hahahahahaha!!
i knew this news would just drive you over the edge! i’m so glad that it was early morning news so that you have all day to whine about it and spout off ridiculous statements like “by the time he’s done trashing our economy and the safety of this nation” and “Bush brought freedom but Obama brings enslavement”. i see now, you’re upset that bush didn’t get the award for bringing “freedom”. ha!
you should rename this blog to “pointless seething ods blog”. what a great source of entertainment it is!

Great post Michele. As you rightly point out, even the liberal MSM knows this award is a joke. Liberal Peter Beinart at The Daily Beast said,
like Barack Obama as much as the next liberal, but this is a farce. He’s done nothing to deserve the prize. Sure, he’s given some lovely speeches and launched some initiatives—on Iran, Israeli-Palestinian peace, climate change and nuclear disarmament—that might, if he’s really lucky and really good, make the world a more safe, more just, more peaceful world. But there’s absolutely no way to know if he’ll succeed, and by giving him the Nobel Prize as a kind of “atta boy,” the Nobel Committee is actually just highlighting the gap that conservatives have long highlighted: between Obamamania as global hype and Obama’s actual accomplishments.
anony, so do you have any other response other than to attack Michele? For instance, do you think The One is deserving of this award?

After 8 long dark years of denial, duplicity and death-dealing, it is surely a breath of fresh air that President Barack Obama has won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. Finally, leadership with vision and hope has been restored to a lost world. Perhaps now we can be encouraged by this great man so that others will exemplify his kind of new leadership; so that, as the Nobel Prize Committee stated to and for all in the world, more leaders will stand up, speak out loudly and clearly for “diplomacy…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.” If ever there was reason to hope for a good enough future for the children, it is now. The vision of what is best for the majority of humanity and not for a malignantly narcissistic, pathologically arrogant and extremely greedy minority, is something easy to apprehend and even easier to actualize in democracies in which the majority does really rule. The majority of people in too many democracies in our time have been surreptitiously manipulated by a remarkably tiny group of super-rich and powerful people who appear to have maniacally exploited democratic principles and practices for their own selfish interests….come what may for the majority of humanity, the future of children, life as we know it and the integrity of Earth.

Congratulations President Obama!
The Scandinavians know how to divide the “chaff from the grain”, so thanks to the Nobel Peace Prize Committee!

I just *knew* this would make your head explode. You’re just that predictable.
Also, I don’t see why you’re making a fuss over President Obama’s reaction to the award. The very first sentence in the article you link to is this:
President Barack Obama said he doesn’t feel he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize, but will accept the award as a “call to action.”
He knows the award is ridiculous and far too soon for what he’s done in his life, but he’s going to use it as a way to spur action on issues he cares about. How is that a bad thing again? Oh, right. Because it’s Obama. Never mind. If it had been given to a Republican president so soon after they took office, you’d be crowing in the streets about how right and fair it all was.
Still, watching you hyperventilate over this is hilarious. Keep it up, please.

You seem to expect justice in this world but, of course, this is grace. Go with it.

I voted for Obama, and I think the man has considerable potential. But I am absolutely, positively sure that the award of the Prize has nothing to do with his accomplishments and everything to do with putting him in a more embarrassing situation should the US take the lead on dealing with Iran militarily. The Nobel committee hands out just enough legitimate peace prizes that they can get away with this kind of nonsense fairly frequently. That being said, if the man says he’ll accept it as a recognition of the American people, well, that’s about all he can do.

good morning, grandpappy pouty!
i didn’t attack michele. i merely pointed out how much i enjoy the humor that she provides on this blog!
“do you think The One is deserving of this award?”
i don’t know who “The One” is. perhaps you’d like to rephrase your question.

@reincarnate
Ask Oprah. (http://gothamist.com/2007/12/09/oprah_calls_oba.php)

kazoo, i don’t have an oprah hotline, and i’m telling pouty to be more specific (after all, he may not agree with whatever oprah says).

the point of confusion that i want to avoid is who oprah says is the one, versus who pouty says is “The One.”

