Obama’s no-win Nobel Peace Prize
Looking at the reaction from certain corners of the blogosphere, you’d think that the White House was trying to spin President Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize victory in his favor. He’s not. He literally said he doesn’t deserve it:
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.
Still, no stone is being left unturned in finding people to call up who will state that the reward is absurd.
How much do you guys hate the Norwegian Nobel Committee?
But we really know this is about Obama-hatred. Kathryn Jean Lopez, who is to journalistic ethics what Mengele was to the Hippocratic Oath, quotes some anonymous lawyer who says Congress has to pass a special act if Obama is going to accept the award (glad someone on that side of the aisle got concerned about the Constitution again!)
But don’t even think about giving it back says her fellow fun-e blogger Jonah Goldberg:
I’m generally sympathetic to the idea, but I think Mickey — and others — downplay the potential for blowback. Turning down the Nobel Peace Prize and, in effect, lecturing the Nobel committee for jumping the gun, could itself seem pretty arrogant and narcissistic. “It’s too soon for me to get the Nobel Peace Prize” is not necessarily a humble statement. When Woody Allen refuses to show up at the Oscars, do you take it as an act of humility or supreme arrogance?
via On Giving It Back – Jonah Goldberg – The Corner on National Review Online.
Meanwhile, I think Robert Gibbs did a good job telling the Washington media to STFU. Asked if the award was likely to further aggravate partisan divisions in the country Gibbs said that the pundit class needs to spend some mandatory time outside of the DC media world for a few days a year.
But he didn’t go far enough. What he should have said was, “Will this aggravate partisan divisions? Only if you guys aggravate partisan divisions!”
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[...] * One (wacko) lawyer is calling for Obama to be impeached if he accepts the Nobel Peace Prize. Anyone ever hear of Teddy Roosevelt or Woodrow Wilson? [True/Slant] [...]
Norwegian Nobel Committee?
Um, you do realize the Nobel Prize Committee is actually in the next country over?
Elftwo, be your own fact checker.
In response to another comment. See in context »Truly the capacity for joy has been sucked out of this country. I’m not going to point any fingers, but I blame cable news. Oh, wait….
Instead of simply announcing that (1)Obama won the prize, (2)he’s donating the cash award to charity, and (3)let Americans make of it what they will, cable news producers dial up the whole of the pundit class, apparently the only people pre-cleared to give us official versions of what it all means.
What it all means is that a group of people gave Obama an award. Now, how is Eli Manning’s plantar fasciitis coming along?
Yes, and as President Obama pointed out, how is the White House celebrating Bo’s first birthday?
In response to another comment. See in context »