Douthat, NY Times, thinks Obama should have said "No" to Nobel Peace Prize.

[kentuck]

If only the rest of the world believed like Douthat and the right-wingers in this country?
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http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/opinion/12douthat.html?ref=opinion

<snip>
People have argued that you can’t turn down a Nobel. Please. Of course you can. Obama is a gifted rhetorician with world-class speechwriters. All he would have needed was a simple, graceful statement emphasizing the impossibility of accepting such an honor during his first year in office, with America’s armed forces still deep in two unfinished wars.

Would the world have been offended? Well, to start with, the prize isn’t given out by an imaginary “world community.” It’s voted on and handed out by a committee of five obscure Norwegians. So turning it down would have been a slap in the face, yes, to Thorbjorn Jagland, Kaci Kullmann Five, Sissel Marie Ronbeck, Inger-Marie Ytterhorn and Agot Valle. But it wouldn’t have been a slap in the face to the Europeans or the Africans, to Moscow or Beijing, or to any other population or great power that an American president should fret about offending.

In any case, it will be far more offensive when Obama takes the stage in Oslo this November instead of Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe’s heroic opposition leader; or Thich Quang Do, the Buddhist monk and critic of Vietnam’s authoritarian regime; or Rebiya Kadeer, exiled from China for her labors on behalf of the oppressed Uighur minority; or anyone who has courted death this year protesting for democracy in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

True, Obama didn’t ask for this. It was obvious, from his halting delivery and slightly shamefaced air last Friday, that he wishes the Nobel committee hadn’t put him in this spot.

But he still wasn’t brave enough to tell it no.

............more

[babylonsister]

1. No surprise-he is a r/wer. nt

[TwilightGardener]

2. He accepted it on behalf of the country, and will donate the money to charity.

That was the classy thing to do.

[MineralMan]

3. Oh, I'm sure President Obama will take that suggestion under

advisement. The opinions of right-wing editorial writers are just that important to him.

[BeyondGeography]

4. It's an opportunity, Asshat

and it validates the paths he is taking internationally. Turning it down would call into question the quality of what he's doing. :think:

[Lasher]

5. This asshole is just repeating what he's heard in the wingnut echo chamber.

How the hell would he know what the rest of the world would think?

[ecstatic]

6. When Douthat gets awarded the Nobel prize, he can feel free to decline it

until then, he should refrain from telling other winners what to do.

[gratuitous]

9. Just what I was thinking

But then, I don't think Ross Douthat is in danger of winning any prestigious international awards any time soon. So he'll have plenty of time to devote to writing his speech declining the honor.

[Fumesucker]

7. Another gem from Douthat..

http://tbogg.firedoglake.com/2009/03/16/worst-penthouse-letter-to-the-editor-ever/

One successful foray ended on the guest bed of a high school friend's parents, with a girl who resembled a chunkier Reese Witherspoon drunkenly masticating my neck and cheeks. It had taken some time to reach this point--"Do most Harvard guys take so long to get what they want?" she had asked, pushing her tongue into my mouth. I wasn't sure what to say, but then I wasn't sure this was what I wanted. My throat was dry from too much vodka, and her breasts, spilling out of pink pajamas, threatened my ability to. I was supposed to be excited, but I was bored and somewhat disgusted with myself, with her, with the whole business... and then whatever residual enthusiasm I felt for the venture dissipated, with shocking speed, as she nibbled at my ear and whispered--"You know, I'm on the pill..."

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[GodlessBiker]

8. And piss off Norway?

[treestar]

10. Those five get to decide

End of story. This is not done by popular election, nor is Mr. Douthat to be consulted, that is not in Mr. Nobel's will.

These "journalists" have egos bigger than the Grand Canyon.

[Tippy]

11. Opinions are like A-s H--es...,Eveybody has one......n/t

[Jane Austin]

12. I think the NY Times

should have said "No" to Ross Douthat's employment application.