The Truth About Obama's Nobel Prize

Nobel Prize Committee Chair Thorbjørn Jagland is shamelessly seeking the spotlight.

Lene Johansen | October 13, 2009

(Page 3 of 3)

It is not the first time he makes bad judgment calls in foreign policy. While he was Secretary of State in 2001, he called the president of Gabon “Bongo from Kongo” on national television. The Norwegian version of the Onion, Opplysningskontoret, ran a story stating the Nobel Prize was awarded to Bongo from Brooklyn. There were 100 versions of this joke on Twitter on Friday.

Obama’s embarrassment was due to Jagland’s desire to reinstate his public image as a statesman. The most telling sign is probably a comment Jagland made in one of his post-announcement interview.

“It was exciting to meet the world press,” he said. “One of the most exciting things I have done.”

Lene Johansen is a Philadelphia-based freelance reporter. Her work can be found at http://www.lenejohansen.com.

Comments

|10.13.09 @ 6:17PM|#

"Yo, Obama, I'm real happy for you, and imma let you finish, but Michelle Obama deserved the Nobel Peace Prize!"

Kjetil|10.13.09 @ 6:27PM|#

Jagland, our very own Bush, is known for a couple of other quotes as well:
"I haven't said this before, but I'll gladly repeat it.

Three words - nothing wrong!

I dont usually look so much backwards, and neither so much forwards either.

Wages are like the period. It comes once a month, and lasts only a week."

|10.13.09 @ 6:28PM|#

"Jagland is the new leader of the Committee," he [Gerhard Helskog] said. "And Jagland, how should I put this... is a grand thinker."

"Grand Thinker" seems to be the newsspeak for "ass kisser."

|10.13.09 @ 7:48PM|#

I interpreted it in the Grand thinker-outside-the-box way that led Time Magazine to start nominating things like the Spotted Owl for Person of the Year. And we all know where that led.

Paul|10.13.09 @ 8:00PM|#

What's 'Time Magazine', and what's this 'person of the year' thing you're talking about?

|10.13.09 @ 8:32PM|#

You're quite right. Let us not speak of it again.

Fist of Etiquette|10.13.09 @ 6:41PM|#

Jagland is looking for a free coattails' ride, but it seems he misjudged which direction the owner is taking those coattails.

|10.13.09 @ 6:45PM|#

"Norway gained independence in 1905 and gained control over its own foreign policy. The Storting selects the Nobel Committee, but the tradition is to select emeritus members of the political community that are no longer in active politics. This seem to been changing with recent membership choices."

Recent. As in since last week recent? Why was nobody crowing about this before last week? (You know, as in the 100+ year span from 1905 to now.)

Racist!

|10.13.09 @ 6:50PM|#

People have been crowing about this since Kissinger and Arafat and Gore -- all white males -- won their awards.

jasno|10.13.09 @ 6:54PM|#

Kissinger and Arafat are white!?!?

And Gore is a male???

Paul|10.13.09 @ 7:54PM|#

I would classify Killing...erh, Kissinger as white. No way on the question of status for the other two.

|10.13.09 @ 9:39PM|#

If Gore is a male than MSNBC is full of shit.

hmm|10.13.09 @ 6:58PM|#

“They should be proud of a leader that shows such a good stance to the world, and who promotes the will of the world community the way he has done,” said Jagland.

Mr. Jagland can feel free to take President Obama and his promotion of the will of the world community back to Noreway and keep it. While he's at it he can shut the fuck up and just admit he strapped on the knee pads, crawled under the Resolute Desk, and made like Monica Lewinsky. I wonder if there is a bunad with a mess. (it doesn't have the same ring)

hmm|10.13.09 @ 6:59PM|#

Damn e ninja snuck into Norway.

|10.13.09 @ 7:00PM|#

Report: Unsafe abortions kill 70,000 annually

And in other news, unsafe executions kill 57,000 annually, while hundreds of thousands of steer die in unsafe slaughterhouses each year.

Paul|10.13.09 @ 7:52PM|#

Obama opened up world politics the way Brand and Gorbachev opened up east block politics,”

Wow, I like to make fun of the Nobel process, but the level of synicism here is breathtaking. So, like Gorbachev, Obama is giving "socialism a human face"?

