Barack Obama wins the Nobel Peace prize

[Drewish]

Forgive my bluntness, but that post made absolutely no sense to me. It was all over the place, and I'm not really sure what you were trying to say.

[FBM]

Forgive my bluntness, but that post made absolutely no sense to me. It was all over the place, and I'm not really sure what you were trying to say.

Don't worry. Neither do I, really. But I'll make a guess: Look at it through a non-American eye. See what you come up with.

[owtth]

Seemed pretty clear to me.

[Drewish]

Forgive my bluntness, but that post made absolutely no sense to me. It was all over the place, and I'm not really sure what you were trying to say.

Don't worry. Neither do I, really. But I'll make a guess: Look at it through a non-American eye. See what you come up with.

I'm not a subjectivist. Point of view is worth shit. All that matters are the facts.

[FBM]

Forgive my bluntness, but that post made absolutely no sense to me. It was all over the place, and I'm not really sure what you were trying to say.

Don't worry. Neither do I, really. But I'll make a guess: Look at it through a non-American eye. See what you come up with.

I'm not a subjectivist. Point of view is worth shit. All that matters are the facts.

OK. I'm willing to pretend that there is such a thing as objective facts.

[FBM]

Seemed pretty clear to me.

Me, too, but I'm willing to play rhetoric. It's a fun diversion from reality.

[Chinaski]

Andrew, quite often the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to encourage people in the process of doing good to continue doing so. In this case it's entirely understandable. Furthermore, have you read Obama's biographies? The man has accomplished far more than simply becoming president.

[Drewish]

Andrew, quite often the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to encourage people in the process of doing good to continue doing so. In this case it's entirely understandable. Furthermore, have you read Obama's biographies? The man has accomplished far more than simply becoming president.

Such as...

[Kristie]

Andrew, quite often the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to encourage people in the process of doing good to continue doing so. In this case it's entirely understandable. Furthermore, have you read Obama's biographies? The man has accomplished far more than simply becoming president.

Such as...

"Accomplishments:

- Obama passed legislation with Republican Senator Jim Talent to give gas stations a tax credit for installing E85 ethanol refueling pumps. The tax credit covers 30 percent of the costs of switching one or more traditional petroleum pumps to E85, which is an 85 percent ethanol/15 percent gasoline blend.

- After a number of inmates on death row were found innocent, Senator Ob More..ama worked with law enforcement officials to require the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases.

- His first law was passed with Republican Tom Coburn, a measure to rebuild trust in government by allowing every American to go online and see how and where every dime of their tax dollars is spent.

- Obama created the Illinois Earned Income Tax Credit for low-income working families in 2000 and successfully sponsored a measure to make the credit permanent in 2003. The law offered about $105 million in tax relief over three years.

- Obama joined forces with former U.S. Sen. Paul Simon (D-IL) to pass the toughest campaign finance law in Illinois history. The legislation banned the personal use of campaign money by Illinois legislators and banned gifts from lobbyists. Before the law was passed, one organization ranked Illinois worst among 50 states for its campaign finance regulations.

- As a member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, Senator Obama has fought to help Illinois veterans get the disability pay they were promised, while working to prepare the VA for the return of the thousands of veterans who will need care after Iraq and Afghanistan.

- He traveled to Russia with Republican Dick Lugar to begin a new generation of non-proliferation efforts designed to find and secure deadly weapons around the world.

- Obama has been a leading advocate for protecting the right to vote, helping to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act and leading the opposition against discriminatory barriers to voting.

- In the U.S. Senate, Obama introduced the STOP FRAUD Act to increase penalties for mortgage fraud and provide more protections for low-income homebuyers, well before the current subprime crisis began.

- Obama sponsored legislation to combat predatory payday loans, and he also was credited with lobbied the state to more closely regulate some of the most egregious predatory lending practices.

- Barack Obama introduced the Patriot Employer Act of 2007 to provide a tax credit to companies that maintain or increase the number of full-time workers in America relative to those outside the US; maintain their corporate headquarters in America; pay decent wages; prepare workers for retirement; provide health insurance; and support employees who serve in the military.

- Obama worked to pass a number of laws in Illinois and Washington to improve the health of women. His accomplishments include creating a task force on cervical cancer, providing greater access to breast and cervical cancer screenings, and helping improve prenatal and premature birth services.

- Obama has introduced and helped pass bipartisan legislation to limit the abuse of no-bid federal contracts.

- Obama and Senator Feingold (D-WI) took on both parties and proposed ethics legislation that was described as the "gold standard" for reform. It was because of their leadership that ending subsidized corporate jet travel, mandating disclosure of lobbyists' bundling of contributions, and enacting strong new restrictions of lobbyist-sponsored trips became part of the final ethics bill that was signed into law."

