Intermarkets' Privacy Policy
Support


Donate to Ace of Spades HQ!


Contact
Ace:
aceofspadeshq at gee mail.com
Buck:
buck.throckmorton at protonmail.com
CBD:
cbd at cutjibnewsletter.com
joe mannix:
mannix2024 at proton.me
MisHum:
petmorons at gee mail.com
J.J. Sefton:
sefton at cutjibnewsletter.com


Recent Entries
Absent Friends
Bandersnatch 2024
GnuBreed 2024
Captain Hate 2023
moon_over_vermont 2023
westminsterdogshow 2023
Ann Wilson(Empire1) 2022
Dave In Texas 2022
Jesse in D.C. 2022
OregonMuse 2022
redc1c4 2021
Tami 2021
Chavez the Hugo 2020
Ibguy 2020
Rickl 2019
Joffen 2014
AoSHQ Writers Group
A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published. Contact OrangeEnt for info:
maildrop62 at proton dot me
Cutting The Cord And Email Security
Moron Meet-Ups






















« Mash-Up: Edsall vs. Halperin | Main | It's On: Write in Obama for the Heisman »
October 09, 2009

Liberal Terrorist: Peter Beinart, Obama Supporter, Calls Nobel Prize a Farce


More p-shops at Buzzfeed

In the sidebar, I'm collecting up "terrorists." Here's one that writes a long confession to his terrorist designs.

George W. Bush launched a “preemptive” war. Now the Nobel Committee is trying for “preemptive” peace. I had always thought the way these things worked was that you helped bring peace or democracy to some corner of the globe first, and then you won the Nobel Prize. But this year, the Nobel Committee has turned that logic around: It clearly likes what Obama is trying to do: on nuclear disarmament, climate change and Middle East peace—and so, in a “preemptive” strike, it’s giving him the award now, in hopes that doing so will boost his chances of success later. It’s an interesting idea....

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.

He says Obama will "survive" this award, but the Nobel committee might not.

Obama will survive the award, but this will be the most damaging blow to him yet. The floodgates open for talk-show jokes. The American public will begin thinking, "Can we maybe wait until he actually solves some problems before rushing to decorate him with Certificates of Participation and Badges of Effort? Is Barack Obama here to improve our lives, or we his?"

And they will also begin noticing Obama's outsized ego, and worrying about further feeding that bloated, dangerous monster.

A minor actor can be perfectly average but perfectly respectable in his averageness. No one usually begrudges an average person for being average.

But if that average actor wins the Academy Award, suddenly his inadequacy becomes the talk of the town. He was neither more or less average before the award -- but the bestowing of the undeserved award suddenly makes his quite-unobjectionable averageness a subject of sudden derision and his otherwise-unremarkable career the butt of a thousand jokes.

The Marisa Tomei comparison is already being made -- but Marisa Tomei actually earned her Oscar. It's not her fault that the Academy Award almost never rewards inspired comic performances, and so we're surprised when they finally see some comedic acting they think is worth noting.

And Marisa Tomei at least fulfilled the most basic requirement for receiving an Oscar -- she finished a project and did so to general accolades.

Obama has done none of that.

Barack Obama has done nothing to earn his many accolades -- his book deals, his law review editorship, his Senate seat, his presidency -- except simply exist.

Woody Allen observed that 80% of success was just showing up. For Barack Obama, that's 99.9%.

And this highlights the already-wide and quickly-expanding gulf between Obama's reach and his grasp, his reputation and his resume, his accolades and his accomplishments, his words and his deeds... and his hopes and his actual changes.

There has long been an elephant in the room, best ignored, at least best ignored for Obama's political sake.

The Nobel Prize committee has painted that elephant in hot-pink and gold-flake and thrown a ten thousand watt spotlight on it.

The elephant can no longer be ignored.

Obama will become a laughingstock because of this.

Is this his fault? Partly, sure. But not mostly his fault.

But then, neither it is the fault of a mediocre actor who awakes one day to the grim news he has been honored far beyond his abilities, and now will be ridiculed far beyond his culpability for that.


digg this
posted by Ace at 03:01 PM

| Access Comments




Recent Comments
[/i][/b]andycanuck (hovnC)[/s][/u]: "'Defund the police' advocate slammed for asking co ..."

NR Pax: "[i]11 The acquittals will continue until attitudes ..."

Bulg: "GOT is great! Praise Him with great praise. Amen ..."

Dr. T : "I will say, the election proved that even in NYC, ..."

Harry Paratestes: "72 Penny should move out of NYC, come to Texas, Fl ..."

Sponge - F*ck Cancer: "GoodNeighbor84 is a ignorant douchetool. ..."

Bertram Cabot, Jr.: " [i]Penny and anybody he loves needs to leave New ..."

vmom deport deport deport: "I will say, checking out reddit last week, despite ..."

Eromero: "Nobody else said it so I will. Would have been bet ..."

[/i][/b]andycanuck (hovnC)[/s][/u]: "Collin Rugg @CollinRugg 15m JUST IN: Jordan Neely ..."

Tracy: "Excellent Morning Rant, Buck! Texas shifting more ..."

Sebastian Melmoth: "There's some movie from the early 60s, Martin Shee ..."

Recent Entries
Search


Polls! Polls! Polls!
Frequently Asked Questions
The (Almost) Complete Paul Anka Integrity Kick
Top Top Tens
Greatest Hitjobs

The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon
A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates
Margaret Cho: Just Not Funny
More Margaret Cho Abuse
Margaret Cho: Still Not Funny
Iraqi Prisoner Claims He Was Raped... By Woman
Wonkette Announces "Morning Zoo" Format
John Kerry's "Plan" Causes Surrender of Moqtada al-Sadr's Militia
World Muslim Leaders Apologize for Nick Berg's Beheading
Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree
Milestone: Oliver Willis Posts 400th "Fake News Article" Referencing Britney Spears
Liberal Economists Rue a "New Decade of Greed"
Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility
Intelligence Officials Eye Blogs for Tips
They Done Found Us Out, Cletus: Intrepid Internet Detective Figures Out Our Master Plan
Shock: Josh Marshall Almost Mentions Sarin Discovery in Iraq
Leather-Clad Biker Freaks Terrorize Australian Town
When Clinton Was President, Torture Was Cool
What Wonkette Means When She Explains What Tina Brown Means
Wonkette's Stand-Up Act
Wankette HQ Gay-Rumors Du Jour
Here's What's Bugging Me: Goose and Slider
My Own Micah Wright Style Confession of Dishonesty
Outraged "Conservatives" React to the FMA
An On-Line Impression of Dennis Miller Having Sex with a Kodiak Bear
The Story the Rightwing Media Refuses to Report!
Our Lunch with David "Glengarry Glen Ross" Mamet
The House of Love: Paul Krugman
A Michael Moore Mystery (TM)
The Dowd-O-Matic!
Liberal Consistency and Other Myths
Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias
John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate
"Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long)
The Donkey ("The Raven" parody)
Powered by
Movable Type 2.64