October 9, 2009

"Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges."

That's the Obama quote cited with approval at the end of the officially stated reasons for awarding Obama the Nobel Prize.

Kind of a trick quote, isn't it? Or is that the lofty puffery we've learned to love? Or are you one of the ones who've come to find that sort of thing insipid? Or funny? Or damned scary?
His 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.
That is, to lead, you must follow.
For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world's leading spokesman.
All right then.  Hopefully, everyone will tag along after his tagging along and everything will be lovely.

95 comments:

Peter V. Bella said...

The Obama Presidency is like Seinfeld- a little administration about nothing. He makes about as much sense as Seinfeld too. That is why the world loves him. He represents nothing, his actions mean nothing, and he says nothing important.

We are no longer the leader of the free world. We are now a little country about nothing.

Henry said...

Maybe, being Norweigians, they're just underexposed to Obama's brand of deep thoughts. Jacky Handy would be proud.

Tibore said...

Quiz time - Fill in the blank: Obama was awarded the Nobel for ________

LilyBart said...

Its like everything he says. It sounds good, but but doesn't really mean anything. Empty phrases from an empty man.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I hate to say it but American Idol has more integrity than the fringing Novel Prize Committee.

wv abonive - check with your doctor if abonive is right for you.

Fred4Pres said...

Best line so far, Obama was the 10th Caller!

lucid said...

This really has become the Bizarro Presidency.

The problem is that what Congress votes on actually becomes a law. Do people realize what the Baccus bill costs in hidden taxes and cuts to medicare? Two Trillion Dollars!!!



wv: minmesse--what the nobel peace prize has now become.

Drew W said...

This just in: As Barack Obama approached the podium to comment on his Nobel Peace Prize, a live microphone picked up the President humming to himself contentedly.

He has just been named the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest.

ricpic said...

Just keep repeating global. Global global global. It's a pacifier. Breast breast breast. I'm happy.

reader_iam said...

Even the Hamas spokesman in Gaza is criticizing the choice: "So far, nothing changed. He was giving statements, promises and hopes, while on the ground nothing practical has been done," said Barhoum."

***

We are, indeed, riding on the crazy train.

lucid said...

@fred4press:
I can't stop laughing.

Michael Haz said...

"The road to true and lasting world peace leads directly through healthcare reform".

garage mahal said...

If this is such a stupid award to begin with, why do conservatives seem to care so deeply he won? I don't get it.

Rich B said...

Quisling was a Norwegian leader.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Obama was the 10th Caller!

lol

MadisonMan said...

Quisling was a Norwegian leader.

Quisling was a Madison doctor.

Titus said...

And Norway is supposed to be the best country to live in. What a load of crap.

I am all about camel this fall.

Thank you.

H_Dwight_Beers said...

Al Gore and now Obama--shouldn't snake oil salesmen get the Chemistry Prize?

http://arizonayank.blogspot.com/

PatHMV said...

garage, if you think conservatives are so stupid, why do you bother coming here?

More to the point, I'm not sure I've ever once seen you actually address any criticisms leveled (by anybody) at President Obama or your liberal side of the political aisle. Do YOU think that the President has done anything to merit this award at this point, 9 months into his tenure? If so, what?

Anonymous said...

His 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.

There are now 1.5 billion followers of Islam.

So is Obama going to lead the world based upon Shria law?

Rich B said...

Garage-

I don't care that much, but I am a bit flabbergasted. This is really the stuff of satire. I think the Onion has been out-Onioned.

garage mahal said...

garage, if you think conservatives are so stupid, why do you bother coming here?

Re read what I posted.

muddimo said...

If Obama is going to lead the world "on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population" I wouldn't want to be female.

Joe said...

This is one of the dumbest things I've seen in my life. True comedy was listening to the liberals of NPR trying to explain it. They kept coming back to Obama getting an award for what he might do. Thank god the science and math awards aren't based on such criteria. Unfortunately, this award taints those.

I can't wait until the Nobel Prize for Literature uses the same criteria. It gives even me a chance! I just have to give a good pitch to a publisher.

muddimo said...

garage, you just totally made Pat's point.

AllenS said...

If we all went back to bed, maybe we would awake later in the day and this would all be one funny, funny dream we just had.

muddimo said...

So here's a Nobel Prize, garage, to encourage you to say something informative/substantive some day.

George Wallace said...

At least The President won't have to put too much effort into writing his acceptance speech. Sally Field already wrote it for him back in '85.

Bissage said...

This would all make sense if they renamed it the “Nobel Popularity Contest.”

JAL said...

You need some type of Bush tag on this Professor.

Because, truth be known, this is all about George W Bush.

The Norwegians want to show that they recognize that Barack Obama is not George W. Bush.

It's Bush's fault Obama got the Nobel Peace Prize.

