Great Expectations

Amy Austin | October 9, 2009
Okay, so... I have always been among the more than slightly irritated and annoyed by the sarcastic "anointing" of Obama as "The Messiah", etc. This tactic still leaves me so unimpressed with his detractors that it quite effectively negates any credible argument that might otherwise be made against him or his "policy" (if you can call it that at this point in the fledgling presidency). However... after reading about Mr. Obama's latest honor in being awarded the Nobel peace prize, even I am being made to wonder about the cult of personality.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1929385,00.html?xid=feed-yahoo-full-nation-related

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1929395,00.html

I agree that it was likely a maneuver designed to give a boost to and accelerate Obama's peacekeeping efforts in the most difficult areas of the globe (as well as an indication that at least the Nobel committee still maintains a high level of "hope" for "change"), but I also take to heart the criticism that a Nobel prize is meant to recognize those without a ready-made platform for their attempts to change the world. No doubt, simply being nominated has brought considerable attention and recognition to Greg Mortenson for his admirable peace mission -- but has the value of the prize been diluted in giving it both to someone as inherently powerful as the President of the United States, as well as to someone whose world peace efforts have barely begun just as others have been ongoing for many more years???

How high have we set the bar for Obama? Are there still any high hopes among us for major changes? Or are our expectations so high that we are instead only setting ourselves up for major disappointment?

Jackie Mason | October 9, 2009
[hidden by request]

Steve West | October 10, 2009
Scoopy's take on the issue is that he is actually more deserving than many previous winners. Remember this is an award that has been given to those noted hippie peaceniks Yassir Arafat and Hammerin' Hank Kissinger. Compared to those guys, Obama has actually contributed passively to peace - by not bombing the shit out of anyone.

Having said that, I'll add that Obama could use a high-profile refusal as a means to raise the standard of the prize from the current depth to which it has fallen. In fact, the irony is that the act of refusing the prize would be the greatest thing he could do to actually merit the prize, since it would very publicly force the committee to consider giving future prizes to those who actually make some significant contribution to peace!

Amy Austin | October 10, 2009
Those are excellent points -- I like the idea of a refusal. Hahaha... Yassir Arafat. And making Yitzhak Rabin share it with him, no less. You're right.

Jackie Mason | October 10, 2009
[hidden by request]

Scott Hardie | October 10, 2009
I was surprised that this year's winner of the Nobel Prize was Barack Obama, but I was more surprised that it wasn't Steve West.

The message this prize sends out is clear: We have underestimated Oprah Winfrey's brainwashing abilities for too long.

Seriously, though, the announcement only makes sense in the context of slamming Bush, which the voters have done before. If they actually meant for this award to recognize or celebrate Obama in any other way, they're insane. I like the guy and all, but that's lunacy.

I wonder what I would think about this news if I was Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck and it was my job to work myself into an outrage over whatever Obama had for breakfast on a given day. I'd probably be unable to stop laughing, rather than get mad at this. It's just too crazy. I can imagine saying, "Look, there are people who like Obama and agree with him, and I criticize those people, but they're entitled to their opinion. This, though? Nobody in their right mind can possibly see any genuine reason for this." They'd have to go to commercial for me laughing too much.

(Note: I do not regularly imagine myself as Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck.)

Steve West | October 10, 2009
Hard as it may be to believe sometimes, I can't win 'em all. And Kanye was sooo featured in my acceptance speech. Him and Steve Dunn.

Jackie Mason | October 11, 2009
[hidden by request]

Steve West | October 12, 2009
Next on the to-do list, Obama pledges to support the gay rights agenda. I expect he'll replace Anchors Aweigh with the Village People singing In the Navy. I envision him seeing his Nobel prize on the mantle and thinking a Tony Award right beside it would look fabulous. Personally, I think the lifting of the ban is long overdue.

Amy Austin | October 12, 2009
And if you really think that singing "Anchors Aweigh" is any less "fabulous" than "In the Navy"... well, then... you just haven't been to Navy boot camp. ;-p

(Trust me when I say that it's far more fabulous while marching...)

Tony Peters | October 13, 2009
I'd rather sing "In the Navy"........on topic I really wish the whole don't ask don't tell thing would just go away, I'm sure Amy would agree that asking someone to maintain the highest integrity but requiring them to lie about something so basic to their very being is just so very wrong. In my 20 years I served with enough people who I knew were gay. Their sexuality didn't effect "unit cohesion" they did their jobs just like everyone else. As near as I can there is no real legal argument why they can't serve openly, the Supreme Court has stuck down most of the state "sodomy" laws (Lawrence v. Texas) which was the last legal leg the Moral Majority had to stand on. Makes me wonder how long the consensual part of Art 125 will last

Steve West | October 16, 2009
The Nobel committee is saying the reason they gave Obama the peace prize is for reducing tension around the world. So, the runners-up for this year's Nobel Prize were red wine and the Brookstone three-speed massaging recliner. --Conan O'Brien

Hey, did you see what happened today? President Obama won another Nobel prize today, this time in medicine, for pretending to give up smoking. --Jay Leno

Steve West | October 17, 2009
Last night, the White House hosted a tribute to Latin music. President Obama wiggled his hips a little on the dance floor at which point a committee in Sweden immediately awarded him a Latin Grammy. --Conan O'Brien