This morning, a humbled President Obama said he did not expect to wake up to the news that he won the Nobel Peace Prize. Maintaining that he did not feel that he deserved to be in the company of the transformative figures previously honored by the prize, Obama said he would accept it as "a call to action, a call for nations to confront the challenges of the 21st century."
The Nobel committee cited Obama's rare ability to have "captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future." The committee also strongly criticized Obama's predecessor, revealing that the award may have been a rebuke of President Bush.
But some aren't so convinced that Obama was deserving. RNC Chairman Michael Steele offered his opinion: "It is unfortunate that the president’s star power has outshined tireless advocates who have made real achievements working towards peace and human rights."
Bric's
Twenty8twelve
Schuh
I like Obama and I can see him doing something to deserve it in the future, however... I don't think he's really DONE anything that world-changing. I mean, he closed down Guantanamo, but I don't think that that's THAT big as far as the prize is concerned.
1I like Obama, and maybe someday he'll be worthy of this prize but right now.....I mean he hasn't had much time to achieve anything tangible, has he? I think this is premature. He's certainly not at the level of people who have won it in the past.
2What on earth has he done to deserve this? (yet?) Definitely premature.
3"I mean, he closed down Guantanamo"
Except that he didn't....
4OMG this is ridiculous. He must be embarrassed getting this award (not bc its the Nobel but bc he has done NOTHING to achieve such a high honor.) This is laughable and really dummies the award down significantly.
5I do feel sort of bad for him. Although he doesn't deserve the award, it's not like he gave it to himself.
6What a farce. This shows that the Nobel peace prize giving committee is an absolute joke.
7I agree with above comments.. this is an absolute JOKE
8This is silly. Even people that really LIKE Obama believe that this was undeserved. For one, I am glad that he really hasn't done anything--as I dislike many of his opinions--but that's just it: He hasn't done anything!
9If I were Obama, I'd be very disappointed. No one wants to win an honor like the Nobel Peace Prize when it ends up seeming like a watered-down sop. If I were a more paranoid person I'd suspect that they gave it to him to make him look foolish.
10Premature but congratulations to him all the same
11You can turn it down, right? I think he should turn it down with hopes that he'll get it in a few years
12Just a bit of food for thought...He's our first black president. Could it be that that, in it of itself, is deserving of a Nobel Peace Prize? It's a pretty amazing accomplishment in the face of a nation like ours...
13I dont think being a black person should result in a Nobel. I mean, my god, if that were the case I would lose all respect for the Nobel Committee. I highly doubt that ridiculous reason would be why he received the award.
14Anon 13: No, it's not deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize. By this logic then the United States as a whole country should be awarded the prize since it was the people who voted him into office. He didn't do anything to make himself black, he didn't choose his race, he didn't work towards being a black man to promote peace in the world.
15I'm not sure what he's done yet to deserve this, but I think it speaks volumes that the committee thinks he does. For the past 8 years, we were despised by the rest of the world. I'm relieved that we finally have a president that other nations respect and admire. Maybe action hasn't happened just yet, but getting along with other countries will make actions much easier. Premature? Yes. But I have more pride in my country now than I did with any previous president.
16Vanonymous - What has Obama done for other nations to respect?
(A genuine question, truly want to know answer)
17... and admire? I just don't get why? Is it because he has become sort of celebrity and its like well everyone else likes Obama so maybe I/we should too. I feel like Obama is a huge bandwagon...
18I love Obama - I voted for him and think that he's doing an admirable job despite many challenges. If he truly relied only on his "star power" he'd have accomplished a lot more by now, but he's going slow and steady and hopefully that will get things done by consensus, not might or force.
But I am also baffled by this Nobel thing. It's awesome that he's been one of the clearest voices finally speaking up for change in the world, but there has been little work done yet!
I am just hoping this ends up being a self-fulfilling prophecy - he's got the prize now he has to work extra hard to prove it wasn't awarded in error.
19What baffles me the most is that Obama was nominated for this award just days after he took over in office. The deadline for nomination submissions is February 1st of the year of voting.
20http://nobelprize.org/nomination/peace/process.html
So if you don't think he's done anything up to date, he certainly hadn't done anything by February 1, 2009!
And for the record, staple salad, Guantanamo Bay is still very much a functioning base.
I heard this on the radio this morning and I thought wtf? I like Obama and everything, but really, if there wasn't someone else more deserving of this, the world is in trouble.
