CM Life’s editorial “A Nobel surprise” is a well written editorial, given the fact that the only sources have come from Fox News and right-wing talk radio.
According to nobelprize.org, they give the reason for Obama winning the Nobel Prize in Peace: “For his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”
Nobel himself wrote that the prize should be given to someone who has “done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.” There are many who are deserving of this prize and President Obama is one of them.
Obama spoke out against going to war in Iraq while still being a senator.
This war has cost billions of dollars that the American taxpayer will never see again, and tens of thousands of Iraqi and American lives.
Obama has spoken out against torture, is in favor of gay rights, is for the reduction of nuclear weapons and is for an increased role for the US in combating global warming.
These are issues that he has used his political power and clout to deal with.
Are these issues finished? No.
Many have said that it’s “premature” to recognize Obama for these efforts.
However, many Nobel Peace Prize winners hadn’t finished their work by the time they won their prize: Gorbachev in 1990 even though the USSR was still a totalitarian state, Aung San Suu Kyi in 1991 even though Myanmar is still under military rule, Jody Williams in 1997 even though there are still land mines out there, and Kofi Annan in 2001 even though the world doesn’t seem more peaceful now than it was in 2001.
The list goes on.
The Peace Prize has historically been given to leaders who have overcome racist and segregated societies, such as Archbishop Desmund Tutu of South Africa or Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Something profound happened in this nation on Nov. 4th.: We elected our first African American president.
That’s significant coming from a country that was founded on the genocide of Native Americans, the
enslavement of African Americans, and whose federal and state governments enacted racist, segregationist policies until a few decades ago. And while de jure segregation ended during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, de facto racism continues to this very day.
I suggest that CM Life takes its editorial talking points from a multitude of reputable sources from now on instead of whatever the cable media talking point is for the week.
Matt Bridgewater
Warren graduate student
E-mail the author: 
Letter to the Editor
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Obama was nominated in Feb for the Nobel prize and won it in Oct. Wow that is amazing. Pulitzer prize is in the works for his books. How about a star on the Hollywood walk of fame. I believe before his first term is done Obama will win all the awards I guarantee it. He will be the most awarded president in history and I know he likes that a lot. If he switch to Catholic he might get the sainthood award.
Laughable.
1. Barack Obama is as much for gay rights as John McCain is. He believes marriage should be between one man and one woman. Common misconception.
2. Oh my gosh!!! He voted against the War in Iraq! Nobel Peace Prize!
It’s incredible to see that there are people out there that actually think he deserves this award for…nothing.
If I gave a speech about how it’d be cool if we all dropped our nukes, would I also get a NPP? He has literally done nothing to deserve this award, and it was shown in his complete shock for even winning the stupid thing.
I knew the man could devalue the dollar with the best of ‘em, but don’t those commercials always talk about how gold is inflation proof?
It is wonderful to see the other side of the conversation, Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Thank you. I believe everyone has their own valuable opinion to this situation, but bottom line is that he accepted it whether he thought he deserved it or not.
The nomination had to be in by February 1st, 11 days after Obama’s inauguration. Doesn’t this seem even a little odd to you? Before the election, Obama had vote multiple times FOR infanticide. His wife has blantanly spoken out against our nation. And yet, after just 11 days of doing absolutely nothing, he is suggested to join the ranks of Mother Theresa, Koffi Annan, Nelson Mandela, Doctors without Borders, The Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, and Martin Luther King, Jr.? Don’t award someone with such prestige to “encourage them.” Wait until they actually deserve it.
“Obama spoke out against going to war in Iraq while still being a senator.”
And now that he is President has not done anything yet to end the war. In fact, President Obama has increased U.S. troop deployment to Afghanistan. So no, he is not ‘abolishing or reducing standing armies.’
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/17/obama.troops/index.html
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“This war has cost billions of dollars that the American taxpayer will never see again”
So did the president’s Economic Stimulus Package, which spent at once nearly as much as the war has over the span of years.
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“[Obama] is for the reduction of nuclear weapons …”
So was President Bush, who, early in his presidency, sat down with Russian President Vladimir Putin to actively decrease both Russian and American stockpiles of nuclear warheads. Why is he not given such a prize?
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=44463
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“These are issues that he has used his political power and clout to deal with.”
Except he has not yet DONE anything about nuclear weapons and gay rights other than make pretty speeches at black-tie fundraisers. And the only work he’s made toward combating potential climate change is cap and trade, the environmental benefits of which are likely to be negligible.
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“Are these issues finished? No.”
Obama has done nothing but SPEAK about torture, nuclear weapons and gay rights, and has increased troop levels in the Middle East. These issues have not even BEGUN.
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“The Peace Prize has historically been given to leaders who have overcome racist and segregated societies, such as Archbishop Desmund Tutu of South Africa”
The United States is a segregated society? And what does his race have to do with “strengthening international diplomacy,” which is the reasoning provided for his being awarded the Nobel?
A few quotes from our “Man of Peace” (from http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2009/10/top-quotes-from-this-years-nobel-peace.html)
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Top Quotes From This Year’s Nobel Peace Prize Winner …Updated With Video
Obama on his political opponents:
“They Bring a Knife…We Bring a Gun”
Obama to his supporters:
“Get in Their Faces!”
