Oops - I see you have gazumped me in the time between checking that no one else on ET had covered the story and thinking about and writing this diary.

Interestingly, our takes are broadly similar.

notes from no w here

Surely Gordons got a lock on that one, after his statesman of the year award.

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

we may laugh, but getting the Stimulus plan through Congress and restoring "confidence" on Wall Street world  markets are probably his greatest achievements to date.

notes from no w here

That would have had to be a joint prize, including the Chinese as well for sure, and since they often scale to the task at hand, the Ozzies as well.

Of course, with the Nobel Memorial prize committee, they'd give it for the nearly useless TARP policy rather than for the Stimulus spending.


I've been accused of being a Marxist, yet while Harpo's my favourite, it's Groucho I'm always quoting. Odd, that.

ask:

the Committee is just as up-to-date as an online paper

And just as durable?

En un viejo país ineficiente, algo así como España entre dos guerras civiles, poseer una casa y poca hacienda y memoria ninguna. -- Gil de Biedma

when they state that something is "fantastic" or 'incredible'. They might be correct.

paul spencer

A funny thing a Swedish blogger aquaintance of mine wrote about this:

"It's pointed out here and there that Barack Obama isn't more impossible as a Nobel peace prize winner compared to many of his predecessors. But there is still an important difference. People like Yassir Arafat, Kofi Annan and Henry Kissinger got the prize for things they hadn't done. Obama gets the prize for things he's expected not to do in the future."

Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.

Indeed you are bold...

notes from no w here

LOL! Nobel prize for cheating with charts!!

Weird. I got a similar graph, only the blue bar was smaller, the red one said 50%, and the X axis said "50% 50% 50% 50%."

Okay, setting aside the fact that he shouldn't be awarded the prize, that's the second most dishonestly presented chart I have ever seen.  It's a distant second behind the WSJ's Laffer Curve chart, but it's pretty damned bad.

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.

Thank god those clowns are Norwegian and not Swedish.

Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.

To the point of peace, "Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts," Mr Obama drew inspiration from the pacification of civilians and annihilation of Berlin during WWII to extort  cooperation from peoples today whose lives are enthralled by US martial arts. He urged:

This is the moment when we must renew our resolve to rout the terrorists who threaten our security in Afghanistan, and the traffickers who sell drugs on your streets. No one welcomes war. I recognize the enormous difficulties in Afghanistan. But my country and yours have a stake in seeing that NATO's first mission beyond Europe's borders is a success. For the people of Afghanistan, and for our shared security, the work must be done. America cannot do this alone. The Afghan people need our troops and your troops; our support and your support to defeat the Taliban and al Qaeda, to develop their economy, and to help them rebuild their nation. We have too much at stake to turn back now.

This is the moment when we must renew the goal of a world without nuclear weapons. The two superpowers that faced each other across the wall of this city came too close too often to destroying all we have built and all that we love. With that wall gone, we need not stand idly by and watch the further spread of the deadly atom. It is time to secure all loose nuclear materials; to stop the spread of nuclear weapons; and to reduce the arsenals from another era. This is the moment to begin the work of seeking the peace of a world without nuclear weapons.

This is the moment when every nation in Europe must have the chance to choose its own tomorrow free from the shadows of yesterday. In this century, we need a strong European Union that deepens the security and prosperity of this continent, while extending a hand abroad. In this century - in this city of all cities - we must reject the Cold War mind-set of the past, and resolve to work with Russia when we can, to stand up for our values when we must, and to seek a partnership that extends across this entire continent.

This is the moment when we must build on the wealth that open markets have created, and share its benefits more equitably. Trade has been a cornerstone of our growth and global development. But we will not be able to sustain this growth if it favors the few, and not the many. Together, we must forge trade that truly rewards the work that creates wealth, with meaningful protections for our people and our planet. This is the moment for trade that is free and fair for all.

This is the moment we must help answer the call for a new dawn in the Middle East. My country must stand with yours and with Europe in sending a direct message to Iran that it must abandon its nuclear ambitions. We must support the Lebanese who have marched and bled for democracy, and the Israelis and Palestinians who seek a secure and lasting peace. And despite past differences, this is the moment when the world should support the millions of Iraqis who seek to rebuild their lives, even as we pass responsibility to the Iraqi government and finally bring this war to a close.

July 24, 2008, Tiergarten Park, Berlin, Germany

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

To the point of "the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population" which a Mr Keyes and not Mr Wright denied him, Mr Obama early preached:

It nagged at me in that campaign because I did not respond with the full force of what I found that Sunday morning at Trinity United Church of Christ: that our faith can never be used as a driving force to divide us. That with a big God, with a loving and forceful God we need to unite in His name to finish His work on earth.
...

America is going to survive. We won't forget where we came from. We won't forget what happened 19 months ago, 15 years ago, thousands of years ago. We know who the head surgeon is, and we're on the case. We're going to pull out bullet after bullet. We're going to stitch up arm after arm. We're going to wear those scars for justice. We're going to usher in a new America the way that newborn child was ushered in.

We're never going to forget there is always hope -- there is always light in the midst of desperate days -- that a baby can be born even with a bullet in her arm. And we can come together as one people and transform this nation. Our God is big enough for that.

June 5, 2007, Hampton University, VA, Annual Ministers' Conference

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

To the point of "playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting," Mr Obama dramatized "the costs of war":

Instead of fighting this war, we could be fighting the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 and who are plotting against us in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We could be securing our homeland and stopping the world's most dangerous weapons from falling into terrorist hands.

