12 DAYS TO NOBEL HISTORY; OBAMA'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS
John G. Winder , The Cypress Times
Published 10/10/2009 - 8:11 a.m. CST
Following a big fat poke in the eye by the International Olympic Committee Barack, Michelle and Oprah tucked tail and headed home for the U.S. to lick their wounds, run for cover from such a world-wide shunning, and await better days. Better days came along when President Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize this week.
Many people around the world, including Obama and his staff, were shocked by this announcement given the fact that the president has only been in office a mere nine months. The initial shock grew to outlandish dismay as it was learned that the nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize Obama won closed just 12 days into his presidency.
Obama is the third sitting U.S. President to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Woodrow Wilson received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919. Theodore Roosevelt, the first U.S. President to receive the award, took it in 1906. How do Barack Obama’s 12 full days of accomplishments compare to the accomplishments of Wilson and Roosevelt?
The Nobel people say Obama was given the Nobel Peace Prize (and its million dollar bounty) for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." “EXTRAORDINARY.”
Let’s dig deeper into Obama’s “extraordinary” efforts in his first 12 days in office since this was the time-frame for which he was nominated.
Time Magazine has put together a nifty interactive guide to Obama’s First 100 Days in Office. Examining Obama’s Nobel worthy work was not the original purpose of this interactive guide, but it certainly should serve to give us a picture into the president’s amazing, some might say “extraordinary,” efforts during those first 12 days…the Nobel days…if you prefer. So, we scoured the first 12 days to find that vaunted accomplishment, or who knows...set of accomplishments, worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize.
Day 1: Obama takes office. Makes speech. Millions swoon. Prez parties the night away. Michelle wears cool gowns.
Day 2: Down to business. It’s Nobel time. Obama’s appointees are grilled in the Senate for not paying their taxes. Obama holds orchestrated event to proclaim, “Transparency and rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency." – Obama. Note the “will be”. A promise made, not an actual accomplishment just yet.
Day 3: Obama holds big press conference, and with cameras rolling, and flash bulbs popping, he signs an executive order to close Gitmo; wags finger at Bush for being mean to terrorists. A very transparent event. Nine months later Gitmo remains open. What? I guess that was just a promise, too.
Day 4: In keeping with his day 2 “promise” of transparency, Obama signs an executive order allowing U.S. tax dollars to be used to fund abortions in foreign countries. No cameras, no press in attendance.
"Yesterday, President Obama issued Executive Orders banning the torture of terrorists, but today [he] signed an order that exports the torture of unborn children around the world." —Tony Perkins, Family Research Council president
Day 5: Obama goes on the stump, and on television to push the Stimulus warning, "In short, if we do not act boldly and swiftly, a bad situation could become dramatically worse."- Obama.
Billions of dollars will soon fly out of your pockets.
Day 6: Obama really doesn’t do anything. However, the mean old Republicans do cause him issues on this day.
John Boehner, the Republican’s House minority leader dares to go on TV (that there’s Obama territory) and say this about the stimulus, "I think a lot of Republicans will vote no, because they see this as a lot of wasteful Washington spending." “Wasteful” – pish-posh, Mr. Boehner.
At this point Time Magazine says, “Obama kicked off his presidency vowing to reach across the aisle, but the GOP isn't making it easy for him.” No bias there, right?
The deadline is drawing nigh. “Someone fill out that nomination form” – Nobel awaits.
Day 7: Obama goes on TV!!! Really! Obama on television! Al Arabyia! Sorry, what? You don’t get that channel. Obama appears on Al Arabyia in order to announce, "I have Muslim members of my family. I have lived in Muslim countries. My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy."
You see it is possible that Muslims, particularly those who practice Jihad, radical Islam, and belong to social groups like the Taliban and Al Qaeda, may have misinterpreted our bleeding and dying in the streets of New York beneath the landslide of the World Trade Center as hate, or animosity in some way. Thanks for clarifying Mr. President.
You get a sense that at this point the folks in Oslo are shining up that Nobel and checking the mail daily in breathless anticipation of the arrival of the official nomination.
Day 8: Obama visits Captiol Hill, an unusual move for a president. Many say he is reaching out to Republicans, ready to meet them halfway. Compromise and working together in unison for the greater good of the American people is finally at hand. Obama the promise maker, Obama the speechifier, is now making good on his promise to extend the olive branch across the aisle as he meets to discuss the stimulus package and billions upon billions of your tax dollars.
