Obama’s Peace Prize—For or Against?

October 9, 2009     Posted in Buzz, News

obama nobelWhen I heard this morning that Barack Obama had been awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, I was pretty much speechless.  I’m not entirely sure how to react to this announcement.


By Hillary

On one hand, I’m undeniably an Obama supporter—even if I don’t have a graphic tee with his face emblazoned on it like most of my friends do. I read Dreams from my Father, voted for him (twice), and watched the election results breathlessly last year while furiously checking FiveThirtyEight every ten seconds. I love his eloquence, his poise, and everything he represents: the return of intellectualism to the White House and the possibility of improved race relations across the country. Plus, he graduated from my alma mater, even if he hates talking about it. And his wife is pretty kickass.

On the other hand… when I saw this SNL sketch last week, I couldn’t laugh because I was too busy cringing. I agree with most of the points that the Saturday Night Live crew is making: Obama’s rhetoric has rarely been matched by decisive action. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are still dragging on, healthcare is still a mess, and the recession hasn’t exactly ended, despite what some media outlets are saying. (Also, the sketch itself was just horrifically unfunny. SNL kind of blows this season… but I digress.)

Other Nobel Peace Prize laureates—Martin Luther King, Jr., Mother Teresa, even Al Gore—achieved specific things that unarguably changed the world for the better before they got their awards. Obama, though, is almost more of a symbol than an actual agent of change—at least so far. If nothing else, this award seems incredibly premature. Why not wait until he’s at least been president for an entire term, after he’s actually had enough time to make good on his promises?

I’m also hesitant about congratulating Obama because this honor can only fuel the awful, hateful things that his enemies say about him. Republican pundits are already snidely responding to the award by calling it a “joke,” and I’m sure that crazy, right-wing internet commentators everywhere are also having a field day with it. The Nobel Committee has accidentally done something that will only widen the political gulf between red and blue by increasing the opposition to Obama, which will make it even more difficult for him to actually achieve any of his goals.

I wish I could be proud of my president right now, but there are just too many problems that come along with him getting the Peace Prize. At least I can count on him delivering a beautiful acceptance speech.

What do you think—does Obama deserve the Nobel?

28 Comments on "Obama’s Peace Prize—For or Against?"

  1. Casey says:
    Fri, 9th Oct 200910:23 am 

    Sure the man is the first black president, but he got there on promises that he has yet to live up too. He hasn't even been president for a year yet. He hasn't actually done ANYTHING. We still don't know yet if he's going to be a good president, or a really bad one. Honestly the guy hasn't really done anything. And he wasn't even around the senate long enough to make any changes there.

    I disagree with him getting awarded the prize NOW. In 4 years, IF he does anything, then depending on what he did maybe he should be awarded the prize, but that's like picking some doctor and saying "In 4 years he should get the Nobel Peace Prize because he MIGHT cure cancer." Obama MIGHT do something, but he also MIGHT just sit there for 4 years and do, literally, absolutely nothing.

  2. Dia says:
    Fri, 9th Oct 200910:56 am 

    Its just so random, he still has 3 years to prove himself, we cant criticize him until we see it all pan out, but the Nobel peace prize is Swedish so the swedes dont know what we know about what hes exactly done. The Nobel prize is: "to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses" they prolly think hes done all these. I wouldnt take it seriously.

  3. Ibrahim | ZenCollege says:
    Fri, 9th Oct 200911:28 am 

    I agree completely with your take on the situation. If the Nobel organization really thought Obama deserved it, they should have waited till he was out of presidency, this way it doesn't affect the future of his presidency.

  4. Ellen says:
    Fri, 9th Oct 200911:39 am 

    Dia – "but the Nobel peace prize is Swedish so the swedes dont know what we know about what hes exactly done". Are you kidding me? You do understand that just because you don't know anything about another country's politics, that doesn't mean they don't know anything about what happens in America. You get that concept, right? And you know, the Internet? Well it turns out it's not just a US thing. Crazy, right?

  5. Darwin - New York Un says:
    Fri, 9th Oct 200911:42 am 

    I guess pretty much everyone agrees that they jumped the gun….

  6. kirsten says:
    Fri, 9th Oct 200912:21 pm 

    I like the guy, and I support him as our president. However, he is a man of many promises and not so many actions…. so why did he win the Nobel Peace-Prize?

