Someone should go check Alfred Nobel’s grave and see if his bones are still rolling around from the news that broke early Friday morning. Seeing the prestigious awards he founded turned into a politicized stunt honoring people for what hopefully might happen would probably have upset him quite a bit.

President Obama only needed to be the POTUS for 10 days before he was nominated for the once impressive Nobel Peace Prize. He needed just 9 months in the White House to convince the committee he was worthy of an award that has honored such accomplished individuals as Nelson Mandela, Elie Wiesel, and Mother Theresa. So what exactly did he do to merit his name being mentioned in the same breadth?

One would assume most of the work that qualified him was done during the campaign. So was it for winning the election and uniting the country? Well, he certainly won the election but if he has united anyone lately, it’s the opposition. His election was not some sort of radical revolution or movement towards democratization, either. It was just a peaceful transfer of power from one party to the other, something entirely common in American history. Was it historically significant because of his racial background? Of course, but I’m sure he would refuse an award for simply that. And his campaigns against Hilary Clinton and John McCain weren’t exactly “peaceful.” His opponents attacked his lofty rhetoric pretty hard and he and his staff were never the type to hold fire.

So what was it? One Nobel Prize Committee member said it was because he has “changed the global mood.” The committee members also spoke of all the great initiatives President Obama has mentioned, but not accomplished, or even started. When asked why they didn’t they just wait until one of those initiatives actually had tangible results, they lamented that there was no way of knowing for sure that that day would come, but stated that award would surely help him get there. Imagine being declared valedictorian your freshmen year in the hope that you would get outstanding grades.

It’s obvious that Europe is quite happy with Obama, however. The Nobel Prize is a distinctly European-run institution, hence the not caring about Chinese dissidents and Iranian freedom Twitterers. In all honesty, Twitter probably had more to do with spreading freedom and peace this year than President Obama did. Not all Europeans are blind to this though. In the words of former Polish President and Nobel Peace Prize Winner Lech Walsea, “So soon? Too early. He has no contribution so far. He is only beginning to act.”

What’s more , the opinion of Americans on this is as close to united as
I have seen on any issue as of late. No Democrat, Obama supporter, or even Obama campaign staffer has tried to defend this to me. Ironically, even those who saw the Obama during the campaign as a false prophet of sorts have to admit this is not his fault. He did not ask for this and he looks a little embarrassed by it. Pundits are already yapping about how this will hurt him.

I think it won’t. I hope some of what he wants to accomplish on the global scale actually gets accomplished. But this issue shows that when you turn politics into a popularity contest, you might get a Prom King for a President.

Last 5 posts by Abel S. Delgado

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