Trumpeters from the Royal guard played during the ceremony at City Hall in Oslo today where President Barack Obama received the Nobel Prize for Peace. (Photo by Odd Andersen / AP)
by Mark Silva and updated again at 3 pm EST
Today, on the day that President Barack Obama accepted a Nobel Peace Prize which even the recipient acknowledges has arrived early in his presidency, reviews of his Nobel Lecture are certain to arrive swiftly as well.
We'll collect some here, starting with an interesting perspective: From Newt Gingrich, the former Republican House speaker who led a GOP takeover of Congress and has said that he will be assessing his own prospects for a presidential campaign in 2012.
Also arriving today is a decidedly different perspective: The staff of The Root, the online magazine which Harvard Prof. Henry Louis Gates Jr. edits.
"The brother can preach,'' The Root concludes today.
Guess who else liked it. Sarah Palin. Read on below.
"I thought the speech was actually very good,'' Gingrich said today, in an interview aired on The Takeaway, a national morning drive-time radio show from WNYC and Public Radio International. .
"He clearly understood that he had been given the prize prematurely,'' Gingrich said, "but he used it as an occasion to remind people, first of all, as he said: that there is evil in the world. I think having a liberal president who goes to Oslo on behalf of a peace prize and reminds the committee that they would not be free, they wouldn't be able to have a peace prize, without having force...
"I thought in some ways it's a very historic speech. And the President, I think, did a very good job of representing the role of America which has been that of -- at the risk of lives of young Americans -- creating the fabric of security within which you could have a Martin Luther King Jr. or you could have a Mahatma Gandhi."
On the question of the president's soaring rhetoric today and how that reconciles with the administration's policy choices, Gingrich said this:
"If you look, for example, at Afghanistan, he has followed up his statement about the importance of defeating evil with what had to be one of the hardest decisions of his presidency so far. And I think that in that sense, he's lived up to it.''
The Takeaway is a co-production of WNYC and PRI, in collaboration with the BBC, The New York Times and WGBH Boston, that airs on 50 stations.
Stay tuned, as they say. The winter sun may have set a long time ago in Oslo, but we will be taking note of further reviews of the president's Nobel Lecture as they arrive, here, at this link, in the Swamp.
.This is what the staff of The Root writes today:
"The brother can preach. U.S. President Barack Obama delivered another dazzling speech this morning as he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize, an award that many Americans say he doesn't deserve. In his far-reaching Nobel "lecture," as the speech is called, the President acknowledged the controversy and said he could not argue with those who said there were people more deserving. Compared to Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, and other past winners, he said, "My accomplishments are slight
"The brother can preach.
" U.S. President Barack Obama delivered another dazzling speech this morning as he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize, an award that many Americans say he doesn't deserve. In his far-reaching Nobel "lecture," as the speech is called, the President acknowledged the controversy and said he could not argue with those who said there were people more deserving.
"Compared to Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, and other past winners, he said, "My accomplishments are slight."
"The president's speech seemed to aim at a number of constituencies: Europeans reluctant to commit to the fight in Afghanistan, conservatives in his own country who have criticized his plan to shut down Guantanamo and adhere to the Geneva Conventions, and even his African-American base, which has stuck by him even as other Americans have become disillusioned.
"Obama took on the contradiction between the Peace Prize and his decision to send more troops to Afghanistan. "Make no mistake; evil does exist in the world," he declared before a capacity audience in the city hall of Oslo, Norway, " A non-violent movement would not have halted Hitler's armies."
"At the same time, the President repeatedly referred to Martin Luther King to John F. Kennedy and to Mahatma Gandhi in addressing the gap between the ideal of peace and harsh reality. "There will be times when nations - acting individually or in concert - will find the use of force not only necessary, but morally justified."
USA Today reports on this intelligence from the book-tour trail of the former governor of Alaska:
"Sarah Palin and President Obama don't agree on much, but last year's Republican vice presidential nominee just gave the president's defense of "just wars" a thumbs up in an interview with USA TODAY. In fact, she said that the president's address in Oslo, where he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize today, reminded her of what she wrote on the same subject in her hugely successful memoir, Going Rogue.''