Obama on ACORN mobs:
“I don’t want to quell anger. I think people are right to be angry! I’m angry!”
Obama to his mercenary army:
“Hit Back Twice As Hard”
Obama on the killer Iranian regime murdering their own people in the street:
“The Iranians are having a robust debate.”
Obama on defending genocide (2007):
The United States cannot use its military to solve humanitarian problems and that preventing a potential genocide in Iraq isn’t a good enough reason to keep U.S. forces there.
Obama justifying killing babies who survive an abortion:
“Essentially adding an additional doctor who then has to be called in an emergency situation to come in and make these assessments is really designed simply to burden the original decision.”
Hello everyone. I wrote this editorial for two reasons: 1) to show that contrary to popular cable TV myth, Obama has earned his prize, and 2) his criteria is comparable to previous Nobel Peace Prize winners and fits in with the criteria of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee. I feel that I accomplished this, more or less.
I can’t comment on everyone’s posts here. Many of you raise good points. But there is a repeated attempt to claim that “Obama was only president for (insert small amount of time here) before the Nobel deadline.” This argument is sophistry. You do not have to be a president of a country to win this prize. Obama didn’t teleport himself in from an alternate dimension on inauguration day. Prior to winning the presidency, he was a U.S. Senator and an Illinois State Senator. Prior to that, he was an accomplished law professor. He did things prior to being elected, in other words. Not to mention, the symbolic ramifications of his election transcend many of his actions and words.
The other issue that is not being considered is how many are unconsciously analyzing his Nobel Prize through a narrow, American-centered perspective. Many on the left think that he hasn’t done enough to win the prize, many on the right feel the same way. And while many in the world feel that he shouldn’t have been given the prize, the Nobel Peace Prize Committee said that: “[Obama's] diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world’s population.” In other words, the world, by and large, took a much deserved collective sigh of relief when Obama was elected. This has REAL WORLD political implications for peace and international cooperation. The Committee also specifically “mentioned Mr Obama’s work to strengthen international institutions and work towards a world free of nuclear arms.” Of course, they also mentioned how politics are involved: “It was because we would like to support what he is trying to achieve”.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8298580.stm
A couple of posters have tried (in vain) to compare Obama to McCain, or Obama to Bush. They’ve essentially tried to highlight “similarities” and then ask, “Why didn’t a Republican win it?” It just goes to show you the magnitude of Obama’s presidency in the United States and around the world, and the Republican failure to understand the implications of it. I hate to break this to you, but the GOP is not a party of peace. While many Democrats should have been ashamed of how they gave the GOP a blank check to wage war against two countries that never attacked us, the GOP is a war-like party. It has supported a belligerent and bellicose foreign policy since the Reagan years. My point: no one with a (R) in front of their name is going to win a Peace Prize in the foreseeable future.
Republicans have been publicly impugning Obama for a while now. They seem to be happy with the fact that they are temporarily chipping away at Obama’s approval numbers, while their own numbers are beyond dismal. This seems to be the Republican strategy as of late, drag the whole country down to their own sorry state of affairs. That would explain why many Republicans openly cheered when Chicago wasn’t selected to host the Olympics (as if Rio de Janiero and it’s leftist anti-government were in cahoots with the GOP), and why many Republican pundits are leading the charge against an American winning a Nobel Prize.
To the people on the far left and the right who want Obama to waive a magic wand and make all the troubles go away: get a brain.
President Obama won the award because he hasn’t invaded a foreign country during his first year in office. No other United States president since 1980 can claim that.
WOW, BAILING OUT HIS BANKER BUDDIES, GUANTANAMO STILL OPEN, STILL INVOLVED IN 2 WARS, AUTHORIZATION OF THE BOMBING OF INSURGENTS IN PAKISTAN, DONT ASK DONT TELL STILL IN PLACE IN THE MILITARY, NO GAY MARRIAGE, NO TRUE ACTION OTHER THAN TALK ON AN AGGRESSIVE IRAN STILL WORKING ON NUKES, NO ACTION ON AN AGGRESSIVE N. KOREA THAT IS FIRING MISSLES OVER OUR ALLY JAPAN, NO REINSTITUTIN OF AN ASSALT WEAPONS BAN IN THE U.S. OBAMA IS AN EMPTY SUIT THAT IS ALL TALK.
NOBEL LAURIATE HE IS NOT. HE MADE MOCKERY OF HIMSELF AND TO THE DESERVING PERSONS BY ACCEPTING THE PRIZE. I HAVE EXTREME BUYERS REMORSE FOR VOTING FOR HIM!
Incredible. Obama has been horrible so far, he has done the opposite of many things he said on the campaign trail and has no interest in talking to those who disagree with him. He is on the path to becoming the worst President ever…
Government health care is awful- see other countries
Global Warming is a natural occurance and many scientists say we are actually beginning to cool. We’ve been warming since the last ice age.
Going after news organizations who present your flaws, in addition to the good things you have done- beginning on censorship.
The list goes on…
Teaming up with the lizard people, making fun of Rush Limbaugh, making sure that poor people can afford health care. These are three reasons why Obama sucks.