It turns out that our President won the Nobel Peace Prize this morning. I had been out of touch since yesterday and hadn't been near a computer, TV, or radio. I just found out this evening. Not shockingly it turns out that the right wingnuts went bat-shit over this. They told the President to reject the honor, to be ashamed of it, and said that it was a serious joke. A few people called it affirmative action at its worst. I can always trust the right wingers to bring race into ANY situation.
However, I have to admit that I was surprised at the reaction by some of the media elites who are constantly being accused by Republicans of being "Liberal." I shouldn't have been but I was. It reminded me of the self-hating, internalized racism that I have seen at play in some communities of color. I watched Jonathan Alter and David Corn fall all over themselves to apologize on behalf of the President. I have never heard the words "undeserved" and "premature" so much in a sentence.
Peter Beinart pulled out the hatchet and went after the Nobel prize like there was no tomorrow:
I like Barack Obama as much as the next liberal, but this is a farce. He’s done nothing to deserve the prize. Sure, he’s given some lovely speeches and launched some initiatives—on Iran, Israeli-Palestinian peace, climate change and nuclear disarmament—that might, if he’s really lucky and really good, make the world a more safe, more just, more peaceful world. But there’s absolutely no way to know if he’ll succeed, and by giving him the Nobel Prize as a kind of "atta boy," the Nobel Committee is actually just highlighting the gap that conservatives have long highlighted: between Obamamania as global hype and Obama's actual accomplishments.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/...
Wow this man needs to take a valium and check his internalized HATERISM at the door. Here's how he ends his piece:
Let’s hope Obama eventually deserves this award. And let’s hope the Nobel Committee’s decision meets with such a deafening chorus of chortles and jeers that it never does something this stupid again.
Amazingly Pathetic on Beinart's part.
Yet tonight, I watched Rachel Maddow express what I was feeling. I am damn proud that the Nobel committee selected my President for this honor. I am not embarassed by it and I sure as heck don't think that he needs to apologize for winning this honor.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...
Andrew Sullivan is one of the few who I thought struck the right tone today:
If any person has done more to advance some measure of calm, reason and peace in this troubled word lately, it's president Obama. I think the Cairo speech and the Wright speech alone merited this both bridging ancient rifts even while they remain, of course, deep and intractable. He has already done more to heal the open wound between the West and Islam than anyone else on the planet.
I'd just add one caveat: the American people who elected him deserve part of the credit too. Now he needs partners to help him.
On the other hand this statement from self-hating Michael Steele is exactly what is wrong with the country writ large:
WASHINGTON – Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele released the following statement today:
"The real question Americans are asking is, ‘What has President Obama actually accomplished?' It is unfortunate that the president's star power has outshined tireless advocates who have made real achievements working towards peace and human rights. One thing is certain – President Obama won't be receiving any awards from Americans for job creation, fiscal responsibility, or backing up rhetoric with concrete action."
Rachel Maddow did a wonderful job tonight piecing together what President Obama did during the campaign to highlight why it actually makes sense for this award to be bestowed upon him.
I hope that more progressives will feel a sense of ENTITLEMENT now about this award. I hope that folks will take credit for it. The Right has always had a "false" sense of confidence and exudes a sense of entitlement. Meanwhile, I watch David Corn and Jonathan Alter seemingly cowering in the face of a really great event today. It is shameful and a reflection of what I believe to be internalized haterism.
Commenter Soms has some of the greatest hits from so-called "friendly" people to Obama:
"I like Barack Obama as much as the next liberal, but this is a farce." – Peter Beinart
"This is ridiculous — embarrassing, even." – Ruth Marcus
"Nonetheless, the president seemed humbled by the news and the Norwegian committee packed for its trip to the United States, where it will appear on Dancing with the Stars." – Richard Cohen
"It is undeserved. It is a bit ridiculous." – Ezra Klein
"When I saw this morning’s top New York Times headline — "Barack Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize" — I had the same immediate reaction which I’m certain many others had: this was some kind of bizarre Onion gag that got accidentally transposed onto the wrong website, that it was just some sort of strange joke someone was playing." – Glen Greenwald
Eugene Robinson asks the question that I think many need to ask: "Why No Kudos for Obama?"
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/...