  7. Guy says:
    Fri, 9th Oct 200912:37 pm 

    What a joke. I just want to know if POTUS plans on paying taxes on that 1.4 million dollar cash prize. Me thinks no not really?

  8. Guy says:
    Fri, 9th Oct 200912:42 pm 

    Kirsten the only difference between promises and lies is that you actually have to beleive the person for it to be a promise. 52% of this nation chose the president like it was American Idol and this is what you deserve.

  9. Sara says:
    Fri, 9th Oct 200912:48 pm 

    I think he's completely deserving of it. He's the first African American President – that's huge and a big step for America.

    Besides that, I definitely don't think he's living up to everything he said he would do, yet. He hasn't been in office that long. He can't fix it all overnight. It did take a few years to get into this deep of a hole. He deserves a little bit of time and understanding while he's trying to get us out of a huge mess.

  10. Maggie says:
    Fri, 9th Oct 20091:01 pm 

    Mm, I understand why even supporters of Obama are a little hesistant to congratulate him for this award, but again, I think that it's important to emphasize that the Nobel Prize committee awarded him the Peace Prize more on the basis of his potential than his accomplishments.

  11. Darwin - New York Un says:
    Fri, 9th Oct 20091:06 pm 

    No offense Maggie, I'm pretty sure awards are for accomplishments, not potential. You get awarded for doing something, not when you're going to do something.

  12. Vicki says:
    Fri, 9th Oct 20091:28 pm 

    Personally, I think everyone is still so infatuated with Obama that they don't see that he still hasn't really accomplished anything yet. In all reality, it's hard for ANY president to accomplish the major things like Obama promised in the first 9 months of their term. That's why each term is 4 years; it's takes time to accomplish things, and Obama has yet to do that.

    I completely understand how big it was for our country to elect its first African-American president, but the fact alone that he's African-American is not a major accomplishment; after all, it's not like he chose to be born African-American.

    I have to say that this award was completely premature. I can sort of understand why Al Gore got it because of all his work on global warming, but Obama has yet to do anything of that magnitude.

  13. Kat says:
    Fri, 9th Oct 20092:43 pm 

    Yeah but he didnt win the peace prize for being black. He won it for his "promises" I think its a load of crap. He doesn't deserve it and he doesnt deserve to be president.

  14. Linda says:
    Fri, 9th Oct 20093:04 pm 

    Well—I don't think we can say that he doesn't DESERVE to be president. You may not agree with him being elected, but who are you (or who is anyone else) to say that he doesn't DESERVE it?

    That being said, I'd really like to hear the reasoning behind him being awarded a Nobel Peace Prize at this stage in his presidency…

  15. Random Interweb Pers says:
    Fri, 9th Oct 20093:05 pm 

    Just saying, he's only half black. That means he's also half white. It's not really a huge step for America. It's more like half a step.

    Anyway.

    While I support Obama, I agree that he hasn't exactly done anything yet. However, how much has one president ever really done in his first eight months in office? And is it his fault that the American public goes absolutely apeshit over him for no reason? Absolutely not.

    I don't think he's deserving of the prize. I think he has the potential to win the prize, but so do a lot of figures in our society. You can't give someone a prize based on what you think he or she MIGHT do.

    I have faith in Obama and I sincerely hope he does good things for this country. This prize controversy isn't going to contribute to the rising disdain for him, though. The public (not the man!) is only going to keep giving Americans leverage to hate him, I suppose.

  16. rlh says:
    Fri, 9th Oct 20093:11 pm 

    Look, I can understand why a lot of people think this is premature. I agree; I think it somewhat diminishes its value, and I think Obama would have appreciated it more if he was awarded it sometime later in his life. Now he's under even more pressure to live up to the award, especially since he runs a country thats currently at war.

    However, Casey, I don't understand how you can say "he hasn't actually done anything." Really?! I don't know what, if any, news you are reading/watching because the fact is, a lot of people actually think he's doing too much.

    Within days of being inaugurated,

    he ordered the closing of Guantanamo Bay,

    reversed the ban on federal funding to foreign abortion clinics,

    ordered plans to withdraw troops from Iraq, and

    overturned Bush's policy that limited embryonic stem cell research funding.

    He nominated the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice,

    signed a huge stimulus package,

    intervened to help the auto industry,

    has introduced plans for curbing greenhouse gas emissions,

    and has pressured Congress for healthcare reform.