Sully has great coverage today, with a variety of responses. I especially like this from Freddie DeBoer:
“As many movement conservatives enjoy expressing outrage more than they enjoy sex, eating or the company of friends and loved ones, and as the entire conservative media is devoted to expressing ever-escalating outrage and grievance in the face of this liberal-biased country– you know, the country where they controlled all three branches of government a couple years ago?– the Nobel committee’s silly, indefensible decision to give Barack Obama the Peace prize is a great boon to those self-same conservatives…
No one is above the outrage cycle. We have now, in our culture, synthesized the two worst elements of pre-9/11 and post-9/11 media: the pre-9/11 obsession with meaningless bullshit; and the post-9/11 obsession with filling every story with apocalyptic portent and over the top, tween-girl-at-a-Jonas-brothers-concert hysteria.”
Read the whole thing – food for thought: http://www.ordinary-gentlemen.com/2009/10/nobel-committee-gives-gift-to-movement-conservatives-fox-news/

Gee, would it be shallow, partisan, and rather immature to go: “Bwahahahahahaha”?
Actually, it would be.
As an Obama backer, I also think the award is premature. It has been granted largely for not being George Bush…or even worse, Dick Cheney. However, I am profoundly happy that he has accomplished that much since the previous administration’s policies involved the invasion of a country which had not attacked us, the bungling of the war in Afghanistan on the forces that did attack us, the alienation of long-time allies, the total betrayal of our bedrock values through the use of torture (and lying about it), and a catastrophic loss of respect for our nation among the people of the world.
He also managed to help deal with the race issue in America to such a degree that he became the first African American President, which is no small thing, either.
While I think the Nobel Prize requires more than this…it’s not nothing. And, he is not gloating as Michele so gracelessly and childishly did over the Olympic issue. But then, an actual compliment or word of congratulations directed toward the President appears to be virtually impossible for Michele to author. She even saw fit to “double down” on her recent, pathetic and ridiculous effort to portray the President as some kind of horndog.
Her nonstop torrent of partisan bile may be appropriate for the blog of a strictly secular political pundit, but she bills herself as offering reflections from a “Reformed perspective.” That would indicate that most of her posts should include some spiritual and/or Scriptural grounding. But that is a rare thing, indeed. While I often disagree with Rod Dreher, he does make an effort to be something more than a knee-jerk Obama hater and makes a far more thoughtful effort to back his positions with theological and Scriptural reflection. He makes me think and encourages me to have an open mind because he displays one.
I really don’t find that here. So I’m done with the “blabbing.”
Michele, I truly do wish you well and pray for your continued success in fighting cancer. I would have liked to hear more about what you learned and witnessed in the struggle, because I think it could help others. Instead, we got non-stop stereotypical rants against “lefties” (which I can only assume is your personal euphemism for sinners) and increasingly strident and screeds against Barack Obama.
If the folks at Beliefnet are looking at your traffic and taking that as a sign that this is a “successful” blog for a website dedicated to spirituality, then I cannot, in good conscience, continue to contribute to that illusion.
So even though I happen to agree that giving the Nobel Peace Prize to President Obama was far too premature, I just can’t find enough in this blog to justify ever returning.
Sometimes, you just have to shake the dust from your shoes and walk away.

the committee explained their reasoning for choosing president obama in their press release:

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has attached special importance to Obama’s vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.

Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama’s initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.

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. 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.

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. The Committee endorses Obama’s appeal that “Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges.”

while obama may not have completed much, it seems that the committee has been looking for a leader like obama for 108 years. they appreciate his efforts in international diplomacy and global cooperation, his stand on nuclear disarmament, his leadership on addressing global climate change, hope, and shared values. these are all things that conservatives have argued against, so it’s no wonder that they are confounded by this award.
i can’t say that i disagree with anything in the nobel committee’s press release.

I really like the handle, anony. Think I’ll adopt it.
You wrote:
i don’t know who “The One” is. perhaps you’d like to rephrase your question
That’s ok. Perhaps you will be able to figure it out.

