l ear weapons.

If he has failed to make so much progress here at home, well then, there's plenty of reason for that as we can see every night on the teevee where the rightwing nutjobs are contorting themselves into pretzels trying to find a way to take him down.

Yes, we're still in Afghanistan. But the very same pundits on the left who are now lambasting President Obama for "escalating" the Afghanistan War were only a few months ago lambasting President Bush for failing to commit ENOUGH resources to Afghanistan. This is not a man who is going to keep us there for 100 years, like McCain. He's working to get us out as fast as possible without permitting a resurgence of ter r 0 r ism.

Congratulations, Mr. President. Don't listen to the incessant critics. You deserve this as much as anyone.

[Newbie71]

I just wonder if he maybe feels a little bad about snubbing the Dalai Lama (1989 winner) last week so as not to offend the Chinese government and its brilliant human rights record.

[freddiefreeloader]

There were 205 nominees, 172 individuals and 33 organizations, The list is kept secret for fifty years, Can anyone give me the names of possible nominees who might have deserved it more than President Obama, Who did more to promote peace in the world in 2009 than the President?

[FirstShirt]

The lady who risked her life setting up schools for Afghan girls.

[Kevins]

Obviously, the committee that drew up the list of nominees
Could not name a person who deserved it more than Barak Obama....

They awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to the American President--by unanimous vote.

[3rdCitizen]

Has candidate-­to-Preside­nt Obama significantly changed the tone & expectations of the global community on issues such as international relations, nuclear weapons & climate change in a positive manner? Certainly.
Are there other people who deserve the Nobel Peace Prize who have accomplished more in improving peoples' lives & circumstances in real terms than Obama has done? Certainly.
Was there any person or organization the NPP committee could have given the award to that would have made a bigger impact in promoting progress on as many critical issues as awarding it to Obama may do? I can't think of any.

[SamMcGeeTN]

The Nobel Prize committee’s award is a visionary recognition of an entire mindset that rejects the fear and cynicism engendered by years of conservative domination fostering a culture of selfish materialism. We have globally fallen prey to notions that abandon a fundamental principle: we can do better. We do not have to surrender to terrorism and hatred, we do not have to accept bitter divisiveness, we do not have to live with the status quo and accept the tyranny of fossil fuels and inevitable harm to our environment, we do not have watch our neighbors suffer ruin from a greedy financial system or within a profit-driven health care system, and we do not have to acquiesce to mediocrity in our educational system. We do not have abandon the vision – the shining city on the hill – that our children will have better lives, and their children still better. President Obama epitomizes this mindset with a call to action on many fronts, marshalling our energies towards these goals through common cause in this fundamental belief. When detractors cry out that there is yet no accomplishment to recognize, they miss this essential requirement – to accomplish anything, one first must believe it is possible and set out to make it happen. Congratulations to President Obama and all who support this change.

[Rosasharn]

The 5-judge Norwegian panel decided unanimously on Obama. He himself was very humble about it. Isn't everyone who is raining on his parade pulling a Kanye West here? I'll go along - Beyonce should have gotten it.

[ActionCounts]

Excellently said! 'Faved' your post. I celebrated the President's award last night by hosting a meeting in our local fire hall about NY's new verifiable voting machines that include paper ballots. We have been fighting for this and other progressive issues for years. President Obama's inspiring call-to-action acceptance speech refuels our commitment to continue the struggle to save our democracy from strangulation by the "military-­industrial complex" (as Eisenhower forewarned).

[igotthis]

Bravo! Well said! President Obama, from the beginning of his presidency, has argued for a new paradigm of thinking on a host of issues. But he has done more than talk. He has actually pursued bold policy initiatives that encompass the paradigmatic shifts he believes are necessary. Just because he has experienced resistance to his policies does not mean that he will ultimately fail or that his efforts should not be rewarded. The Nobel Peace Prize is actually a providential reminder to the president that he has been called to be an extraordinary leader, not an ordinary leader.

[Bluedanube]

Depending on his performance over the next 3 years, or perhaps 7, the Nobel Committee might ask for the return of the award.

[nightwind928]

The President of the United States just won one of the most illustrious awards that can be bestowed on anyone. How can this be a bad thing for all Americans who have seen their image tarnished so badly in the eyes of the world over the last 8 years? To the nay-sayers who carp about everything this president does or stands for I would say..It didn't cost YOU anything and the decision wasn't made by any political party. Whether you agree with the decision or not, it wan't your decision to make. Can't you just be glad that the leader of our great nation is seen as a hero and not a villain as the last leader was by the world? As an American, can't you take some measure of pride in this achievement or are you so bitter and disillusioned that you just can't find anything to be proud of about our country anymore. If that's the case, I feel sad for you.

[Eagleman]

We have entered a culture of awarding people before they perform.

I hope I can use this as an example and demand bonus for my future performance at work.

But in the end - he is my president and I am proud. I hope he performs and succeeds to deserve this award.

[DiogenesOfAlaska]

so you hope he will turn out to be your messiah, because otherwise you'll ask your money back?

One would hope that after several years of a financial near-meltdown and a discussion of bonus payments, people should by now begin to realize that in management and administration, the measurement of performance is a tricky business.

But one thing is very certain, whether you believe it or not - your boss knows, I'm sure:

if changing the minds of people is nothing, then management, administration, marketing, sales, business, finance and the economy are each: nothing, respectively.

Here's what REALLY surprises me:

people who spend their lives doing diplomacy or writing about it or reporting about it are equally ignorant and even they claim to never have heard of the notion that in diplomacy, to perform means to change the ideas of others, to change the way others think.

But no biggie. The very fact that such people can go about their business in international media outlets proves how very necessary it was for the US to have a president who understands the importance of changing the minds of people. Not even the professional writers can claim that they already knew, because they didn't.

[Lee Andrew]

"Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future," the Norwegian committee said as the prize was announced.

The president was only in office two weeks when he was nominated.

There was a record 205 nominees.

He clinched it with a UNANIMOUS vote.

Yeah baby bringing home the gold. Love it.

Take heed my fellow Americans take heed. Don't listen to the GOP (Gang of Predators) Keep hope alive.

I am doing it.

http://obamaequalitycenter.org

Thank you.

LeeAndrew

[FirstShirt]

Why don't you strain real hard and see if you can get an original thought.

[ghee99]

Stop the Presses !!!!!!!!!!

Not only did Obama win the Nobel Prize,
he has also just been nominated for the " Montgomery Burns Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence"

[breakingpoint]

looking for a real progressive's take....