UPDATE: Obama walks what is a bit of a rhetorical tightrope in accepting this nomination, very well. His appropriately toned remarks are up at TPM. One kind of gets the feeling that he was as weirded out at the news as everyone else.
President Barack Obama made history again Friday, winning the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize for his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”
[…] This year’s Peace Prize nominees included 172 people — among them three Chinese dissidents, an Afghan activist and a controversial Colombian lawmaker — and 33 organizations, the highest number of nominations ever.
Seriously? How… weird. I’m not knocking it, it just is… weird.
On the one hand, I remember the decades it took Jimmy Carter to be honored after his historic and hugely impactful contributions. On the other hand I think of how many causes and activists – such as former Nobel Prize Winner Jody Williams and the international effort to ban land mines she speaks for – who deserve such an honor and whose cause could use the boost that Williams and the land mine effort received after her victory.
And on the third hand, I think of how self-evidently weird this award is and how it will open the door to yet another round of everyone from letters-to-the-editor-writers to TV pundits verbally beating the crap out of Obama for no apparent reason beyond either his political persuasion or as an expression of stealth racism.
And all three of those hands are scratching my head as I wonder WTF?
At any rate, congratulations are in order for our President – I hope. Weird as it all seems, it is awfully fun to think about the people who must be going nuts at this news (here’s looking at you Bibi…).
(And sure enough, conservative heads are exploding from coast to coast. Heh. This is turning into seriously big fun…)
It is a delicious early morning treat to listen to the morning cable news and hear the stunned reaction that Obama received this recognition even though he has not rid the world of nuclear weapons in his first nine months in office. I’m betting that we won’t hear a mention that he is no newcomer to nuclear nonproliferation. It was a hallmark of his short time in the Senate where he worked with Richard Lugar. First introduced in 2005 and enacted in 2007, the Lugar-Obama initiative provided long-denied funding for the destruction of conventional weapons stockpiles and the detection and interdiction of nuclear weapons and materials around the world. Recently his action as the first U. S. President to preside at a United Nations Security Council session and his use of that forum to renew his vision for a world free of nuclear weapons spoke louder than the words of many who will now criticize this recognition.
Of course, there is a great point to be made about what Obama stands for, for millions of people the world over. Likewise, there’s probably a piece (though the Nobel committee is denying it) of intervention into U.S. domestic politics here (“hey, this guy is on track- that last guy not so much”). Then there’s this quote, that a friend of mine posted as his status on Facebook:
The list of potential recipients each year always includes dozens of people who could make Mother Theresa look like a wanker, but the committee can only choose one person.
This time, they chose a President who has brought reason and sanity back to the international scene, dramatically lessening tensions worldwide, at a time when the raging financial collapse makes world political stability particularly precarious.
This is a GOOD thing, and is rightfully rewarded.
While not letting Obama off the hook regarding Afghanistan and Iraq, let’s also be careful not to let the Rovian trick of turning your opponent’s strengths into weaknesses allow us to discount the importance and potential impact of this award.
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P.S. Given the Nobel committee’s penchant toward political maneuvering, I’m guessing that it’s also a nudge, a hint, to perhaps end certain activities in the Persian Gulf.
P.P.S. Given that Obama receives dramatically more death threats each day than his predecessors, just for having the gall to be both black and not-republican, he literally puts his life on the line every day. The Secret Service will do their best to keep him safe, but there’s no such thing as a 100% guarantee on that kind of thing – a reality he must feel every time he steps outside of the White House.