Obama wins the Nobel Peace Price

The Nobel Committee said he was awarded it for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples". The committee highlighted Mr Obama's efforts to strengthen international bodies and promote nuclear disarmament.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8298580.stm



"Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future," the committee said. "His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population."

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/10/09/nobel.peace.prize/index.html

Wow, this was completely unexpected but well deserved, if a bit early in his presidency, considering he has big decisions ahead, including some imminent ones on Afghanistan. But bravo.

I was no doubt as surprised as everyone else when I saw this on the new this morning. My congratulations to President Obama. I hope that this is not premature, that he is able to truly help bring about a new era of peace and understanding among the people of the world.

That was cute, about his daughters helping him keep things in perspective.

Although the cheeky side of me quite likes the fact that the Comittee's comment that Obama represented a clear “change in the international climate” was a swipe at George W, surely it's far too early to award such a huge prize to Obama?! A bit of a weird choice IMHO. But then the Nobel Peace Prize has always been a hard one to predict... Congrats to Obama anyway.

Yeah, I'm a little divided on this. Obama talks a good game when it comes to diplomacy, but I think this would have meant more if they'd nominated him at least a couple years into his presidency, after having more of an opportunity to see how he follows up on his avowed intentions. It's kind of like giving someone a best actor Oscar for a movie that hasn't been made yet--yes, they may very well deserve it, but how can you tell at that point?

~LCD

Agreed. While I acknowledge what was cited for giving him the Prize, I thought it a bit strange and perhaps somewhat disappointing (to a degree...I don't want to hear any attitude on that because I did in fact vote for him) to award it with what up until now has been mainly talk, not action. Hopefully this will propel the administration into future success.

Phantom on a Budget wrote:Agreed. While I acknowledge what was cited for giving him the Prize, I thought it a bit strange and perhaps somewhat disappointing (to a degree...I don't want to hear any attitude on that because I did in fact vote for him) to award it with what up until now has been mainly talk, not action. Hopefully this will propel the administration into future success.

I haven't been following the story very closely, but I think that's what I heard he viewed it as, something to live up to starting now.

But yeah, strange to give someone such a prestigious award when nothing's been accomplished yet. But I have faith, so I won't knock it.

R.