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Really? Already?
This entry was posted on 10/9/2009 8:43 AM and is filed under Obama.
So, apparently President Obama has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. I'm a bit confused.
Not that I don't think he's a nice guy, but as they even stated in the article, he'd been in office for 12 days when he was nominated. And the fact that he's been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in just over 8 months after he takes office seems extraordinarily fishy to me. I'm not saying he might not deserve it - there may be some special reason that I'm not aware of - but he's just starting his term; he hasn't even had a chance to give a State of the Union address yet, for crying out loud. Most people work their entire lives to get nominated for this.
And the reason for his nomination - his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples" - seems a bit weak. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the purpose of this to award people who've actually, I don't know, done something about problems in the world? Maybe next year, after he's had a chance to deal with international problems instead of just talking about them, then he might be qualified. But the fact is, he hasn't done anything other than talk about said problems; and in his defense, he's had a lot to deal with on the home front - the financial crisis, Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay, figuring out his actual position on things now that he's in office, etc. (And if you think that last one is a spiteful jab at him because I don't like him, ask people in the gay community how they feel about his change in position about gay marriage.)
Now, just to clarify: I like Obama. I don't think he's an ideal president, but let's face it - nobody who was nominated in 2008 was an ideal candidate. I would have preferred a libertarian president, but you take what you can realistically expect. I am glad Obama won over McCain, both because I didn't want Sarah Palin anywhere near the possibility of being President and because of the two I think Obama will be a bit softer on social issues. He's made some encouraging steps (vowing not to federally raid states that have medical marijuana laws, this spot-on tally, etc.), but he's also had his massive disappointments (not following through on his pledge to post bills on the Internet for 5 days prior to signing them, continuing the Bush administration's policy of indefinitely detaining "enemy combatants," etc.). And if I was able to give Bush a chance for the first year of his presidency, I can definitely do that for Obama as well.
The big problem I have is that this is a political statement, pure and simple. In the same vein (although in entirely the opposite direction) as giving Yassir Arafat the peace prize to snub Bush, I think the Nobel committee is making overtures toward an administration that they like, in essence saying, "We don't hate you like we did Bush, we'll work with you - here's a show of our trust in you." So while I really can't fault Obama for accepting it (since it's the Nobel committee's decision to play politics with their Peace Prize), I think it's a bit silly to be awarding it to the man this soon.
Oh, and while I was typing this I came across this, which sums it up beautifully. Well done, Mr. Balko.
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