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AP Photo/Gerald Herber
In this Oct. 9 file photo, President Barack Obama speaks about being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington.
Published: October 13, 2009
OSLO (AP)—Members of the Norwegian committee that gave Barack Obama the Nobel Peace Prize are strongly defending their choice against a storm of criticism that the award was premature and a potential liability for the U.S. president.
Asked to comment on the uproar following Friday’s announcement, four members of the five-seat panel told The Associated Press that they had expected the decision to generate both surprise and criticism.
Three of them rejected the notion that Obama hadn’t accomplished anything to deserve the award, while the fourth declined to answer that question. A fifth member didn’t answer calls seeking comment.
“We simply disagree that he has done nothing,“ committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland told the AP on Tuesday. “He got the prize for what he has done.“
Jagland singled out Obama’s efforts to heal the divide between the West and the Muslim world and scale down a Bush-era proposal for an anti-missile shield in Europe.
“All these things have contributed to - I wouldn’t say a safer world - but a world with less tension,“ Jagland said by phone from Strasbourg, where he was attending meetings in his other role as secretary-general of the Council of Europe.
Aagot Valle, a left-wing Norwegian politician who joined the Nobel panel this year, also dismissed suggestions that the decision to award Obama was without merit.
“Don’t you think that comments like that patronize Obama? Where do these people come from?“ Valle said by phone from the western coastal city of Bergen. “Well, of course, all arguments have to be considered seriously. I’m not afraid of a debate on the peace prize decision. That’s fine.“
In Friday’s announcement, the committee said giving Obama the peace prize could be seen as an early vote of confidence intended to build global support of the policies of his young administration.
The left-leaning committee whose members are appointed by the Norwegian Parliament lauded the change in global mood wrought by Obama’s calls for peace and cooperation, and praised his pledges to reduce the world stock of nuclear arms, ease U.S. conflicts with Muslim nations and strengthen the country’s role in combating climate change.
However, the decision stunned even the most seasoned Nobel watchers. They hadn’t expected Obama, who took office barely two weeks before the Feb. 1 nomination deadline, to be seriously considered until at least next year.
Reader Reactions
Miles, maybe the situation with our economy could not be corrected in 9 months, but is going in the wrong direction after spending millions showing he is on the right track?
The ONLY thing Obama has done is the many things republicans warned you about if he was voted into office.
But Miles don’t you get it? All I’m doing is holding Obama accountable for what he said. He said that if Congress approved the $787 Billion stimulus, something that I and many other conservatives disagreed with, that that action ALL BY ITSELF would prevent unemployment from going over 8%. I mean, that’s what he said. That was his main argument that convinced more than just a few moderate Democrats to vote for that package. And, had we held unemployment at 8%, we could reasonably say that the recession is over and we’re making a comeback.
But, and this is the important part, that’s not what happened. Obama sold us on the stimulus = no more than 8% unemployment. We bought it. Well, not all of us, but you know what I mean. The unemployment right now is almost 10%. The plan that Obama said would end the recession DID NOT work. That’s fact. Doesn’t matter if he’s been in 9 months or 3 months, or 3 years. The plan that he put out there did not work. He said it would, it didn’t.
It would be something entirely different if that magic 8% figure had not been put forward by Obama as the key to ending the recession. In retrospect, perhaps it was a mistake to do that. But, without that assurance from Obama himself, it is unlikely a reluctant Congress would have approved the $787 Billion in wasteful spending.
So, based on the fact that Congress followed Obama’s lead and approved that stimulus based on his promise it would keep unemployment at 8%, Obama is responsible for that failure. It was his idea. It failed. How can he now blame that failure on Bush? Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty to blame Bush for. But a current administration failure due to actions solely by the current administration needs to be blamed on the one responsible for that failure. That’s Barrack Hussein Obama.
OK Rockit. Now we’re talking. You da*n right I believe in accountability and if Obama and the current Congress don’t fix it, they should be thrown out on their as**s. However, do you really expect this problem to be solved in a mere 9 months? Come on. Has any other recession been fixed in such a short period, regardless of who occupied the Oval Office? Some would argue that he has already saved the American auto industry from extinction. Give the man some time and stop blaming him for all of our current ills. Keep an open and critical mind and do not become an idealogue.
Miles - Nobody is suggesting the recession is the fault of Barrack Hussein Obama. What I’m saying is, regardless of whose fault it is, the responsibility for fixing it lies squarely on Barrack Hussein Obama’s shoulders because, knock, knock, he’s the guy in charge now. He campaigned on a promise to fix the economy. He said “give me the stimulas and the unemployment won’t go over 8%“. I mean, those are his words, that’s his mantra. All I’m doing is holding him to what he and his policy gurus said. Now, you’re not suggesting that a person who holds himself out to be the leader of the country shouldn’t be held accountable for his statements and promises are you? Or are you????
And, if you’ve been paying attention, anytime a reporter or opposing politician has the nerve to question why this man hasn’t fulfilled his promises, the best and sometimes only answer he can offer is “...well, gee fellas, this was a big mess when I got here…“ That’s a copout! We all know the economy was in trouble when he got there. We don’t need a history lesson. We need leadership.
Maybe a better question for this man is “how bad”. How bad doe the economy have to get for him to get off his high horse and attack the problem? What unemployment rate would motivate him to action? 10%? We’re almost there. 12%? 15%? You pick a number. What’s it gonna take to get this man into the ballgame? Will it happen next summer when inflation explodes as a result of the deficit spending of this guy? When inflation crawls up to 4.5 and 5%, and then quickly launches into double digits, will your President at that point say, “...okay, okay. It’s on me. I got it…“?
But nevermind. What can one expect? He’s not my President.
Rockit, there you go again. Certainly you are not so naive as to believe that the current recession is the fault of President Obama. Only idiots continue to maintain that it had absolutely nothing to do with the polices of the previous administration. Then again, maybe you are.
If he earned the Nobel Prize.
I humbly submit,he has also earned the Heisman Trophy and MLB’s MVP..
So tell me, Rockit, exactly what country do you live in? I may want to move there.
The jobless rate on Jan 21, 2009 was 7.4%. Remember that was the day that Barrack Hussein Obama took over. Today the jobless rate is 9.8%. Almost 2 and 1/2% more people are unemployed since Obama took over. That’s where the jobs are, going away. The cheap answer is to do what Obama continues to do; simply shrug it off and blame President Bush. But Obama has a bigger problem—- he promised if Congress would approve his pork barrel 787 Billion Dollar stimulus package, then the unemployment rate would not go over 8%.
So the question is, will there come a point in time when this man actually accepts responsibility for his actions, are can we just plan on another three years of his toddler like crying “it’s not my fault! blame George Bush!“? I think we all know the answer to that. To accept responsibility for one’s actions, one must have that noble moral feature known as integrity, something Mr. Obama and his minions sorely lack.
I’m so glad he’s not my President.
“Where are the jobs?“ DanHoodVirginia
Might want to ask this question in another thread and direct it to former President Bush. Maybe he can answer it.
Peace Prize for Obama, Zip-Squat for Seniors.
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