Robert Morwell, “If the folks at Beliefnet are looking at your traffic and taking that as a sign that this is a “successful” blog for a website dedicated to spirituality, then I cannot, in good conscience, continue to contribute to that illusion.”
I would guess that Beliefnet is using Michele’s traffic and number of comments for advertisers. They may also be using the information to pay Michele. The more ridiculous/hatefull Michele’s comments, the more comments she receives.
We have all been rewarding Michele by clicking on her blogs and making comments.

Robert and Julie,
I’m not a betting man. But if I was, my money would be on you two continuing to click on this blog. All the readers and commenters here who despise how Michele blogs just keep coming back again and again and again.

“That’s ok. Perhaps you will be able to figure it out.”
pouty, if you don’t know who you’re talking about, then i surely don’t. i guess it could be a reference to jet li who was the star of the movie by that name…
as for advertisers, i don’t see them on this page (i block ads from my browser) and they don’t see me. when advertisers don’t get results from their bought and paid for web page real estate, they eventually withdraw their business.
maybe julie and robert both feel obligated, as i do, to provide a balance to michele and her ilk with facts and differing opinions. i would be saddened for readers to stumble upon this blog (being led here based on the misleading blog name and the religious arena of beliefnet) and believe that michele is the model american, or even the model christian. with our participation, visitors can see that we don’t all hate obama and we don’t all hate america and we don’t all think that war is the answer to every disagreement.
i’m glad that obama won, and that the world’s opinion of our country and its leadership is changing for the better.

pouty, if you don’t know who you’re talking about, then i surely don’t. i guess it could be a reference to jet li who was the star of the movie by that name…
Funny. But wherever from what I wrote could you possibly get the notion that I might possibly NOT know who I was talking about? Just point out the particular sentence which would lead to such a notion, please.
But back to topic. At least The One acknowledged that he didn’t deserve the Nobel. Let’s see…where is that quote from The One?…Oh here it is:
I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many transformative figures that have been honored by this prize.
Take note: For the first time…I agree with Barack H. Obama!

hehehe… obama haters are hilarious! first they attack him for lacking humility, and then quote him on his humility. duh.
“But wherever from what I wrote could you possibly get the notion that I might possibly NOT know who I was talking about?”
pouty, the notion comes from the fact that you can’t come right out and say who it is that you’ve anointed “The One”.
but enough about you.
that thing i mentioned before, about the world’s image of the u.s. is changing for the better can’t completely be attributed to obama. he couldn’t have done it without the abysmal policies of boy george bush championed and defended by america’s conservatives. we can’t be the leaders of the free world when nobody is willing to follow.

Here is an email I got this morning from the Obama email list. I am a supporter of Obama. If anyone has a problem with this they should probably go find another country to live in.
This morning, Michelle and I awoke to some surprising and humbling news. At 6 a.m., we received word that I’d been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009.
To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who’ve been honored by this prize — men and women who’ve inspired me and inspired the entire world through their courageous pursuit of peace.
But I also know that throughout history the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it’s also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes.
That is why I’ve said that I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations and all peoples to confront the common challenges of the 21st century. These challenges won’t all be met during my presidency, or even my lifetime. But I know these challenges can be met so long as it’s recognized that they will not be met by one person or one nation alone.
This award — and the call to action that comes with it — does not belong simply to me or my administration; it belongs to all people around the world who have fought for justice and for peace. And most of all, it belongs to you, the men and women of America, who have dared to hope and have worked so hard to make our world a little better.
So today we humbly recommit to the important work that we’ve begun together. I’m grateful that you’ve stood with me thus far, and I’m honored to continue our vital work in the years to come.
Thank you,
President Barack Obama

anony,
hehehe… obama haters are hilarious! first they attack him for lacking humility, and then quote him on his humility. duh.
Do you just like to make things up? Wait…were you referring to something I said as “attack[ing] him for lacking humility…?”
I’ve certainly done no such thing in my comments. You seem to be quite careless in your remarks. But, oh well.
Yes, the world’s image is changing for the better. We’re becoming weaker and they like that. But you know what? Jimmy Carter weakened us and nearly destroyed us and he was one term and outta of here. Look for the same thing here. And then we were rescued by the Ronald Reagan. Conservatives are getting used to cleaning up Democrat (liberal) messes. We’ll do it again.