Instead of fighting this war, we could be fighting for the people of West Virginia. For what folks in this state have been spending on the Iraq war, we could be giving health care to nearly 450,000 of your neighbors, hiring nearly 30,000 new elementary school teachers, and making college more affordable for over 300,000 students.

We could be fighting to put the American dream within reach for every American - by giving tax breaks to working families, offering relief to struggling homeowners, reversing President Bush's cuts to the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, and protecting Social Security today, tomorrow, and forever. That's what we could be doing instead of fighting this war.

Instead of fighting this war, we could be fighting to make universal health care a reality in this country. We could be fighting for the young woman who works the night shift after a full day of college and still can't afford medicine for a sister who's ill. For what we spend in several months in Iraq, we could be providing them with the quality, affordable health care that every American deserves.

Instead of fighting this war, we could be fighting to give every American a quality education. We could be fighting for the young men and women all across this country who dream big dreams but aren't getting the kind of education they need to reach for those dreams. For a fraction of what we're spending each year in Iraq, we could be giving our teachers more pay and more support, rebuilding our crumbling schools, and offering a tax credit to put a college degree within reach for anyone who wants one.

Instead of fighting this war, we could be fighting to rebuild our roads and bridges. I've proposed a fund that would do just that and generate nearly two million new jobs - many in the construction industry that's been hard hit by our housing crisis. And it would cost just six percent of what we spend each year in Iraq.

Instead of fighting this war, we could be freeing ourselves from the tyranny of oil, and saving this planet for our children. We could be investing in renewable sources of energy, and in clean coal technology, and creating up to 5 million new green jobs in the bargain, including new clean coal jobs. And we could be doing it all for the cost of less than a year and a half in Iraq.

These are the investments we could be making, all within the parameters of a more responsible and disciplined budget. This is the future we could be building. And that is why I will bring this war to an end when I'm President of the United States of America.

March 20, 2008, Charlston, WV

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

To the point of "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation" that assure world peace, Mr Obama insisted:

We need a President who can face the threats of the future, not keep grasping at the ideas of the past.

You don't defeat a terrorist network that operates in eighty countries by occupying Iraq. You don't protect Israel and deter Iran just by talking tough in Washington. You can't truly stand up for Georgia when you've strained our oldest alliances. If John McCain wants to follow George Bush with more tough talk and bad strategy, that is his choice - but it is not the change we need.

We are the party of Roosevelt. We are the party of Kennedy. So don't tell me that Democrats won't defend this country. Don't tell me that Democrats won't keep us safe. The Bush-McCain foreign policy has squandered the legacy that generations of Americans -- Democrats and Republicans - have built, and we are here to restore that legacy.

As Commander-in-Chief, I will never hesitate to defend this nation, but I will only send our troops into harm's way with a clear mission and a sacred commitment to give them the equipment they need in battle and the care and benefits they deserve when they come home.

I will end this war in Iraq responsibly, and finish the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. I will rebuild our military to meet future conflicts. But I will also renew the tough, direct diplomacy that can prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and curb Russian aggression. I will build new partnerships to defeat the threats of the 21st century: terrorism and nuclear proliferation; poverty and genocide; climate change and disease. And I will restore our moral standing, so that America is once again that last, best hope for all who are called to the cause of freedom, who long for lives of peace, and who yearn for a better future.

August 28, 2008, Democratic National Convention

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

That must be some good shit they grow in Norway.

You sure it wasn't something stronger?

- Jake

Friends come and go. Enemies accumulate.

text of remarks

I know that throughout history the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes.

And that is why I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century.

Now, these challenges can't be met by any one leader or any one nation. And that's why my administration's worked to establish a new era of engagement in which all nations must take responsibility for the world we seek....

I am the commander in chief of a country that's responsible for ending a war and working in another theater to confront a ruthless adversary that directly threatens the American people and our allies. I'm also aware that we are dealing with the impact of a global economic crisis that has left millions of Americans looking for work.

These are concerns that I confront every day on behalf of the American people.

Some of the work confronting us will not be completed during my presidency. Some, like the elimination of nuclear weapons, may not be completed in my lifetime.

But I know these challenges can be met, so long as it's recognized that they will not be met by one person or one nation alone.

This award is not simply about the efforts of my administration; it's about the courageous efforts of people around the world.

And that's why this award must be shared with everyone who strives for justice and dignity; for the young woman who marches silently in the streets on behalf of her right to be heard, even in the face of beatings and bullets; for the leader imprisoned in her own home because she refuses to abandon her commitment to democracy; for the soldier who sacrificed through tour after tour of duty on behalf of someone half a world away; and for all those men and women across the world who sacrifice their safety and their freedom and sometime their lives for the cause of peace.

That has always been the cause of America. That's why the world has always looked to America. And that's why I believe America will continue to lead.

Thank you very much.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

.

Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom ... great achievements!
L. Paul Bremer
General Tommy Franks
George Tenet
Alan Greenspan
Robert Kahn
General Richard B. Myers
William Safire
Natan Sharansky
General Peter Pace
Tony Blair

Perhaps you meant Medal of Honor recipients in the name U.S. Congress?

"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

'Sapere aude'

At least someone in the State Department has a sense of humour

"Certainly from our standpoint, this gives us a sense of momentum -- when the United States has accolades tossed its way, rather than shoes."