He's a hawk you fought to get elected. What he does is yours.

Pete, Alex above is the editor. Draw your own conclusions. The tag team of Blaze, Craffey and Nair will silence anyone who believes that someone successful is not evil as well. They believe that every successful person is evil without exception and the only logical cure for this is to ensure that no one becomes particularly successful. Unless, of course, it is one of the three of them. :)

The good news is that the far right wing agrees with the poster that this is an awful award to give Obama. If you have condemnations from the lunatic right and lunatic left you are probably governing well. They have cynically lost all hope in anyone having a good intention. This award is a reflection of the gravitas Obama has added to the important peace initiatives of nuclear disarmament, de emphasis of divisions based upon religion wherever they occur and the palpable sea change in engagement with other countries rather than pressure upon them.

The leftovers of the Bush years have to be cleaned up because a great nation lives up to her commitments. We could just leave and allow old problems to build all over again, but I suspect we will not do that.

Obama is giving the 1.4 mill to charity Mattilda. Sorry, I don't think you are on his list. ;)

Our policy is to take on bloggers, as people, and put up what they submit (though there have been a few, exceedingly rare exceptions). Robert Ganshorn, for all he writes below, used to be a contributor as well, and we never rejected any of his posts. He should understand that our standards aren't based on the quality of writing of each individual post.

Judging by the conversation started with this post, it was well-written enough for people to know what Mattilda was saying and to have an opinion and response. I personally don't see why you'd say this is poorly-written. Short and sweet, yes, but people don't have to write thousands of words all the time to be understood.

Mattilda has written many thought-provoking posts on Bilerico and is an accomplished writer, and this post is part of her larger body of work, as every post on this site is meant to be a part of a larger body of work.

You don't support the ballet. Matilda? What a lousy San Franciscan you make!

Since Obama has done nothing worthwhile for peace, maybe you can get a position as a messenger transporting Iranian enriched uranium from Iran to Russia and France, where it will be processed into medical isotopes that are unsuitable for weaponry. Obama helped get this arrangement put into place, and the Russians agreed to it after Obama found an alternative to building a new nuclear missile system in Eastern Europe --- in case you aren't up-to-date on reading the news --- and it's quite apparent that you aren't.

OCT-17-2009: Author Mark Danner was interviewed by Bill Moyers on PBS last night. He gave about the best clear-and-concise answer about the motivation of the Nobel Prize Committee as I have heard:

BILL MOYERS: So, for a moment, I mean, you've got a marvelous chapter here on the imagination, as it applies to politics and war. Use your own imagination for the moment, and try to get in the mindset of that group of nice Norwegians, peace-loving people, who are giving their shiny prize for peace to a man who's only been in office nine months. Who has no real accomplishments to his credit yet. And that's understandable, only nine months. What were they -- what message were they sending? Why did they do it?

MARK DANNER: I think they're thinking his eloquence, the vision he sets forth is so beautiful, and its beauty now is especially striking because of the darkness that it follows. And the great risk is that those aspirations will remain only aspirations. And we must do what we can do to ensure that they're not only set forth, but in some way, that they're embodied by true action. And our way of doing that is to confer this honor on him.

I think they perhaps didn't anticipate that it might have a controversial reaction within the United States. But I do think it's a clear expression of this enormous crevasse between the way he is viewed domestically in the United States and the way he's viewed internationally.

After an administration that worked unnecessary war and torture, causing the peace-loving world to fear that it had lost its strongest champion of high principles and human rights, Europe views the contrast between GWB and Obama as even more striking than we can. To them, the snakes have been driven out of Ireland and the Devil has been chained to a rock in the depths of his own Hell. The fact that they welcome this sea change in international policy with such an award should not be that much of a surprise.

Also in the interview Danner explains how "George W. Bush was an enormous gift to the jihadists" while Obama is a terrifying threat to the global terrorists. Why? Because his open, respectful approach toward the Muslim world has the power to dry up and cut off their constant supply of new jihadists.

Read the entire transcript and/or watch the video [here] on the PBS website.

And, Mattilda, I suggest you bring pen and paper and take notes ... or at least bring crayons and draw a few pictures.

Be careful, don't criticize the Norwegians. Brynn thinks it is the perfect society. All socialist and content.

I agree - I like how he said he doesn't deserve it yet. The committee said they were using the award to push him in the right direction. Maybe it'll work.

Hi Mattilda, Roger Moore's got my vote.

I hope you had a chance to go see capitalism. It's the first time I've ever seen a movie audience stand up and cheer. I was bowled over by that reaction.