maybe you nodded off again… michele attacked him for having no humility, and you turn right around and quote him on his humility (it’s even in the article that michele linked to). double-duh.
“We’re becoming weaker and they like that. But you know what? Jimmy Carter weakened us and nearly destroyed us and he was one term and outta of here. Look for the same thing here. And then we were rescued by the Ronald Reagan. Conservatives are getting used to cleaning up Democrat (liberal) messes.”
ROFLMAO!
i’d pay top-dollar anywhere else for comedy that good!
ronnie raygun didn’t do squat, except illegally trade weapons with the iranian thugs and shake his fist at the russians while negotiating with them behind closed doors! under the raygun administration, the national debt and deficit ballooned… but nothing compared to lil’ bush. the promise of reaganomics was a farce.
in the process of repairing the devastation left by “reaganomics”, clinton built up a surplus. within months of taking office, lil’ bush blew that away and spent us into oblivion. he borrowed from communist china to pay for his folly in iraq and his massive gift of tax cuts to the rich elite. the interest on his spending alone is in the billions each year.
during 8 years, bush started two wars and concluded neither. lil’ bush got nowhere with north korea and with iran. on the contrary! both countries have expanded their nuclear capabilities during his presidency. he destabilized the middle east raising the danger for us and everyone in the region. under his watch we experienced the worst terrorist attack on our soil. he showed the world how weak conservats are when he cowered away with schoolchildren not knowing what to do and later walked away from killing the leader of the group responsible for those attacks.
your conservat heroes were dismal failures. that’s just reality.
you are funny, though! keep the humor coming, pouty. …what a hoot!

The LEFTY LIB SYCOPHANTS here simply cannot bring themselves to admit that this is a farce. Pointing out a farce isn’t “exploding” or “getting upset” though it might involve some kind of emotional experience (and to LEFTY LIB SYCOPHANTS any emotions for those that oppose them are insincere opportunities to attempt to vilify others in some 8th grade context which of course is where most of them stopped in their maturity) seeing that the air gets thin when one has to climb to the ridiculous heights of this comedic act to point out its folly.
But this is the life of a LEFTY LIB SYCOPHANT, they simply are unable to ever acknowledge any foible, any weakness or any folly that involves their IDOLS and Obama is their sacred cow. They are reduced to ranting about Ronald Reagan, who changed history for the better and was one of the greatest leaders of the modern world. The LEFTY LIB SYCOPHANT’S response to anything other than worship and praise for their CULT LEADER is to always point away to others instead of dealing with the issue at hand. Nothing new for CULT followers but important to point out the members of the CULT OF OBAMA are following CULT scripting quite precisely.
Well Barry…enjoy your 4 years as the leader of temperamental crybabies who have so little capacity for life they can only tolerate echoes of their thoughts and nothing else because…the election smack down is coming in 2012 and you will be gooooooone!
Next Please!

Poor Guy Arthur and Michele…the hits just keep on coming. In terms of the original posting, there are some arguments for Obama receiving the prize. He dramatically changed the foreign policy of the most powerful country on earth. He has reached out diplomatically on a number of fronts in peace initiatives, including recent developments with Russia, China and Iran. He eliminated torture as a weapon for the US. While the nominations closed in February, that is not to say that the committee did not consider subsequent actions. Now maybe a lot of this is that he was not W. Apparently, that counted for a lot. But, that is a lot. America’s standing in the world has increased. Was he the best nominee…well, he was with the only people whose votes count.

the GnAT is back! and it just learned a new word.
if reagan was one of the greatest leaders, he must have received some great awards for his leadership! let’s see…
in 1981 he won the “Worst Career Achievement Award”. he did win a “Golden Boot” award.
nothing of great significance for “one of the greatest leaders of the modern world.” tisk, tisk. what a shame he didn’t actually do something good worth positive recognition. talk about a cult of personality! he worked his acting skills to fool conservatives into thinking he was something other than dismal.
it doesn’t take much to see that republicans are bad for the economy… starting with reagan.