Obama offers this extension of bipartisan good will saying, "Feel free to whack me over the head because I probably will not compromise on that part." -- Obama.
Nobel worthy Bipartisanship?
Day 9: The Stimulus Bill Passes! The new transparent, bipartisan presidency can point to a great accomplishment and the fact that not one single Republican voted for the bill.
Never fear, it turns out that bipartisanship isn’t all that important (that promise was over 9 days ago, come on). "The most important number here for this recovery plan is how many jobs it produces, not how many votes it gets," says Rahm Emanuel, White House chief of staff
Unemployment has gone up steadily since passing the stimulus. So too have the savings account balances of AIG executives and others who received that much needed stimulus.
Day 10: Surely now we’re venturing into “Nobel Territory”. Speaking of AIG executives and others who pocketed stimulus money…reports are now public that Wall Street executives who are receiving stimulus help have stimulated their bank accounts with $20 BILLION dollars in personal bonuses. Obama calls it “shameful”.
Yes, Mr. President – it is shameful.
Day 11: Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill (Democrat) introduces a bill to cap compensation for employees of companies who receive stimulus dollars. This is akin to closing the barn doors once the horses are long gone, then burning down the barn.
Meanwhile, have no fear America, Joe Biden is here. President Obama appoints VP Joe Biden as the head of the middle-class task force. Yes, that’s the same “Middle-Class task” you’ve heard so much about. The Veep’s charge: To find ways to help you and I get through the economic crisis.
Surely, you’ve heard from the VP by now, right? He’s helped you out, right? Hello? Joe?
Day 12: D-Day. Or is it now known, Nobel Day. This is the day that someone signed the form, licked the stamp and got it off – in the nick of time – to Oslo. Obama is officially nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. So, what kind of day was it for Obama?
Obama trades in his Commander-In-Chief role for Jokester-In-Chief and cracks wise for the Annual D.C. Alfalfa Dinner. He told a great one about how, as president, he’s had to engage in “some of the toughest diplomacy of his life” in order to keep his Blackberry. Whoa! Good one Mr. President.
Meanwhile, Tom Daschle, Obama’s nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, runs into confirmation troubles when it is learned that he – oopsy – “forgot” to pay $128,000 in taxes.
There is the breakdown. Twelve incredible days filled to the brim with an overflow of hope, change, audacity, bipartisanship and dare we say, Nobel worthy promise.
WOW!
Here’s the problem; however, for this President. The Nobel Peace prize was given to him, not for any accomplishment. It was given to him for promise.
"Some people say — and I understand it — 'Isn't it premature? Too early?' Well, I'd say then that it could be too late to respond three years from now," Thorbjoern Jagland, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee
As we watch Obama govern, and stack his accomplishments up against his campaign promises, we seem to be finding more and more that Obama is the president who is perpetually full of promise. Barack Obama is proving to be not an accomplished president, but merely a president with potential.
Jagland is correct in saying that three years from now would be too late to award the Nobel to Obama, because three years from now all Obama will have to show for his presidency is one failure after another, and a pile of broken promises taller than the White House.
While mere words and cheap promises may be enough for Mr. Jagland and the Nobel committee, the people of the United States are looking for action. We’ve had enough hollow promises and talk from all politicians in general, and from Mr. Obama in particular.
Obama talked himself into the White House with little record of actual accomplishment, and his history of talk, not action, is continuing now nine months into his presidency.
The Nobel Prize, given now, merely serves to heighten attention for the fact that Obama has promised much and done little.
As for those other two guys; Wilson and Roosevelt, what did they do to get their Nobel Peace prizes?
Woodrow Wilson formed the League of Nations whose “goals included upholding the new found Rights of Man such as rights of non-whites, rights of women, rights of soldiers, disarmament, preventing war through collective security, settling disputes between countries through negotiation, diplomacy and improving global quality of life. The diplomatic philosophy behind the League represented a fundamental shift in thought from the preceding hundred years.” – Wikipedia.
While the League of Nations ultimately did not succeed as an organization, it did lead to the formation of the United Nations, and it did change the perception of diplomacy to this day.
Theodore Roosevelt headed up the mediation and negotiation of the “Treaty of Portsmouth” bringing an end to a war between Russia and Japan.
Slackers.