Michael Haz said...

This is a shocking blow to elementary school teachers who are now frantically revising the lyrics to their Obama kiddies' songs to include the words Nobel Peace Prize.

Peter Hoh said...

Pat, if I wasn't clear in one of the other threads, I'll be clear here: Obama doesn't deserve this prize and the Nobel committee did a disservice to itself for awarding him the prize.

Even stalwart liberals like Glenn Greenwald says that the whole thing is like an Onion headline become real.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

We interrupt this program.

President Obama’s self steam has blown a gasket.

Details are sketchy… but we will try to keep you up to date.

William said...

This doesn't so much honor Obama as make a joke out of the Nobel Peace Prize. Obama said the experience was "humbling". As if. Heaven protect us from the Norsemen.

Hoosier Daddy said...

More to the point, I'm not sure I've ever once seen you actually address any criticisms leveled (by anybody) at President Obama or your liberal side of the political aisle.

The only time garage was ever critical of Obama was when he was still the very junior Senator from Illinois who had the temitry to challenge Hillary’s! rightful ascension to the Oval Office. But as a good Democrat, once the peoples had spoken in the primaries, garage put aside his personal loyalties to Senator Cankles and embraced The Won as his personal savior. In other words, garage is a pure partisan and you will never see a critical word come out of his mouth toward Obama because dissent is not something that good liberals believe in unless it’s dissent against a conservative.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

peterho says I'll be clear here: Obama doesn't deserve this prize and the Nobel committee did a disservice to itself for awarding him the prize.


Definitly.

The smart, humble and right thing for Obama to do would have been do decline the award.


And.....he doesn't. Shame on Obama and shame on the Nobel Committee.

chickelit said...

This so deserves a WTF tag.

Joe said...

Does this mean Obama is now going to close Guatanamo? And pull the troops out of Iraq AND Aghanistan?

* * *

BTW, he gave a big speech in Egypt, AND IT FAILED. Yet hearing this spun that it didn't is simply bizarre.

* * *

Based on the list of recent winners, Obama fits right in. Now he just needs to get fat and shrill. (The hypocrisy, as noted above, is already in place.)

TWM said...

"If this is such a stupid award to begin with, why do conservatives seem to care so deeply he won? I don't get it."

Because at one time it wasn't such a stupid award. Unfortunately the likes of Jimmy Carter, Yassar Arafat, and Al Gore have cheapened it quite a bit.

And we don't really care that he got it. We are just in amused awe at how the left keeps lowering standards in virtually every way.

themightypuck said...

I'm with JAL here. Obama got this award for winning the election.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

The question is what can the first lady expect now?

As consolation?

Why should Obama get everything ;)

Fred said...

I say give Obama the Nobel Prize in Literature as well.

Maybe the Nobel Prize in economics also.

Why not?

Tibore said...

Gold Medal at the Starting Block

Fred said...

It could have been worse.

The Norwegians might have given the Nobel to Osama Bin Laden for bombing the United States.

Yes, I think the "Peace Prize" committee does hate us that much ..

Anonymous said...

F that. I'm buying a Toby Keith album.

oncoyle said...

The Nobel Peace Prize has become nothing more than the Lefty Grand Prize.

Anonymous said...

don't you lads and lassies get a bit tired of being so snarky and negative day after day? ok. You are clever, smart, cynical, know so much more than the president and the liberals, but know what? your guy and your party lost big. Wonder why that is sincze you all know so much more than the party that won. Oh. I get it. The Amnerican electorate are dummies. Right. But they were smart when they voted the way you preferred before this most recent election.

garage mahal said...

But as a good Democrat, once the peoples had spoken in the primaries, garage put aside his personal loyalties to Senator Cankles and embraced The Won as his personal savior.

Like most, I simply voted for what was available to me. It wasn't a hard choice. Personal savior? You guys are weird.

LouisAntoine said...

Where's the post about the acceptance speech, huh, Anne? I want to see what amazing shitty thing you're going to say about it.

former law student said...

""Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges.""

It sounds good, but but doesn't really mean anything.

I can agree with that. That particular sentence is a bunch of globaloney, to borrow an Edwin Newman coinage.

Kev said...

(the other kev)

I think the Committee gave Obama the prize in hopes he would pardon Polanski.

Dust Bunny Queen said...

F that. I'm buying a Toby Keith album

I'm buying some canned bacon and more supplies for my Armageddon Pantry. And a couple more cases of scotch and wine. Might as well enjoy the end of the world when Iran and Israel go nuclear. :-D

End of the World Sushi

hmmm. note to self. almost out of peanut butter and rice.

LouisAntoine said...

Oh, and Rush said something shitty as well! Can we have a post to discuss the shitty things you say about the shitty things Rush says, PRETTY PLEASE????

Lincolntf said...