"I liked what he said," Palin told USA Today in a telephone interview. "I talked too in my book about the fallen nature of man and why war is necessary at times." For Palin, that view strikes close to home: Her eldest son, 20-year-old Track, is an Army infantry member who recently returned from a tour of duty in Iraq. He's in Alaska right now, but still subject to further deployments.
"I'm on my knees more than ever praying for his safety along with all of his fellow troops," Palin said. "Of course, war is the last thing I believe any American wants to engage in, but it's necessary. We have to stop these terrorists."
Comments
Neut Getrich is peeved because they didn't call on him, as an honoree, only because of the stipend that goes along with the Prize. His campaign slogan is: Where's the Money!! I just hope his present wife isn't in hospital, for she could be subject to divorce papers, like one his of previous wives. You know Neut, he of great heart and compassion, not to mention, girth :-)
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, IL | December 10, 2009 10:42 AM
Don - you're way out of line and need some psychiatric help. Put down the pipe for a minute and get a grip on yourself.
The man is giving credit to your Messiah on several levels and you chastise him? You have to be one real bone head.
Posted by: springfield | December 10, 2009 11:04 AM
FROM NRO . . . HEY LOONY LIB BUSH-HATERS: "A Public Policy poll lists that an astounding 44 percent of those interviewed said they would now prefer George W. Bush to President Obama. "
OHHH MYYYYY!!!!
Today's Paradoxes [Victor Davis Hanson]
Various Norwegians are said to be miffed that Laureate Obama snubbed the traditional lunch with their King Harald. Are they surprised? Presidential bows these days are reserved for non-European royalty, whether the Japanese emperor or Saudi monarchs; Western kings and queens, whether Norwegian or British, get snubs as befitting various past European oppressions. (Did they ever really read Dreams From My Father?)
Very odd to see the outrage over the Washington Post's publication of Sarah Palin's dissent on climate change and Copenhagen. It is one thing to refute it, but quite another for her critics to allege that a former vice-presidential candidate should have no right to express her political views in a major daily. If one were to argue that someone should not be allowed to opine, then the Left should have turned their animus on the Guardian, who published Charles Booker's infamous 2004 "kill George Bush": op-ed (e.g., "On November 2, the entire civilised world will be praying, praying Bush loses. And Sod's law dictates he'll probably win, thereby disproving the existence of God once and for all. The world will endure four more years of idiocy, arrogance and unwarranted bloodshed, with no benevolent deity to watch over and save us. John Wilkes Booth, Lee Harvey Oswald, John Hinckley Jr. — where are you now that we need you?") I don't remember any of Palin's present critics saying much about that call for assassination.
The Trumanization of Bush? A Public Policy poll lists that an astounding 44 percent of those interviewed said they would now prefer George W. Bush to President Obama. Bush's post-9/11 security protocols kept us safe, Iraq will probably work, and his regrettable deficits and big spending proposals like No Child Left Behind and the prescription-drug benefit, in comparison to the ongoing $1.7 trillion deficts and the $9 trillion more slated to come in the next few years, make Bush seem almost fiscally sound. Maybe the public also sees Bush's post-presidential magnanimity quite in contrast with Obama's tawdry whines about the prior administration. In other words, I think Obama will have to drop "Bush did it" — since it seems to be creating nostalgia in comparison to the current alternative of bows, deficits, apologies, and Chicago cronyism — and far more still to come.
Posted by: Bobby Mobbie | December 10, 2009 12:10 PM
NOTHING TO SEE HERE FOLKS, MOVE ALONG. YOU'LL FORGET ABOUT IT BY NOV 2010 . . .
Dems to lift debt ceiling by $1.8 trillion, fear 2010 backlash
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1209/30417.html
Posted by: Bobby Mobbie | December 10, 2009 12:12 PM
IT'S THE DATA, DUMMY . . .
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2009/12/09/hockey-stick-observed-in-noaa-ice-core-data/
Posted by: Bobby Mobbie | December 10, 2009 12:14 PM
FOUNDER OF WEATHER CHANNEL SAYS THIS . . .
