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By Big Tent Democrat, Section Media
Posted on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 07:28:48 AM EST
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BarbinMD likes this from Eugene Robinson:

The problem for the addlebrained Obama-rejectionists is that the president, as far as they are concerned, couldn't possibly do anything right, and thus is unworthy of any conceivable recognition. If Obama ended world hunger, they'd accuse him of promoting obesity. If he solved global warming, they'd complain it was getting chilly. If he got Mahmoud Abbas and Binyamin Netanyahu to join him around the campfire in a chorus of "Kumbaya," the rejectionists would claim that his singing was out of tune.

(Emphasis supplied.) Perhaps they would. But reasonable people question THE NOBEL COMMITTEE (NOT Obama who had nothing to do with this) in its decision to award an IF. This simple proposition seems impossible for some to understand.

Speaking for me only

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    If | 36 comments (36 topical)

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    I don't (5.00 / 1) (#1)
    by Ga6thDem on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 07:35:22 AM EST
    understand why people have such knee jerk reactions to Obama. Geez, if he had done all those things he would deserve the Nobel Peace prize but he hasn't and in fact had barely been in office when he nominations were closed.

    Frankly, it's too bad that Obama didn't listen to your advice BTD and turn it down. You were right when you said this actually hurts him more than helps him.

    It is puzzling (5.00 / 1) (#32)
    by Socraticsilence on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 02:26:39 PM EST
    some people are just against him reflexively.

    Parent
    For one thing, (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by andgarden on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 07:39:13 AM EST
    the "Idea of Obama is powerful.

    Eugene Robinson (5.00 / 1) (#3)
    by jbindc on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 07:51:53 AM EST
    is ridiculous.  His whole premise is ridiculous, and BarbinMd is just as ridiculous for agreeing with it. You can reject Obama's policies, or lack thereof, or his lack of taking leadership on issues, or lack of a spine, and still see those statements as silly.

    Or you can think he had a great 9 months (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 07:53:33 AM EST
    in working for peace and STILL think awarding an IF is ridiculous.

    My point is different than yours.

    Parent

    That too (none / 0) (#5)
    by jbindc on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 07:55:40 AM EST
    But that isn't Robinson's or Barb's point.

    Parent
    Their point (5.00 / 1) (#6)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 07:57:44 AM EST
    is to support Obama is what I think.

    The funny part is with this type of stuff, they are doing a piss poor job in the self assigned roles.

    Parent

    Robinson loses me with his (5.00 / 3) (#7)
    by Anne on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 08:14:45 AM EST
    "addlebrained Obama rejectionists" label; it tells me that he's too in love with his own opionions to objectively assess Obama's performance.

    Actually, it isn't so much that Robinson loses me, but that Robinson is so deeply in love with Obama as to be a lost cause.

    This:

    Obama has taken on the rescue of the U.S. financial system and the long-term restructuring of the economy. He has launched historic initiatives to revolutionize health care, energy policy and the way we educate our children. He said flatly during the campaign that he wants to be remembered as a transformational president.

    is another example of just how blind that love is.  He's entitled to be as head-over-heels as he wants to be, of course, but the stuff that he writes is just so absurd as to be laughable.  If Obama had said he wanted to be remembered as a mighty oak tree, Robinson would be telling us that Obama's working on producing acorns, for heaven's sake.

    What kind of amuses me is that Robinson seems to think he's only denigrating those loony, siding-with-the-Taliban conservatives; he seems to have missed that there are many Democrats, liberals, progressives who happen to think that the Nobel Committee made a mistake.

    As for Obama having nothing to do with the award, I would love to know how many degrees of separation there were between Obama and the person who nominated him.  No, I'm sure he did not nominate himself, but knowing who did would perhaps shed more light on whether this might not have been more of a political calculation than a humanitarian one.

    Speaking of "addle-brained," I see Richard Cohen has an op-ed this morning, too; let me take a Zantac before you serve him up for us this morning.

    Obama did not want this (5.00 / 1) (#10)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 08:32:03 AM EST
    I assure you.

    Some may think this is good for him, but given what he will do in Afghanistan (I agree with the course he will take), this award will look ridiculous.

    Parent

    BTD, cynical you may be (none / 0) (#12)
    by vml68 on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 09:03:48 AM EST
    but I think some of us have you beat in that department.

    Obama did not want this

    I do not think he lobbied for the NPP but I believe he is pleased as punch to be accepting it.