MJ|10.13.09 @ 8:28PM|#

"And Jagland, how should I put this… is a grand thinker.”

That's what the excuse is when you cheapen a hundred plus year old legacy that's been entrusted to you?

In Norwegian "grand thinker" = "hack".

Polyester Mather DD|10.13.09 @ 9:05PM|#

I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than the committee's effrontery

Apologies are owed Ambassador Egas Moniz, President of the Delegation of Portugal to the Paris Peace Conference , who won his Nobel fair and square,

http://adamant.typepad.com/sei.....nship.html

|10.13.09 @ 9:08PM|#

The Norwegian version of the Onion, Opplysningskontoret

That is quite simply an awesome name.

JGR|10.13.09 @ 9:53PM|#

The question is whether you can pronounce it when you're drunk . . .or maybe, whether you must be drunk to pronounce it!

Rich|10.13.09 @ 9:51PM|#

Obviously the next Peace Prize should go to Thorbjørn Jagland, for giving momentum to a set of causes.

|10.13.09 @ 10:43PM|#

That would awesome

|10.13.09 @ 10:43PM|#

*be

JGR|10.13.09 @ 9:51PM|#

Obama said "I do not feel I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures that have been honoured by this prize, that have inspired me and the entire world in their courageous pursuit of peace."

There was no argument from any of the truly "transformative figures." Lech Walesa (who lit the cutting torch that Reagan used on the Iron Curtain) pointed out that Obama ". . .has no contribution so far.”

This award makes it official.

It is now the "IgNobel Prize for PC" . . .

Pingback| 10.14.09 @ 12:03AM

Random Thoughts » The Truth About Obama’s Nobel Prize links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…“One wonders if the Nobel Committee wanted to achieve the status provided by giving the Prize to the sitting American president,” said Nils Buthenschøn, president of the Human Rights Institute. Read More: October 13th, 2009 | Tags: Nobel Peace Prize, reason.com | Category: Awards | Leave a comment Leave a Reply Cancel   Name (required)   Mail (will not be published) (required)   Website…

Jb|10.14.09 @ 1:34AM|#

Alt-text should have been: douche.

|10.14.09 @ 1:42AM|#

At least 0's Grammy is for something he, uh, did...Hey, wait a second, did he win that award for reading something other than a teleprompter?

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|10.14.09 @ 10:07AM|#

"Eastern block"? Really? I know it's just on the interwebs, but there's got to be somebody over at Reason who knows the difference between "block" and "bloc" and can take ten minutes to proof-read articles before they're posted.

Pingback| 10.14.09 @ 1:40PM

Nobel chair uses Obama for personal publicity purposes | byline : lene johansen links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:

…Jagland, the new committee chair of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee, wanted to start his tenure with a splash. He had promised insiders a winner that would gain international recognition.” Read the rest of the story at Reason. Tags: Jagland, Nobel, Norway, Obama, USA Leave Comment You must be logged in to post a comment. Welcome to Lene’s World! Lene Johansen is a Philadelphia-based reporter. She writes…

|10.14.09 @ 1:48PM|#

where do you go to get those "o" with a line through them?

Tony|10.14.09 @ 4:09PM|#

I fail to see the downside for the U.S.

Any list containing the persons who have effected the most positive change in fraternity between nations in the past year would obviously include Obama. And all he had to do was be a normal decent human being and not a sadistic neocon who wants to crap all over the world just to prove we can. We should ask ourselves not what's wrong with Obama receiving the award, but what's wrong with the world that the standards are so low.

|10.15.09 @ 2:46AM|#

Gawd! Leave it to Tony the moron. What a POS.

Obey the Fist|10.17.09 @ 1:29AM|#

Is there any way for me to find older articles I've commented on? I need to cite the article, but I can't find it.

Vaelyn|10.19.09 @ 11:22AM|#

This just in: President Barack Obama has just won Miss Universe!

|10.28.09 @ 1:54AM|#

Obama is more qualified to win Miss Universe, so I won't begrudge her that title. Also, I would gladly support Margaret Thatcher for Mr Universe, out of political fairness, even though she is more deserving of that title than Obama is of Miss Universe.

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