Why did President Obama win the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize? Why are the Republicans and The Chronicle screaming foul? There are myriad reasons why the president was awarded the prize.
Let's start by the European view of America during the eight years of the Bush administration. They saw an administration that not only lied to Americans, but lied to the world about weapons of mass destruction and a need to invade Iraq.
How disappointed they were that President Bush carried on a unilateral view, as expressed by his ambassador to the United Nations, that America must care for itself and not the rest of the world. How disappointed they were that Bush had little interest in the Israeli and Palestinian problem. In fact, at his first Cabinet meeting he stated that they should fight it out for themselves.
The atmosphere he, Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld created was a militant stance to which all others should bow down. This is what the Republican Congress loved, and unfortunately it led to the death of thousands of Americans and allies.
President Obama was elected on very different terms. The terms were to talk first instead of shooting first. The cowboy image of Bush faded fast, and the image of a peaceful America rose out of the chaos that Bush created.
The Republicans criminalized Obama for winning the prize, saying he hasn't done anything. What they ignored was the world-view of a responsible president heading a country that the world can look up to again, and a man who has given them the most important elements of our futures -- hope for peace and a better quality of life.
Lowell Greenbaum
Augusta
(The writer is chairman of the Richmond County Democratic Party.)
Comments
Lowell, you just said Obama got the peace prize for not being George Bush insomany words. Quite frankly that award has had no meaning since Arafat won it. It holds alot of prestige with people of the world, but holds meaning somewhere between the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards and the VMAs.
Hey....I'm not George Bush...and I aspire toward world peace.......haven't really DONE anything about it, but I aspire..........where's my prize?
I am still scratching my head over this. What has Obama ever done that promoted anything but his own agenda ??
Let's see, Reagan ended the Cold War and Collapsed the Soviet Union, nothing. Obama gave a speach in Cairo that was filled with factual inaccuracies my 5 th grade history would have given me a D for and Obama gets the Nobel Prize...WOW the theater of the absurd is scripting life..
Whew! How we got from here to there! For the love of all things, SOMEONE hide all the pens and paper, the computer and crayons in the Greenbaum household.
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah at the title.
So many stand up comedians out of work and Greenbaum is trying to be as funny as some of them. Hahahahahahahahah
Lowell Greenbaum, you make me laugh. You have such a sense of humor. But please lets be serious a minute. He has promoted world peace where? This country is on the verge of a civil war and you got jokes!
this letter has so many mistruths one hardly knows where to start. prez clinton maintained the no fly zone in iraq shot cruise missles and bombed targets in iraq. some may not call this a war but its pretty close. the official policy of the clinton admisnistration was regime change in iraq and every prominent democrat is on record fretting over wmd that iraq had. and every intellengience agency in the world concurred with this fear. a mad man with theses weapons. remember he used them on the kurds. so quit rewriting history. i was not a clinton fan but he and the dims were right then about iraq. true peace only comes thru strength just check out history and final thought i want the prez to do right for the country and not put the world b/4 us.
Obama won the prize for his appeasement to our enemies. Just like a good socialist european leader. Thus he receives the ultimate socialist award. Thanks for the laugh Lowell you made my day.
Does Lowell keep it marked on his calendar so he knows when he can submit another stupid letter?
I see you all are still stuck on stupid. Reagan did not end anything.. It must be really hard on you all to watch every day,the man that you despise so much,just keep on rolling along. All of this hatred is only going to lead to high blood pressure,strokes and heart attacks. I do not want that for any of you. I would missed the comedy show should that occur.
Nominations were due 12 days into his term...yeah, he changed the world for the better in those 12 days???
And here I thought that this article was going to be about reveling the reasons Obama won the prize. The title of this LTE got my Hopes up for nothing. I guess there is no Change there............
i see ispy is stuck on denial......good little dem, keep calling greenbaum and getting your daily talking points from the head looney
ispy4u if you were really concerned about our health you would not be jumping on the bandwagon of lies.
Everyone in the world is wrong about everything including the NPP except for you extreme right wingers yeah right. Keep isolationg yourself from the rest of the world into farther minority. Your standard bearer can't even get a piece of his life long NFL dream see what every thinks about extreme right wing nonsense. The people at the NPP have been giving away the award for decades an it has international prestige but you guys don't agree so they are now idiots. WOW. Well at least I know the dems will continue to hold power for a long time to come. Probably another 40 yr run.
concerned, they have been idiots since they gave the award to arafat...........
Republicans are now jumping on the Health reform bandwagon. Obama will win this issue, and Americans will benefit. The right-wing would rather see sick children die without health isssurance rather than Obama get credit for busting-up the tyranny of greedy insurance companies. That's why the right-wing was booted out of political power. They are afraid to stand-up for what is right. Instead, they grovel to the special interests in order to stay in power.
This letter almost hits the mark. Obama has said he'll give Europe veto over American national defense if the action will make them uncomfortable and he won't ask Europe for any help if any action is taken. This promise plus the fact that Obama preaches the form of Marxism and Fascism that the Norwegians practice made him a natural for the Nobel prize. Oh, and he isn't W. Can 2012 get here soon enough?
shivas - how is Olympia Snowe considered Republicans jumping on the bandwagon? She's a democrat with a Republican label pasted on her.
LOL I guess if a republican/conservative saw a cloud in the sky shaped in the form of Obama, the world is going to come to an end. They then will spread it and use it as a talking point and tell other republicans/conservatives to RUN TO THE HILLS, LOL.
"has did'? really justus4 "has did"? "EASY to go alone"? And you are still drinking the kool-aid.
Unnamed Poster - Obama is willing to talk to people who dislike us and seek a live and let live deal. Hawkish Republicans call it - Appeasing our enemies like the loathsome Europeans. But the Europeans have been around much longer than us and they know that a live and let live deal is the alternative to something much worse. They got over their hang-up with righteous crusades a long time ago
The Nobel Peace Prize 2002
"for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development"
Jimmy Carter
It's the effort, as you can see, not the deed itself. Wake up. No one has ever gotten a NPP for an actual deed, They've gotten for
their efforts, just like Obama.
And your point is Greenbaum, if you are going to make an argument then make it, why did Obama deserve the Noble Peace prize? I see nothing in your letter that convinces me. Two weeks in office when he was nominated is not good enough, what Bush or his croonies did or didn't do has nothing to do with why Obama won this prize. if we can go out and win a Noble Peace Prize in two weeks then the committee has certainly lowered their standards. Obama was awarded this prize as another way to put the almighty mesiah up on a pedestal. And to you shivas, wishful thinking, this country can't afford to give free healthcare to everyone, that's the problem with most democrats, they are always looking for something free and looking for the government to take care of them.
RE. You are free NOT to read the AC. Jus sayin'....
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