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http://wattsupwiththat.com/2009/12/10/john-coleman-on-the-six-legged-monster/
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MUST HAVE TIES TO BIG OIL, RIGHT? URRR NOT
Posted by: Bobby Mobbie | December 10, 2009 12:16 PM
IF YOU DON'T HAVE THE DATA YOU WANT, JUST MAKE UP SOME STUFF . . .
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http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jamesdelingpole/100019301/climategate-another-smoking-gun/
Posted by: Bobby Mobbie | December 10, 2009 12:23 PM
CLASSY!!!!
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http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/12/09/white-houses-acorn-cookies-surprises-republican-lawmaker/
Posted by: Bobby Mobbie | December 10, 2009 12:28 PM
BE CAREFUL OF THE COMPANY YOU KEEP . . .
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http://biggovernment.com/2009/12/10/fistgate-v-youth-fisting-instructor-claims-kevin-jennings-knew-about-class-content-in-advance/
Posted by: Bobby Mobbie | December 10, 2009 12:29 PM
MAYBE A PICTURE OF A POLAR BEAR CAN GET THINGS BACK ON TRACK . .
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Climategate distracts at Copenhagen
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http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1209/30406.html
Posted by: Bobby Mobbie | December 10, 2009 12:30 PM
Only in the Obama White House can a man with a history of handing out bar guides to teens be promoted to Safe Schools Czar.
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http://biggovernment.com/2009/12/09/fistgate-iv-obamas-safe-schools-czar-passed-out-gay-bar-guides-to-teens-at-glsen-events/
Posted by: Bobby Mobbie | December 10, 2009 12:31 PM
Must wait for Talking Points. Unable to respond to a Republican praising Muslim Obama. Don't know if I should attack Newt Ginrich or ignore his comments. I'm confident Hannity/Malkin/Limbaugh/Beck will guide me as to what to say.
Posted by: Can't talk now, I need my Talking Points | December 10, 2009 1:02 PM
Does the media thin its really viable for the president to turn the award down? Seriously? Stop acting like Obama had the power to decide to give the Nobel to himself.
http://www.political-buzz.com/
Posted by: matt | December 10, 2009 1:06 PM
Bush's post-9/11 security protocols kept us safe....
Posted by: Bobby Mobbie | December 10, 2009 12:10 PM
;
LOL, Bush's post 9/11 security protocols allowed a "secret Communist Muslim Terrorist Illegal Alien to con his way into the White House". Either Bush did not keep us safe or I demand you call every Birther an ignorant crackpot, using those words. And every time a Birther gets on this comment board I demand you immediately denounce, condemn, rebuke and distance yourself and your party from such persons or groups.
Posted by: janet | December 10, 2009 1:11 PM
CHILL JANET, CHILL
Posted by: Bobby Mobbie | December 10, 2009 2:54 PM
He deserve it
Posted by: Stephen | December 10, 2009 2:59 PM
CHILL JANET, CHILL
Posted by: Bobby Mobbie | December 10, 2009 2:54 PM
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Wuzzamatter, you can't call out Birthers? This must mean that you believe you can simultaneously claim President Bush kept America safe but he allowed a non-Natural Born citizen to run for and get elected the Commander-In-Chief.
Posted by: janet | December 10, 2009 3:15 PM
Congrats again Obama.
Posted by: Chrystal K. | December 10, 2009 6:54 PM
Keep up the great work President Obama!
Posted by: Bankruptcy Attorney | December 10, 2009 7:10 PM
What is with you, Don Fitz? A Republican former Speaker of the House praises a speech given by a president that you support unconditionally, and all that you can do is dredge up the Republican's ancient marital history and his belt size? You're getting closer and closer to going over the edge, and as springfield suggests, perhaps you should seek some help. If I were the moderator of this board, I wouldn't post most of your stuff.
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS. GIVE THEM THE NUMBERS AND SUPPORT THAT THEY NEED TO FINISH THE JOB, AND LEAVE THEM ALONE TO DO IT.
Posted by: DaveB | December 10, 2009 8:26 PM
Ya got that right, Newt.
For a change.
Actually, Newt is a smart enough politician to know there's no percentage in trying to demean the greatest political figure of the age.
Also remember: it's early enough that Obama could win another Nobel Prize.
Two others have: Marie Curie, Linus Pauling.
Posted by: ornery | December 11, 2009 12:16 AM