The critics who have feasted loudly on scorn since Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize make the point that this is not an encouragement award. The Peace Prize should mark substantial, actual achievement in the cause of peace. On any measure it is hard to see how Obama, whatever his promise, whatever the glimmering vision laid out in his magisterial rhetoric, is yet to match the prospect with the fact.
His greatest achievement to date is to be elected, with all that that implied and represented. On every other key issue that besets his administration and the planet, he is a work in progress. He hasn’t dropped the ball, but neither has he kicked a goal, not in war, nor climate change nor health care. It could be that in accepting this premature award he has marked a notable first in the course of his presidency: the first great mistake.
I think his great achievement was to defeat Mrs Clinton. That he promised change from the Clinton and Bush people and then hired them all once he had the nomination is what I would call his first mistake. As with all post Blair left leaders he promises/says one thing and delivers a somewhat watery version of it.
‘There will be no GST under the term on this Liberal Government’
‘It was a non-core promise’
And on and on it drones. All politicians do it and as every politician knows, all politics is local politics.
Does anybody really care about this?
Obama deserve peace prize? Well if you compare hime to Bush(father AND son) and Reagan,he deserves a sainthood,as well!
Yes he did deserve the choice, because as far as global impact he surpasses many wonderful campaigners who have suffered greatly for their cause already in Zimbabwe and Afghanistan etc.
He won the election as a known anti Iraq war candidate for many years. That’s squarely about peace. He has reversed Bushism where it counts – the 1 billion size Muslim world by talking first, while still carrying a big stick. Bush like a child only knew how to fight, not listen, or negotiate.
He is pursuing nuclear disarmament – orthodox peace agenda, but with the twist that it might, just might neutralise the fear and loathing between Israel and Iran which are likely to be nuclear weapon states on the same block one day unless something changes … which draws in China, USA and thus the whole world, what a disaster.
And the fact Obama himself doesn’t feel worthy, and that it’s inconvenient to his own domestic politics, because he ‘hasn’t been there long enough’ etc. Well it really doesn’t matter what he thinks if he is in reality an unprecedented symbol of change. Why indeed would he particularly know precisely how he is viewed external to his own brain and eyeballs. He will just have to cop this Nobel Committee analysis just like all the other new roads represented by his very existence, and because that’s the gracious thing to do.
For instance he didn’t run as ‘the Black candidate’ rather the Democrat candidate, but 13% of USA being Afro American sure projected that on him, and he has to negotiate that too. Suck it up POTUS. You are the peace president for the globe, for just being yourself, win or lose.