21Absolutely undeserved. I believe he got this award solely for being something new and different, and that since the United States has a bi-racial president the world will be changed. Honestly, I think that notion is absurd to begin with. Our country will remain the same so long as the people in the country remain the same. He may have inspired people who are bi-racial or black to go out and seek presidency and be proud of who they are -- but he has done nothing worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize. I truly do like Obama, and in a few years time if he does some fantastic things, then he may be deserving. For now, I think people got way too excited and way ahead of themselves.
22I personally think Obama is most likely UNhappy with this award. Talk about pressure. So far he has been promising, promising, promising... where is the action? Especially Nobel Prize worthy action?
23@ #16: I couldn't agree with you more!
My first thought when I saw this was how proud I was that my country again has a president that other countries respect. President Obama inspired an entire nation during one of the worst times in recent history. He got an entire country to choose hope over fear. He has always taken the road of peace, kindness, and logic. He inherited a HUGE mess when he took over the presidency. Since being in office the unemployment rate has dropped, the stimulus he put into effect has created more jobs, he has met with multiple world leaders that the Bush administration wouldn't give the time of day, he has been an advocate for the environment, and he is making universal health care a priority. He might not have cured cancer, but I think what he has accomplished in the past year is pretty remarkable. I hope this will motivate him to fight harder for the positive changes he promised during his campaign. Congratulations to President Obama and his family, and to our country for such a wonderful honor!
24He should have declined it
25Unquestionably premature. Apparently he had been President a whole 10 days when the deadline happened. Granted his political career before being Prez could have been taken into account, but that still seems like it wouldn't be near enough.
26Definitely premature.
27Absolutely, definitely, without a doubt 100% premature. Awarding the prize to him at this point in time has turned the whole thing into a joke.
28Beyond premature. I'm in the middle when it comes to politics but all the praise this man is getting for doing nothing so far is appalling. Yes the president before him was terrible but that doesn't mean that he's great. So far in office he has done nothing to deserve the widespread praise he receives.
29I voted for him, but this is premature, no question.
If I was him, I would be embarrassed. Having an idea does not make you worthy...it is accomplishment that should be rewarded.
30Even next year, they could legitimately be counting his appeals to the UN on denuclearization... but this year, all that happened after the nomination deadline! It's so premature, it makes a mockery of the process.
I wish he would turn it down.
31It sucks that our last president damaged America's relations with the world so much that when the current president just does his job he gets a prize!
32Kimbo - What about Rush Limbaugh saying, "We all agree with the Taliban and Iran"?
What about RedState's Erick Erickson saying he won the prize because of affirmative action?
I have many, many more.
33Haters are going to hate. So what if he does or doesn't deserve it. Can we be happy for the man??? Good grief!
34Plus, Obama has been in the game longer than just 2008/2009. He's done alot in his community over the last decade http://www.biography.com/articles/Barack-Obama-12782369. Maybe they are taking that into consideration. I just don't know why everyone has so many negative and bad things to say about this man. Why don't we get started on the Bush character. He has given us plenty of reason as to why we should speak negatively of him!
35I like Obama, and I voted for him. That being said, I was surprised as heck when I found out that he won the Nobel Peace Prize. I mean...like others have said, the nominations were due barely two WEEKS after he was sworn in! In the future, yes, I think he would have done enough to be more deserving, but right now, I think it's pretty premature.
36I understand the argument that he hasn't done anything yet. However, they are not awarding him the peace prize for being president and doing presidential things. He is being awarded the peace prize for his international efforts in uniting the world. His mere presence as an opponent to everything that George Bush did to divide the world is what he is being praised for. He has made the efforts through visits and talks to re-unite the world after years of complete schism. This award is not because of his efforts in America but rather because he was such an influential part of the world culture based on his election. His election was celebrated around the world, and proved that Americans are smarter than we look, and we can elect greatness against adversity. That is what he is being awarded, and he deserves it.
37"His election was celebrated around the world, and proved that Americans are smarter than we look, and we can elect greatness against adversity."
...or maybe that we're suckers for flash over substance. Too soon to tell.
All this "the world loves Obama" and "he's uniting the world" talk strikes me as painfully Eurocentric, though. Pull back from there and the picture is far more mixed.
38I have to disagree. I am on a college campus and we had a presentation by a professor from China and he did an entire election of how celebrated the victory of Obama was. Trust me, the world celebrated. From France to China to remote regions of Africa. And anything is better than Bush, and that is not just my opinion. While in Italy, a German tourist told me that he loved Americans but hated our government. So logic and psychology states that it is human nature to love the antithesis of what you hate. Obama is a fresh breath of air to the world. Research it. Sure there are people who disagree with him and are sad to see him in office, but the vast majority are excited by his presidency.
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