The Nobel President

President Barack Obama is this year's surprise winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. It was a surprise for me too when I woke up this morning and saw the news. It is unusual for world leaders to win this honor so early in their career without much of a political or social legacy to their credit.

OSLO — The Nobel Committee announced in Oslo that it has awarded the annual peace prize to Barack Obama, just nine months into his presidency, “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”

The award cited in particular Mr. Obama’s effort to reduce the world’s nuclear arsenal. “He has created a new international climate,” the committee said.

The announcement shocked people from Norway to the White House. “There has been no discussion, nothing at all,” said Rahm Emanuel, the president’s chief of staff, in a brief telephone interview.

Mr. Emanuel said that he had not yet spoken directly to the president. A senior administration official said in an e-mail message that his press secretary, Robert Gibbs Mr. Gibbs called the White House shortly before 6 a.m. and woke the president with the news.

The president was humbled to be selected by the committee,” the official said, without adding anything further.

The White House has made no official comment.

Well, the news must be particularly heartening for the president. What with things getting rather messy in Afghanistan, on health care and in Copenhagen, he must have been feeling beleaguered lately. Even Saturday Night Live has turned on him.

So, congratulations to President Obama for becoming a Nobelist. Hope this energizes him to go out and fight for the promises he made during the campaign. Otherwise, I feel like Glenn Greenwald is feeling - a bit skeptical.  

Comments

[D]

The argument against the award (that it was basically granted in lively anticipation of wonders to come) is overblown. The peace he worked between Prof. Gates and Sgt. Crowley is perfectly real and tangible.

[Ruchira]

Ha, ha. You are absolutely right, D. I forgot the Beer Summit!

I was thinking while doing some chores around the house that although the Nobel committee may have intended this to be a slap in Bush's face, the person who may be feeling most royally PO'd today is Bill Clinton. Within the past decade, the prize has gone to Carter, Gore and now to Obama. They left out William Jefferson Clinton despite his efforts in the mid-east, Ireland and his foundation work on behalf of global poverty. The man must be fuming!

[Sujatha]

I wonder whether Obama himself hit the nail on the head in suggesting that " Let me be clear: I do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments, but rather as an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations... And I know that throughout history, the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes. And that is why I will accept this award as a call to action -- a call for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century."
Seems like he is sceptical himself in some way, even if he doesn't say so outright "Me, Nobel prize, you must be kidding!"

[M]

i'm a little bitter towards the president, i was kind of hoping to win it this year. i haven't done anything. at all. i helped my neighber carry his couch up a flight of stairs a few months back. that was as close as i came to achieving world peace. but still. every time they announce that award, i cross my fingers.

[narayan]

Asvatthama is dead!
"When the words of untruth came out of Yudhishthira's mouth, the wheels of his chariot, which until then always stood and moved four inches above the ground and never touched it, at once came down and touched the earth. Yudhishthira, who till then had stood apart from the world so full of untruth, suddenly became of the earth, earthy. He too desired victory and slipped into the way of untruth, and so his chariot came down to the common road of mankind." Mahabharata, C. Rajagopalachari, 1986 ed.

I thought of this episode soon after learning of the award. I don't know about the four inches though - too precise, nicht wahr? Obama's efforts at bringing about World peace reminds me of a certain Eric Idle sketch too - the overenthusiastic primary school teacher. Like that character Obama could show us how to rid the world of cancer and merit a Nobel for medicine. I wonder if he'll have a second term at the rate he's going.