“the bungling of the war in Afghanistan”
Obama seems to be accomplishing that all on his own.

“President Barack Obama said he doesn’t feel he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize, but will accept the award as a “call to action.” He knows the award is ridiculous and far too soon for what he’s done in his life, but he’s going to use it as a way to spur action on issues he cares about. How is that a bad thing again?”
How is a bad thing? How do you think getting a peace prize will impact Obama’s actions in Iran and Afghanistan.
And there’s a difference between true humility and acting humble. Too bad you can’t understand that.
As to my head exploding, it did, in laughter. It was the absolute best joke ever and it just keeps on giving. Too bad it will have more serious consequences.

“Obama seems to be accomplishing that all on his own.”
he seems to be winning in iraq and winding down that bush mistake. he’s working on closing down guantanamo, fixing yet another bush mistake.
in general, afghanistan’s not going any worse than it has for the past 8 years. he has the title of commander in chief, i’m willing to see where he takes it in the next few months.
“true humility and acting humble”
you’d have to know the person to know true humility and acting. for example, president reagan was a professional actor.
“How do you think getting a peace prize will impact Obama’s actions in Iran and Afghanistan.”
considering that you already think he’s a chickenhawk, what do you care? but my answer is “nothing.” why should it make a difference… are they going to take it away? oh noooooo!
give us a break. nobody would think “gosh, iran is aiming a nuke at us, what should i do? my hands are tied because of that awesome nobel award.” what an insult to everyone’s intelligence, including your own.
on the other hand, it could give him leverage to work harder with israel and palestine. it could give him the moral support needed to continue strong diplomacy with iran instead of resorting to throwing pointless insults and sabre-rattling.

Didn’t you see the news? They did revoke his pirze.
http://senseofevents.blogspot.com/2009/10/nobel-committee-revokes-obamas-peace.html

er, that’s “prize.”

still living in your land of make-believe, i see. righties do have an imagination, i’ll give ‘em that, pouty.
let’s save the link to that rightie fascist blog and come back here in three years and compare your conservative wish list with reality and see how close or far off you people are. things just may become as bad as you hope, or they may become as good as i hope. we’ll just have to wait and see!

Oh anony, you should lighten up a bit. That was meant to add a little levity to the whole discussion. Have fun, laugh a little.
“Fascist blog?” From Webster: : “a political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition.”
You really think that blog is Fascist? Really? You probably should check your copy of the dictionary.

Even the LEFTY LIB MsM is embarrassed by this fiasco! HAHAHAHAHA!
Well LEFTY LIB Sycophants, hang on to your hats cus the slap down in 2010 and 2012 against the LEFT is a comin’. BAM!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You’re own people are humiliated by this farce and you still can’t admit it. Keep drinking the koolaid kiddies.

hehehe… seriously? i laugh at almost everything you write here! lighten up, pouty! if you can toss around the “socialist” label so lightly without regard, i can do the same with the fascist label. that blog is as fascist as health care reform (as it’s being discussed in d.c.) is socialist.
i know that your intent was to lighten the conversation here… that’s also why i enjoy the snl skits about the nobel prize. still, that doesn’t change the fact that most conservatives believe what’s written in that fantasy story on that fascist blog will come to pass.
“the slap down in 2010 and 2012 against the LEFT is a comin’. BAM!”
sure, GAT. i think you said something similar in 2006 and 2008. your record of soothsaying is pretty bad so far. forgive me if i don’t believe your gas.

And next in line to get their own NOBEL PEACE PRIZE will be FIDEL CASTRO,CAHRLES MANSON,SAMMA BIN LADEN,DR ZINN,COBRA COMMANDER,HUGO CHAVEZ, and a few other crinimal minds