Reader: George Bush getting a humanitarian award is as stupid as Obama's Nobel Peace Prize

School's out, but the University of Denver is very busy these days. It's hunting for a new mascot to replace Denver Boone, the once-official Disney character that was banned in 1998, brought back unofficially in 2008, and banished for good this year. And now it also has to come up...

By Patricia Calhoun

July 9, 2013

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School's out, but the University of Denver is very busy these days. It's hunting for a new mascot to replace Denver Boone, the once-official Disney character that was banned in 1998, brought back unofficially in 2008, and banished for good this year. And now it also has to come up with a new name for the award that DU is presenting to President George W. Bush when he delivers the keynote at the annual Korbel Dinner on September 9, after people protested honoring him for "Improving the Human Condition." Wrote one wag, "I clicked on this thinking it was the Onion cuz i saw George Bush and humanitarian in the same sentence."

And readers had more, much more to say -- with the inevitable comparison to Barack Obama coming up quickly. Says RevJeremy Charles:

Giving Bush an award for "Improving the Human Condition" would be just as stupid as giving Obama the Nobel Peace Prize. The only positive thing Bush did other than elongate Daylight Savings Time is to bring the majority of the world together in revolution.......(the latter being pure opinion).

What do you think of DU's initial decision to give Bush an award for "Improving the Human Condition"? What do you think of DU's subsequent decision to give him a different award instead?

For more memorable takes, visit our Comment of the Day archive.

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Patricia Calhoun is editor-in-chief of Westword, the alt-weekly she co-founded in September 1977. She’s been inducted into the Colorado Press Association Hall of Fame, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Hall of Fame and the Colorado Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. She’s also received dozens of local, state and national awards for writing, including first place for feature writing and first place for column writing with the Society of Professional Journalists. Patricia is a weekly commentator on Colorado Inside Out, PBS 12's public affairs roundtable, which has won two Emmys.

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