Jimmy Carter

Hallelujah! President Barack Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize!

Ronald 2 Comments

Surprising but exciting news just occurred less than two hours ago when Norway announced that President Obama has won the Nobel Peace Prize!

He was awarded the prize for promotion of diplomacy in the quest for world peace and his efforts to work toward the eventual elimination of nuclear weapons.

Obama is the fourth President to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Theodore Roosevelt won it in 1906 for negotiating the end of the Russo Japanese War. Woodrow Wilson won it in 1919 for involvement in the negotiating of the Versailles Treaty after World War 1, although ironically, the US Senate refused to ratify the treaty or membership in the League of Nations. Jimmy Carter won it in 2002, more than 20 years after leaving office, for his promotion of free and fair elections in many countries around the world and his general efforts for world peace and diplomacy.

Additionally, two Vice Presidents have won the Nobel Peace Prize. Charles Dawes, Vice President under Calvin Coolidge, won it in 1925 for negotiating the Dawes Plan, which lessened the debt burden on Weimar Germany that had been imposed on them by the Versailles Treaty. Al Gore won it out of office in 2007 for work on Global Warming and other environmental concerns.

This is a moment of rejoicing, but one wonders whether it will have any long range effects on diplomacy or domestic affairs. Also, it is certain that right wing talk show hosts and Fox will not see it as a plus or a victory for our nation, but rather as a negative in some fashion.

One thing is clear: We are in the midst of an historic Presidency, and I congratulate the President for this fantastic honor that has been bestowed upon him! 🙂

Three Former Presidents And Barack Obama

Ronald 2 Comments

Three former Presidents are in the news in relation to President Obama.

Former President Bill Clinton had lunch yesterday with Obama in New York City when Obama came to speak to Wall Street about the need for regulatory reform, on the anniversary of the financial collapse. They had been sitting next to each other at the Walter Cronkite Remembrance gathering last week in New York, but had not had time to have a private discussion. It is obvious that Bill Clinton is becoming closer to the new President, with the fact that his wife is playing a significant role as Secretary of State, as part of the equation.

Former President Jimmy Carter declared that Obama is facing such severe opposition and criticism, even on trivial matters, and with marches like the one last weekend in the capital, mostly because of his being African American. Carter said he is well aware of a high level of racism by many whites, South and also North, who simply cannot tolerate that a black man is President, and believe that no black man is qualified to be President. While every President has criticism and opposition, the attacks have become very venal, and it is sad for me to have to say that I agree with President Carter that the race issue is a major factor in the vehement attacks on Obama.

Former President George W. Bush now has been revealed to believe last year that Obama did not have a “clue” of what it is like to be President, an ironic statement for a man who came in ill prepared himself to be President, and who many believe is one of our worst Presidents ever. The only good thing that Bush had to say was that he thought Sarah Palin totally unqualified to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency, and he made it clear that he never felt comfortable with John McCain running for President, preferring former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney as his successor.

This has been a very interesting set of events, to see the interaction and relationships between the incumbent President and former Presidents. It is certain that we will be hearing much more on this whole subject in the future.