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=274_1203549099

[owtth]

Yeah but apart from that?

[Drewish]

- Obama passed legislation with Republican Senator Jim Talent to give gas stations a tax credit for installing E85 ethanol refueling pumps. The tax credit covers 30 percent of the costs of switching one or more traditional petroleum pumps to E85, which is an 85 percent ethanol/15 percent gasoline blend.

Not related to peace, this is domestic policy.

- After a number of inmates on death row were found innocent, Senator Obama worked with law enforcement officials to require the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases.

Not related to peace, this is domestic policy.

- His first law was passed with Republican Tom Coburn, a measure to rebuild trust in government by allowing every American to go online and see how and where every dime of their tax dollars is spent.

Not related to peace, this is domestic policy.

- Obama created the Illinois Earned Income Tax Credit for low-income working families in 2000 and successfully sponsored a measure to make the credit permanent in 2003. The law offered about $105 million in tax relief over three years.

Not related to peace, this is domestic policy.

- Obama joined forces with former U.S. Sen. Paul Simon (D-IL) to pass the toughest campaign finance law in Illinois history. The legislation banned the personal use of campaign money by Illinois legislators and banned gifts from lobbyists. Before the law was passed, one organization ranked Illinois worst among 50 states for its campaign finance regulations.

Not related to peace, this is domestic policy.

- As a member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, Senator Obama has fought to help Illinois veterans get the disability pay they were promised, while working to prepare the VA for the return of the thousands of veterans who will need care after Iraq and Afghanistan.

Not an actual accomplishment mentioned here, just rhetoric.

- He traveled to Russia with Republican Dick Lugar to begin a new generation of non-proliferation efforts designed to find and secure deadly weapons around the world.

THIS ONE MAKES SENSE

- Obama has been a leading advocate for protecting the right to vote, helping to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act and leading the opposition against discriminatory barriers to voting.

Not an actual accomplishment mentioned here, just rhetoric.

- In the U.S. Senate, Obama introduced the STOP FRAUD Act to increase penalties for mortgage fraud and provide more protections for low-income homebuyers, well before the current subprime crisis began.

Did it pass?

- Obama sponsored legislation to combat predatory payday loans, and he also was credited with lobbied the state to more closely regulate some of the most egregious predatory lending practices.

Did it pass?

- Barack Obama introduced the Patriot Employer Act of 2007 to provide a tax credit to companies that maintain or increase the number of full-time workers in America relative to those outside the US; maintain their corporate headquarters in America; pay decent wages; prepare workers for retirement; provide health insurance; and support employees who serve in the military.

Since when is American protectionism pro-peace?

- Obama worked to pass a number of laws in Illinois and Washington to improve the health of women. His accomplishments include creating a task force on cervical cancer, providing greater access to breast and cervical cancer screenings, and helping improve prenatal and premature birth services.

This is very vague.

- Obama has introduced and helped pass bipartisan legislation to limit the abuse of no-bid federal contracts.

And so did countless other elected officials.

- Obama and Senator Feingold (D-WI) took on both parties and proposed ethics legislation that was described as the "gold standard" for reform. It was because of their leadership that ending subsidized corporate jet travel, mandating disclosure of lobbyists' bundling of contributions, and enacting strong new restrictions of lobbyist-sponsored trips became part of the final ethics bill that was signed into law."

Rhetoric and again domestic policy not about peace.

EDIT -
So one thing on your list is something worthy of note towards a Nobel peace prize. but of course he was nominated before he did that... So what else?

[Drewish]

http://blogs.wsj.com/iainmartin/2009/10 ... -for-what/

This is completely bizarre. President Barack Obama has just won the Nobel Peace Prize. It is unclear why. For making peace, of a kind, with Hillary Clinton? For giving up the missile shield and cheering up the Iranians? For preparing a surge of troops and weaponry in Afghanistan?

Of course, traditionally it has been standard procedure that winners of the prize do their peacemaking first and are only given the prize after they have achieved something. But this innovation sweeps aside such old-fashioned notions of reward following effort.

Think about it, it’s so post-modern: a leader can now win the peace prize for saying that he hopes to bring about peace at some point in the future. He doesn’t actually have to do it, he just has to have aspirations. Brilliant.

[Twoflower]

Personally I think everyone who voted for him should have gotten one for stopping the republican juggernaut.

[Kristie]

EDIT -
So one thing on your list is something worthy of note towards a Nobel peace prize. but of course he was nominated before he did that... So what else?

Hey, you just asked for accomplishments.
Oh, and it's not my list, just one I found online.

[Elessarina]

Personally I think everyone who voted for him should have gotten one for stopping the republican juggernaut.

By awarding it to him I think that is what happened..