Hilarious. Obama has gone from being a "fresh face" to being the most over-exposed man on the planet to being an international laughingstock in record time. He's the Britney Spears of politics.

Peter Hoh said...

Montagne, may I suggest unplugging from the internet and the radio and going for a walk?

phosphorious said...

Wow.

Ten posts today. All of them about Obama's prize.

Wouldn't the cannier strategy be to ignore it altogether?

If you have a conniption, then it looks like you care about what Europeans think.

Fred4Pres said...

All I can say is Dylan was robbed!

Martin said...

Don'tcha see?
America passed the "global test" by electing Obama, and thus America, in the person of its approved president, deserves the Nobel.
And Obama promises to continue to deserve the Nobel by continuing to pass global tests.

Chennaul said...

It gets well even more surreal-

(CNN) — A Democratic National Committee spokesman said Friday the GOP has "thrown in its lot with the terrorists" in criticizing the president's Nobel Peace Prize award.

“The Republican Party has thrown in its lot with the terrorists – the Taliban and Hamas this morning – in criticizing the President for receiving the Nobel Peace prize," DNC Communications Director Brad Woodhouse said in a statement.


[via NRO]

LOL!

Anonymous said...

If this is such a stupid award to begin with, why do conservatives seem to care so deeply he won? I don't get it.

We don't care, but we do enjoy mocking the absurd when we see it.

reader_iam said...

Shouldn't the prize instead be a collective one, awarded to Barack Obama voters? After all, if he hadn't been elected president, he wouldn't have gotten this prize, right? Because that's all he got it for, especially given *the nomination deadline."

Thanks again, Obama voters. Congratulations on your prize.

Hoosier Daddy said...

Like most, I simply voted for what was available to me. It wasn't a hard choice. Personal savior? You guys are weird.

Sorry garage I just call em like I see them. Case in point, there are no shortage of the regular conservatives who post here that haven't leveled criticism on Bush for a variety of reasons, ideology or political party notwithstanding. To Pat's point, I have yet to read anything remotely critical coming from you on Obama and in fact, you breathlessly defend anything the man does. Its almost as if criticism of him constitutes racism or something.

MadisonMan said...

I saw 1 minute of the acceptance speech.

I might have preferred that he said No Thanks. I would have preferred that he didn't say he was humbled, because I don't think the Nobel Peace Committee should be humbling the President. I did like his acknowledgment that the prize was not given for any real accomplishment.

Smilin' Jack said...

Peace Prize, who cares. I'm not going to start worrying until he's proclaimed the Last King of Scotland.

Hoosier Daddy said...

“The Republican Party has thrown in its lot with the terrorists – the Taliban and Hamas this morning – in criticizing the President for receiving the Nobel Peace prize," DNC Communications Director Brad Woodhouse said in a statement.

I'm not sure how to read that. I mean, during the Bush years those three groups seemed to garner a fair amount of sympathy with the Democrats, are they saying the GOP is hitting it a bit close to home?

Chip Ahoy said...

Ha ha ha ha ha. I love living in such a funny country.

reader_iam said...

I have moved on from being gobsmacked to being well and truly disgusted this morning.

Chennaul said...

Hoosier-

If the guy's name was Wodehouse-I'd say it was parody but...

Holy Flying @^$& these people are nutzzz.

Shanna said...

your guy and your party lost big.

And there it goes, the answer to every issue! So, next time republicans win, I will know how to respond to criticism.

Peter V. Bella said...

"DNC Communications Director Brad Woodhouse said in a statement."

The Party has spoken. Obama's masters have given the official word. Thou shalt not criticize the Party's choice. Thou shalt not criticize the Party. The pogroms will start soon. Is official. We are a government of the Party, by the Party, and for the Party.

Mr B said...

This whole thing sounds like the punchline of a classic Norwegian story!

Ole and Lena are voting on the 2009 Noble Peace Prize and Ole Says " So Lena whoo are yoo voting for?" ....

SukieTawdry said...

Remember when Barack was first elected to the US Senate and the speculation about his presidential aspirations began and his wife said "whoa, hang on there just a minute, he hasn't done anything yet?" Boy, those were the days...

I didn't think the Peace Prize committee could make itself more irrelevant than it has in years passed. I was wrong.

The biggest losers today? General McChrystal and his Afghan commanders, the Afghan people, our troops and everyone everywhere fighting the good fight against Islamic terrorism. No way this "man of peace" does the right thing in Afghanistan now.

We're living in the Theater of the Absurd.

daubiere said...

his acceptance speech was shameful, as usual.

he was "humbled"... to paraphrase Churchill, obamas a humble man with much to be humble about.

Shanna said...

(CNN) — A Democratic National Committee spokesman said Friday the GOP has "thrown in its lot with the terrorists" in criticizing the president's Nobel Peace Prize award.

