“It [Obama's Nobel peace prize] would be like giving someone an Oscar in the hope that it would encourage them to make a decent motion picture.”

—  Christopher Hitchens

2009-10-12
Morning Joe
MSNBC, quoted in * 2009-10-12
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/12/christopher-hitchens-pans_n_317373.html
Christopher Hitchens Pans Obama's Nobel Prize
Huffington Post
Nicholas
Graham
2000s, 2009

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "It [Obama's Nobel peace prize] would be like giving someone an Oscar in the hope that it would encourage them to make a…" by Christopher Hitchens?
Christopher Hitchens photo
Christopher Hitchens 305
British American author and journalist 1949–2011

Related quotes

Trevor Noah photo

“Maybe we need to change who gets the Nobel Peace Prize, and when. Because so many people have won the prize and they've benefitted from all of its prestige, and then they've gone on to not be peaceful. Like, maybe we should only give the Nobel Peace Prize to people after their career is over and they've passed away, right? It's at the end. We can call it the "Rest in Peace Prize." Then we know you're not gonna surprise us, you're not gonna hurt anyone. Unless someone trips on your grave.”

Trevor Noah (1984) South African comedian

13 September 2017
The Daily Show
Source: Visiblee at 05:10, Violent Buddhists Target Muslims in Myanmar: The Daily Show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2Qq-RPYb_I, YouTube.com, 13 September 2017.

Steven Wright photo

“I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize.”

Steven Wright (1955) American actor and author
Martin Firrell photo

“It is perfectly reasonable to despair of a world where the Nobel Committee gives the Peace Prize to a man running a war.”

Martin Firrell (1963) British artist and activist

Quoted as work in progress at martinfirrell.com.

Nelson Mandela photo

“A man does not become a freedom fighter in the hope of winning awards, but when I was notified that I had won the 1993 Nobel peace prize jointly with Mr. F. W. de Klerk, I was deeply moved. The Nobel Peace Prize had a special meaning for me because of its involvement with South Africa… The award was a tribute to all South Africans, and especially to those who fought in the struggle; I would accept it on their behalf.”

Nelson Mandela (1918–2013) President of South Africa, anti-apartheid activist

1990s, Long Walk to Freedom (1995)

David Beasley photo

“I was out in the middle of Niger. And somebody just comes busting into our meeting, said, 'Nobel Peace Prize! Nobel Peace Prize!' And I'm like, "Well, yeah, wow, who won it?' And they're like, 'We did!' That was the greatest surprise in my life. And wow, wow, wow!”

David Beasley (1957) 113th Governor of South Carolina

Source: As quoted in Kate Hudson on being a World Food Programme ambassador, CBS News, (22 November 2020)

Bob Dylan photo

“If someone had ever told me that I had the slightest chance of winning the Nobel Prize, I would have to think that I'd have about the same odds as standing on the moon.”

Bob Dylan (1941) American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and artist

Nobel Banquet Speech

Joe Klein photo

“George W. Bush will surely deserve that woolliest of all peace prizes, the Nobel.”

Joe Klein (1946) American journalist

Look Who Has a Shot at the Nobel Peace Prize https://archive.is/20130630105822/www.time.com/time/columnist/klein/article/0,9565,1037629,00.html, March 13, 2005.

Gertrude B. Elion photo

“People ask me often (was) the Nobel Prize the thing you were aiming for all your life? And I say that would be crazy. Nobody would aim for a Nobel Prize because, if you didn’t get it, your whole life would be wasted. What we were aiming at was getting people well, and the satisfaction of that is much greater than any prize you can get.”

Gertrude B. Elion (1918–1999) American biochemist and pharmacologist

Gertrude Elion https://www.famousscientists.org/gertrude-b-elion/

Kofi Annan photo

“In a world filled with weapons of war and all too often words of war, the Nobel Committee has become a vital agent for peace. Sadly, a prize for peace is a rarity in this world. Most nations have monuments or memorials to war, bronze salutations to heroic battles, archways of triumph. But peace has no parade, no pantheon of victory.
What it does have is the Nobel Prize — a statement of hope and courage with unique resonance and authority.”

Kofi Annan (1938–2018) 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations

Nobel lecture (2001)
Context: In a world filled with weapons of war and all too often words of war, the Nobel Committee has become a vital agent for peace. Sadly, a prize for peace is a rarity in this world. Most nations have monuments or memorials to war, bronze salutations to heroic battles, archways of triumph. But peace has no parade, no pantheon of victory.
What it does have is the Nobel Prize — a statement of hope and courage with unique resonance and authority. Only by understanding and addressing the needs of individuals for peace, for dignity, and for security can we at the United Nations hope to live up to the honour conferred today, and fulfil the vision of our founders. This is the broad mission of peace that United Nations staff members carry out every day in every part of the world.

Tom Lehrer photo

“Political satire became obsolete when Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.”

Tom Lehrer (1928) American singer-songwriter and mathematician

On the awarding of the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize to Henry Kissinger, and Lê Ðức Thọ; one of his most quoted quips, it is often mentioned in articles and interviews, including "Stop clapping, this is serious" in Sydney Morning Herald (1 March 2003) http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/02/28/1046407753895.html

Related topics