    He's the first sitting US president to preside over a UN Security Council meeting, where his resolution to work towards nuclear disarmament was unanimously approved,

    and he has overturned plans for missile defense bases in Poland and Czech Republic.

    Even Iran is now offering to let the International Atomic Energy Agency inspect their secretive nuclear plant; I doubt that would have happened with Bush in office.

    He's only been in office barely nine months, and he's accomplished a lot. He's done the best he can right now for the economy, and healthcare is really up to Congress. Casey, we do know that he already is a GREAT president; not only has he done a lot here, but he has already completely changed the world's opinion of America. He is a man of many words AND many actions, Kirsten.

    And Dia, the Nobel Peace Prize is actually Norwegian.

  17. Mel says:
    Fri, 9th Oct 20095:33 pm 

    Okay so…. I'm split. I'm happy for him because he won the award, but I don't believe it was deserved. Kind of like how I support the troops, but I don't support the war.

    And just as completely random: I am sick of the race card. It's stupid. He is bi-/multi-racial, so it shouldn't even be debated. And what is wrong with everyone that they can't even support their own president? They may not like that he won, but if they want this country to improve, they have to have some level of support and not go against everything suggested! I mean seriously!

    Arg…. I'm gonna cut my rant short. ><

  18. kjdljadlksa says:
    Fri, 9th Oct 20096:53 pm 

    For all the people saying that its hypocritical that he received the award but is fighting to wars, its not like he entered these wars, he doesn't believe that Iraq is right and he's making plans to get us out.

  19. alina says:
    Fri, 9th Oct 20099:28 pm 

    Obama said it himself, he looks at the award as a call to action. Do you realize how far this will spread? Obama+nobel peace prize=front page/top news story any day. Obama is promoting peace on a global scale. Who cares whether or not he deserves it! Consider the effect this will have on people. Widely spread message of peace>giving someone a pat on the back, am I right?

    Big Time Muscle

  20. Jenna says:
    Fri, 9th Oct 20099:47 pm 

    I completely agree with rlh. To say that Obama has done absolutely nothing…really? Just because the world isn't suddenly and magically perfect doesn't mean he hasn't made some amazing strides. And no, those strides are not all related to him being viewed as black.

    And while I think the award is a little premature, it would have been nice if anyone here would have bothered looking up what the award was given for: diplomacy. Obama has made absolutely huge strides in international relations and has proved himself to be an amazing diplomat. Because of his abilities in this area, the rest of the world suddenly doesn't hate America as much as it has for the past decade or so. Bush pretty much spent his days finding new ways to piss off as many foreign leaders as possible, and Obama has repaired much of this damage.

    And to turn Dia's own words against her argument, "The Nobel prize is: 'to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations.'" Obama has certainly been a prime example of this for 2009, even if the award is premature, but it's not totally unsubstantiated. Furthermore, with all he's done in less than a year and how aggressively he has pursued legislative action in America and the UN, he's anything but spineless.

  21. Zoe says:
    Sat, 10th Oct 20091:38 am 

    People who I would have preferred to see get the prize

    1)Tony Blair – for work done in Palestine/Israel

    2)President Sarkozy – for relieving tensions between Russia/Georgia

    3)Dai Lai Lama – for advocating self-determination through integration rather than separation in Chiba/Tibet

    But realistically, Obama was always going to win a Peace Prize – it was just a matter of when

  22. Noel says:
    Mon, 12th Oct 20092:20 pm 

    Sara, are you serious? "I think he’s completely deserving of it. He’s the first African American President – that’s huge and a big step for America." Think before you speak, or else people like me will make fools out of people like you. What on Earth does him being the first African American President have to do with THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE?! Get real people.

  23. morgan says:
    Tue, 13th Oct 20094:40 am 

    i'm pretty sure only two other presidents have earned the Nobel Peace Prize and they actually did something, the idea that he won for "promises" or hypothetical situations is complete crap, i don't think he deserved it

  24. adrienne says:
    Tue, 13th Oct 20095:51 am 

    okay, Oprah. How did you swing this one?

  25. mollination says:
    Thu, 15th Oct 200911:49 am 

    I feel bad for Obama for the reasons listed at the end of the article. He didn't ask for this, and now he has to deal with the criticism/opposition.

  26. Lindsey says:
    Fri, 16th Oct 200912:41 pm 

    you shouldn’t give a nobel peace prize for promises.

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