Barack Obama vs Nelson Mandela - both have Nobel Peace Prize!

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   grumpiornotposted 11 years ago

   I recently wrote a hub about Nelson Mandela and this got me to thinking - this venerable gentleman, who turns 94 on 18 July 2012, was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. The former South African president spent 67 years of his life fighting for the rights of humanity and social justice.
   
   Then in 2009, United States president Barack Obama was awarded the same prize, twelve days after he took office.
   
   Really?!
   
   Asked recently about something he failed to accomplish, Obama pointed to the very subject for which he was awarded the prize... the failure to achieve peace in the Middle East.
   
   I am not anti-Obama, I do not even live in the United States. But the news I read hardly puts him in the same light as Mandela, other than in the eyes of the Nobel Committee.

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      Quilligrapherposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Grumpi. Thanks for launching this thread.
      
      May I make one correction to your OP statement? The committee announced President Obama would be the recipient of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize in October 2009, nine months after he took office. Following the announcement, Geir Lundestad, Secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, explained why President Obama's creation of a new climate in international politics closely fulfils the statues of Alfred Nobel's will. (1)
      .
      The prize was awarded to the President in December 2009 "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has attached special importance to Obama's vision of and work for a world free from nuclear weapons."
      
      The President commented that the Nobel Prize had not just been used to honor specific achievements, but also to give momentum to a set of causes. He considered his Prize "a call to action".
      
      http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/ … peech.html

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         grumpiornotposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks for your further info. I understand the principle of a call to action and the effort to give momentum. My question though: Is that really the way to do it? Does that not detract from the prize given to a man who really deserves it - Mandela?
         On a lighter note, and following in the spirit of the Nobel prize given to Obama, I look forward to receiving an Oscar for the momentum we are giving to this thread

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   readytoescapeposted 11 years ago

   Mandela may have been worthy, but Obama? Just a slight rebuttal,
   <link snipped>

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      grumpiornotposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Enjoyed your hub - and I agree with the sentiment. Seems we're on the same page!

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