    Parent

    Obama's a terrible (5.00 / 4) (#15)
    by gyrfalcon on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 09:56:51 AM EST
    actor.  He couldn't carry off something as subtle as the embarrassment he showed in his statement if his life depended on it.

    Some of you are making him into as much of a magical genius on the negative side as Robinson et al do on the positive.

    Parent

    I have to disagree with you on (5.00 / 1) (#17)
    by vml68 on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 10:34:57 AM EST
    this one, Gyrfalcon.
    To get so many people to believe you are qualified to be POTUS (not to mention the Second Coming!) based on no major accomplishments in life except for moving up the career ladder takes some major acting skills.

    And for Obama, with his lack of experience to believe he was ready to run this country at a time when it has so many major issues to be dealt with takes an incredible amount of ego and arrogance. That kind of ego and arrogance does not make a person feel embarassed to accept the NPP.

    Parent

    I'm with you on this (none / 0) (#19)
    by Inspector Gadget on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 10:50:26 AM EST
    in addition to the campaign act, his team showed unmatched immaturity in allowing themselves to be filmed/photographed behaving like the elite frat boys on campus. They set the image for themselves, and this prize appeared to be a prank. If Obama looked embarrassed, it could just as easily be because the nomination was meant to be a joke, and it ended up not being at all funny.


    Parent
    I'm with Gyrlfalcon (none / 0) (#23)
    by BackFromOhio on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 12:22:07 PM EST
    Her point seems to me to be that Obama is a terrible actor and could not have feigned the clear embarrassment he showed at having been awarded the NPP.  Your point is that he is arrogant and carried off being the top candidate for POTUS.  The difference is, I would think, that Obama truly thought he would be the best President, experience or no, so he was not pretending anything.

    Parent
    Exactly so (none / 0) (#35)
    by gyrfalcon on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 06:11:20 PM EST
    Thank you.

    Parent
    "Rejectionist" is just (5.00 / 1) (#11)
    by Cream City on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 08:43:56 AM EST
    a couple more syllables, but we know what Robinson means -- because he and Brazille were the ones who started the "r*cist" outcries in the primaries.

    Ever since, I have been a rejectionist of anything they have to say.  Move on; there is nothing happening between their ears here.

    Parent

    I kind of like "addle-brained Obama (5.00 / 1) (#20)
    by oculus on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 10:56:11 AM EST
    rejectionist."  

    Parent
    Who nominated Obama? (5.00 / 1) (#13)
    by DancingOpossum on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 09:08:12 AM EST
    Who nominated him? Yes, the Nobel Committee has turned itself into a desperate joke, but I do blame Obama for accepting the award, and I still maintain my theory that he, or someone in his administration at his behest, nominated him. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

    Heh (5.00 / 2) (#16)
    by Steve M on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 09:57:41 AM EST
    There are literally thousands of people who are eligible to make Nobel Prize nominations.  The rules provide that any "professor of social sciences, history, philosophy, law and theology" can nominate someone for the Nobel Peace Prize.

    After Al Gore won the Nobel, the conservative Landmark Legal Foundation made a brief PR splash by nominating Rush Limbaugh in response.  In 1939 someone nominated Hitler.

    I have no problem believing that somewhere in this wide world of ours, there is a liberal arts professor who thought Obama deserved to get the Nobel Peace Prize.  But sure, maybe it was Rahm Emanuel.  Or Hillary.

    Parent

    Does William Ayers qualify to (5.00 / 1) (#21)
    by oculus on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 10:59:35 AM EST
    nominate a person for a Nobel?

    He is now a professor in the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, holding the titles of Distinguished Professor of Education and Senior University Scholar.
     [Excerpt from Wiki.]

    Parent
    You went there! (none / 0) (#27)
    by Steve M on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 12:38:35 PM EST


    Parent
    BTW, how did you first become aware (none / 0) (#28)
    by oculus on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 12:46:36 PM EST
    of the "leave Britany alone" video?  Trying to figure out how I missed even having this on my radar screen.

    Parent
    I dunno (none / 0) (#30)
    by Steve M on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 01:15:06 PM EST
    I guess either you're in the grapevine to hear about Internet memes, or you're not!  Next you'll be telling me you've never heard of Leeroy Jenkins.

    Parent
    Nope. But he was interviewed on NPR. (none / 0) (#31)
    by oculus on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 01:24:57 PM EST
    No excuse.