“The Republican Party has thrown in its lot with the terrorists – the Taliban and Hamas this morning – in criticizing the President for receiving the Nobel Peace prize," DNC Communications Director Brad Woodhouse said in a statement.


WTF!!!! First the olympics and now this. Some of the democrats have gone mad.

Peter V. Bella said...

Hmmmm? I wonder. Obama was and still is part of the Chicago Machine. Vote Fraud anyone? Did anyone see Acorn workers in Oslo? Was the ballot box stuffed? How about disenfranchisement? Did he send his mentor, the corrupt Emil Jones, to Oslo to help run the election? Were Nobel Committee voters threatened by SEIU union thugs and their organized crime counterparts?

Living in Chicago and seeing real Democrat politics at work just makes me wonder?

Rose said...

Forget the swine flu - I've got the Obama flu. Vomit. Vomit. Vomit.

Only good thing - "The further the monkey goes up the tree, the more his ass gets exposed."

Everyone knows this is insane.

SukieTawdry said...

Why don't they just change the name to the UnBush Prize and be done with it.

former law student said...

he was "humbled"... to paraphrase Churchill, obamas a humble man with much to be humble about.



On Yom Kippur, the rabbi stops in the middle of the service, prostrates himself beside the bimah, and cries out, "Oh, God. Before You, I am nothing!"

Saul Rosenberg, president of the temple, is so moved by this demonstration of piety that he immediately throws himself to the floor beside the rabbi and cries, "Oh, God! Before you, I am nothing!"

Then Chaim Pitkin, a tailor, jumps from his seat, prostrates himself in the aisle and cries, "Oh God! Before You, I am nothing!"

Rosenberg nudges the rabbi and whispers, "So look who thinks he's nothing."

KCFleming said...

When you give participation ribbons to 5-year-olds playing soccer, the smarter ones ask "What for?"

AllenS said...

Damn, fls, I don't get it.

Unknown said...

What the hell does the Nobel Committee know about a "share of responsibility"?

Phil 314 said...

I keep thinking of that line from "Shawshank Redemption" and now think it has a whole new meaning:

"Hope is a dangerous thing"

garage mahal said...

To Pat's point, I have yet to read anything remotely critical coming from you on Obama and in fact, you breathlessly defend anything the man does..

Actually, I have. And I've never actually praised the man, that I recall, on any blog. Defending him from the ridiculousness of the right doesn't equal defending him.

traditionalguy said...

The Myth of Global Actions by a Global Government first requires that the USA disarm in favor of a Global Authority with a Global Army with all nuclear weapons under its control. So how are the UN's demands for binding treaty obligations from the USA commiting to Global action to Save The Global Warming of the Global Atmosphere going today? Oh never mind, its the day of the Global Peace award for Global actions across the Globe by the leader of the Global wing of the North American Province of the Globe. Now what did Friedman say about a Flat Earth?

Phil 314 said...

I know this is crazy to hope for this but...
Kanye West has already booked his flight to Oslo to repeat his MTV Award performance.....

ricpic said...

What happens to Obama's peace making when Iran gets the bomb?

former law student said...

Damn, fls, I don't get it.

basically, Obama's not humble because he grew up poor like Churchill's nemesis Attlee, nor is he humble because he had only modest attainments (also like Attlee), but neither is he humble because he is modest, like, say, the Dalai Lama. He's "humble" because his ego is sufficiently large to let him be humble.

Anonymous said...

his ego is sufficiently large to let him be humble.

Its the greatness of humility that keeps him humble.

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

Kanye West interruptions for Obama's speech.

So many possibilities there.

"I'm gonna let you finish, but ____ made more peace this year."

Caroline said...

"I'm president of the world!"

Some one knew what they were doing; feed the ego, get what you want.

Let's all sing:

"We are the world..."

rhhardin said...

Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges.

That's surely from a cliche-mash challenge.

The only interesting thing is grammatical: "for" marks the subject of a following to-infinitive, in English.

kent said...

"Defending him [...] doesn't equal defending him."

Mobius *facepalm*.

miller said...

Is it too early to say "I love Big Brother" yet?

JAL said...

fls:
He's "humble" because his ego is sufficiently large to let him be humble.

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah

Someone is using "humble" in the same sentence as Obama's name.

Ritmo Re-Animated said...

Best comment on this one (of the ten Obama threads), courtesy of phosphorius:

If you have a conniption, then it looks like you care about what Europeans think.

Don't you understand, Phos? Europeans should think what we think! The whole world should think what we think! That's just American leadership in the world for you, from the wingers' perspective.

But of course, we shouldn't give a fig about what they or anyone else thinks. Except when they give out prizes.

And they wonder why no one respects their opinions on anything anymore.

That's people for you.

BTW, is there a biblical significance to the number of threads? Just curious.