Politics

The Quirkiest Takes on Obama's Nobel Prize

The Twitter-happy press enjoys riffing on some surprising news

By Benjamin Carlson
This article is from the archive of our partner .

President Obama tried to inject some lightness and humility into his speech accepting the Nobel Peace Prize. Reactions to the award have not been so quiet, humble, or even-keeled. But as the initial shock has worn off, the Twitter-happy press, pent up from weeks of heavy news on Afghanistan and health care, has begun to enjoy the opportunity to riff on some surprising news.

For a taste of more substantial thoughts about the prize, read here. For a sense of the slightly more mind-curdling, off-topic, or non-linear reactions, see below:

  • Jake Tapper: "Hold on there, tweeps, Elvis didnt deserve his Black Belt and i dont recall any of you complaining about THAT."
  • Baratunde Thurston: "In a surprise reversal the IOC has awarded the 2016 Olympics directly to Barack Obama."
  • Mark Knoller: "On CBS, they interrupted "The Price is Right" for the Obama statement. ("The Prize is _____" ... complete your own joke)"
  • Jeff Overstreet: "Oh well. Giving Obama a Nobel makes more sense than giving "Gladiator" or "American Beauty" Best Picture."
  • Glenn Beck: "Wow. Humbled. I just won Oscar 4 bst Pic on movie I 'hope 2 make'. Let it B a call 2 action 4 all those who wnt me 2 make movies."
  • Rush Limbaugh: "A greater embarrassment than losing the Olympics."
  • Mike Nizza: "The Nobels can launch a preemptive strike too. To paraphrase Bush, 'If we wait for peace to fully materialize, we will have waited too long'"
This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.
Benjamin Carlson is a Beijing correspondent for Agence France-Presse. He has written for Rolling Stone, the New Republic, and Esquire.