Word: awarded
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...decision had been made to give Rose Garden remarks by Obama, and shortly afterwards, news leaked out that Obama would agree to fly to Oslo to accept the award on Dec. 10. The task fell to Obama's two top speechwriters, Jon Favreau and Ben Rhodes, to craft Obama's words, which had to strike a delicate balance; they needed to both seize the moment, when the world would want to hear from him, while heading off the inevitable criticism that Obama was being rewarded prematurely, for rhetoric, not action. Not only did he say he was "surprised and deeply...
...matter how carefully chosen Obama's words were, nothing was going to disarm his critics. Shortly after 9:30 a.m., Michael Steele, the head of the Republican National Committee, struck the first blow, issuing a release that suggested Obama was undeserving of the award. "The real question Americans are asking is, 'What has President Obama actually accomplished?'" Steele said in the statement. "One thing is certain - President Obama won't be receiving any awards from Americans for job creation, fiscal responsibility, or backing up rhetoric with concrete action." (Read "Obama's Nobel: The Last Thing He Needs...
...such a prestigious prize, Obama did his best to deflect the honor. "Let me be clear," he said. "I do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments but rather as an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations ... This award must be shared with everyone who strives for justice and dignity...
...those close to him, wonder privately if fighting climate change is less a conviction for Arias than a vehicle back to the international accolades he enjoyed a quarter century ago. They point out that his conservation kick was greatly influenced by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore's Academy Award-winning documentary, An Inconvenient Truth., and wonder if Arias was motivated more by the message of the film, or the worldwide praise Gore received as a result of championing the cause...
President Barack Obama made time for a brief statement about his Nobel Peace Prize award on Friday, before heading in to a more pressing engagement - a high-powered White House strategy session on the next phase of his war in Afghanistan. That was just one indication that this year's peace prize was, as Obama himself put it, honoring aspiration rather than achievement...