http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/09/obama-win...

Holy crap, even I as a die hard Obama supporter can admit that there were more deserving, but that still doesn't change the fact that what he's trying to do and things he believes in are all causes that anybody should be able to get behind.

I do think it's funny though, on the day that United States (well NASA to be more precise) is going to shoot the moon with a rocket, our President wins the Nobel Peace Prize, hahaha :D

Well, obviously he hasn't earned it yet, but I wouldn't say he isn't deserving as much as I would say he's simply less deserving than quite a number of others that could have or should have won it this time around. He accepts the award with a great bit of humility and personally says that he feels he isn't deserving of the honor, but will accept as a call to action on matters that are important to not just his own country but to others as well.

To say he hasn't earned it yet surely isn't a negative against him, but he just hasn't had the necessary time to leave his mark just yet, even if what he has already done is impressive in its own right. The way that he has managed to so quickly and so drastically alter opinions or, at least, the hope in what America can achieve is a very positive thing. Ultimately we are a safer country when other countries don't despise us. It's easier to get them on board with our initiatives when we don't look like hypocrits and bullies.

He has come out and soundly condemned torture and banned its use. He has committed to closing Guantanimo and called it the embarrassment to the country that it is. Even if they will miss their deadline to close it, we at least know he doesn't approve of the place and its days are ultimately numbered. He approaches other countries, especially those that we might have strained relationships with, with a strong level of mutual respect and decency. Now, while he trumpets America and all it's greatness just like any other U.S. President, he isn't afraid to say where we've gone wrong or when we've made mistakes that have undermined our core principles as a Country. He's sensitive about the things that are actually important to other nations and doesn't resort to degrading them. That sounds like common sense kind of stuff, but it hasn't been what we've been doing.

It's clear the committee awarded it to him on the basis that they believe he not only strongly shares their values, but is also a very powerful means by which they can hopefully see them get accomplished. You can say they are banking on being able to provide a push to help him in achieving some of his goals, even if it ultimately doesn't work, but hey.

If anything, it puts extra pressure on him to do his best to live up to those high expectations and helps give him the inspiration to be an even better president when all is said and done. I won't lie, I'm excited to see the guy get it, it was totally out of left field, but I can admit that he didn't earn it yet.

I'm especially happy about this because it hurt to see him try for the olympics the other day only for chicago to be knocked out in the first round. It really stung, even if Brazil probably had the strongest case on their side. There has never been an Olympics in South America, so it was tough to beat that, and it's a beautiful place.

Ultimately, I really respect the way in which he accepted it with humility. I'm happy that he didn't do the more extreme thing like some were suggesting aka turning it down. It's too great an honor to turn down, even for a person that hasn't completely earned it.

The way i see it this basically means "hey Mr. President, now that we have given you this peace price for doing absolutely NOTHING you'd better live up to it!" :P

Yeah, it's fucking rediculous. No offense to President Obama, but come on.

I've said this on other forums, I might as well say it here, current Presidents should be exempt, regardless of their achievements.

This is more or less a joke. The price has no meaning, just wishful thinking and the committee seems to live in a parallel universe.

The money could go to better things. Eff it, give him the statue (is there a statue?) and give the money to something that neeeds it.

REDICULOUS. the whole committee should be fired.

The money's actually being given to several charities.

Several? I don't recall the prize money being worth that much.

Taken from the BBC: "The White House has said that the cash prize that accompanies the award will be distributed among several charities."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8299824....

I'm guessing there's just about enough to go around.

i think its of an encouragement

its now you have it, you better live up to you words

That's like getting your school diploma up front, just because you say you have the intention to finish school and pass your exams. What a joke...

Well, being President of the United States, he's in a position to do many great things. Seeing that so many people around the world seem to like and identify with the guy, I guess the committee is hoping they can provide him an extra push towards greatness.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/nobel-...

This article probably says it best.What Obama is trying is a good thing, he is showing Israel a small bit of tough love in hopes that he can find a way to bring peace between Israel and the Palestinians. What other Presidents have also saved for the tail end of their Presidencies, Obama is aggressively attacking right off the bat. They are trying to encourage him to continue with the award.

I mean, I agree with you guys, I do believe there were much more deserving people as of this moment, but I also think the award will serve a good purpose if it strengthens Obama's hand in anyway to accomplish a lot of the things he wishes to achieve. The engagement with Iran actually looks like it MAY possibly lead somewhere.

Even if some are more deserving, I wouldn't call it a joke, because this guy has the potential to do some seriously great things, so it isn't like it's a bad investment.

Also, when last have you ever seen positive impressions coming from so many middle eastern leaders regarding the President of the United States receiving an award? Syria was praising it, Iran praised it and so did many others. The only ones that really went after Obama were terrorist groups and of course the hardcore republicans that dislike any and everything Obama.

I'm not classifying anybody here as such, because there are perfectly legitimate reasons to not approve of this award that he has been given, and I respect that.

Bull-Fucking-Shit.

This is an award that even Yassir Arafat received.

Yea, it's good that he did. That woman imprisoned by her own government was very deserving of the honor, and I was happy to hear him mention her.

As long as you thank Sakaguchi for making it possible, there will be no complaints from me :)

I don't think he's entirely undeserving of it like so many people are saying. I think what Obama is doing seems really great and extreme because we had to have such an asshole in office for 8 horrifying years (one factor).
It seems to a lot of people that he's bridging gaps between the US and other world countries more than any president in the past. Diplomacy is a big reason they say the award was given to him, which is understandable.
We stood as a nation who thought we only needed ourselves (gg Bush), and now we've re-entered the UN and are regaining a lot of respect. He's already been making a lot of headway with China (trade and tariffs), Russia (the missle defense garbage) and is working things out with Iran to a degree as well (nuclear weapons). He's done a hell of a lot in the short time he has already been in office. He also traversed the globe a lot, even more than Hillary and one would assume that's her job. He's spoken in several foreign countries to hundreds of people and lifted the US out of the rubble basically.
Health care is about to be passed, he's going to work on gay rights soon, and a lot more. I'm really happy with what he's done so far and excited for what he's going to do.

He's not going to as he's started diplomatic relations with the country for the first time in god knows how long.

Israel will probably be the country to go after Iran if anyone does.

Well said, he's doing a lot of great things and making quite a bit of progress.

The only complaint I have is how damn un-decisive he's being on Guantanimo's closure, but then that isn't entirely his fault. Congress is completely spineless. "Oh no, I don't want this terrorist in my state, even though they'll be in a prison that nobody has ever escaped from"