Since everyone has so much to say about President Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize, I may as well have my say too.
From Wikipedia: “The Norwegian Nobel Committee (Norwegian: Den norske Nobelkomité) awards the Nobel Peace Prize each year. Its five members are appointed by the Norwegian Parliament and roughly represent the political makeup of that body.”
The members of the committee don’t discuss who has or has not been nominated for Nobel prizes, and they deliberate in secret. They don’t consult, nor are they answerable to, public opinion . . . and rightly so, otherwise Michael Jackson, Lisa Simpson, and Princess Diana would be Nobel Laureates too.
American conservatives and media gasbags have been trashing the Nobel Committee ever since it awarded one to Al Gore. There’s nothing new about their reaction to Obama’s Nobel.
The most informed, intelligent comment on Obama’s Nobel I’ve seen to date was written by Abi Sutherland at Making Light:
Personally, I think this comes a little early. The last sitting President to win it, Woodrow Wilson, founded the League of Nations. Obama has yet to do anything of that magnitude.
But I reckon it serves as incentive as well as reward, and it gives him leverage in certain circles.
And that sounds about right to me. George W. Bush and Dick Cheney didn’t value international cooperation or the enormous reservoir of good will people around the world held for the USA. By the end of their administration our ability to lead other nations for the good of all was seriously disabled. Obama’s winning it back, and the Nobel Prize can only help.
I think it’s something we should take pride in.