    Parent
    She is definitely a troublemaker... :-) (none / 0) (#29)
    by vml68 on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 01:04:19 PM EST
    n/t

    Parent
    NPP Award Criteria (none / 0) (#36)
    by Politalkix on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 08:26:08 PM EST
    According to Alfred Nobel's will the NPP should be awarded to someone who "during the preceding year [...] shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses".

    Obama during the past year has opened a dialogue with Muslims across the globe, attempted to repair relations with Cuba and many Latin American countries, resumed the peace process between Israel and Palestine after a 8 year hiatus, is attempting to start a dialogue with North Korea and Iran despite provocative actions from both countries, has offered to dismantle the missile shield and promote better relations with Russia, etc. Based on the criteria provided in Nobel's will, I can totally understand the NPP decision(though I was myself a trifle surprised when I first heard the news). Going literally by the criteria provided in the will (and not by an expanded interpretation often used in making the NPP award), Obama's nomination was a formidable one. It can be bracketed alongside NPP awards given to Woodrow Wilson, Mikhael Gorbachev and Kim Dae-Jung. Mikhael Gorbachev did not accomplish his vision of Perestroika and Glasnost but definitely helped in promoting better ties with the west. Kim Dae-Jung could not end the conflict between the two Koreas but his role in attempting to bring reconciliation cannot be emphasised enough. It is possible that Obama maybe more successful in his endeavors than Gorbachev or Kim Dae-Jung or Martti Ahtisaari and many others. Even if he is not, it won't be the first time that the NPP has taken into consideration intent, endeavors and aspirations instead of only successful outcomes (defined successes are also often quite subjective and depend on the eyes of the beholder).
    Many of the posts blasting the NPP award to Obama and asking the President to reject the award are primarily knee jerk reactions and based on ignorance and silliness. This silliness will also pass!  

    Parent

    I gave up on Robinson last year (5.00 / 1) (#14)
    by Pol C on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 09:42:38 AM EST
    I said enough after the column where he wrote that Hillary was in danger of losing her soul if she didn't concede. He was ridiculously proud of that piece, too. He'd appear on TV with the clipping in hand to read from.

    When he won the Pulitzer for commentary this year I just sat there shaking my head.

    If he solved global warming, they'd complain... (none / 0) (#8)
    by Abdul Abulbul Amir on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 08:25:52 AM EST
    If he solved global warming, they'd complain it was getting chilly.

    Its past chilly, its freezing.

    If Obama s**t (none / 0) (#9)
    by Chuck0 on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 08:32:02 AM EST
    gold bricks, they'd complain about the color of the feces.

    IF Obama passed a HCR bill (5.00 / 1) (#18)
    by Inspector Gadget on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 10:38:10 AM EST
    with single-payer, or a public option that was truly open to, and affordable for ALL, you'd have to eat those bricks.

    If Obama closed Gitmo for real, and proved we were no longer torturing, you'd have to eat those bricks.

    If Obama pulled all the troops out of Iraq, and found a way to settle Afghanistan's woes, you'd have to eat those bricks.

    If Obama legalized drugs and shut down half the prisons in this country, you'd have to eat those bricks.

    If Obama would turn around the employment situation, you'd have to eat those bricks.

    If Obama would just show true and sincere empathy for the people who trusted his hope and change promise, you'd have to eat those bricks.

    It isn't that he can't do anything right.

    Parent

    It's been the lesser-of-two-evils (none / 0) (#37)
    by jondee on Wed Oct 14, 2009 at 02:28:34 PM EST
    since forever in this country. And anyone who seriously thought Obama would somehow miraculously "do" all those things is living in some child-like dream world impervious to corporate lobbyists and the military-law enforcement-industrial conmplex.

    Oh, and some of us are still fightin' mad we didnt get the OTHER interest group beholden, deeply compromised, center-right Democratic candidate -- like their favorite toy was ripped away from them. Wake up and smell the coffee.

    Parent

    Is Robinson riffing on Rudyard Kipling? (none / 0) (#22)
    by oculus on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 11:54:12 AM EST
    Is BTD?

    Is? (5.00 / 1) (#25)
    by lilburro on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 12:27:18 PM EST
    The sequel

    Parent
    I was (none / 0) (#24)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 12:23:36 PM EST


    Parent
    Perhaps Mr. Favreau will (none / 0) (#26)
    by oculus on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 12:36:38 PM EST
    pick up on this theme for Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech.

    Parent
    Robinson is not writing... (none / 0) (#34)
    by joel dan walls on Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 03:24:39 PM EST
    ...about readers of this blog. He is writing about wingnuts.

    If | 36 comments (36 topical)

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