President Obama and the Nobel Peace Prize?

President Obama and the Nobel Peace Prize? I must admit – I was almost dumbfounded.

Announcing the award, the Nobel committee said: “For his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples” and (Obama) “created a new climate in international politics.”

Frankly speaking I do really believe that Obama was pretty perplexed by the announcement and I am sure he didn’t lobby for the award. He said - he is "deeply humbled."

I am of the opinion that this decision was a bit premature. What has Obama done to earn a Nobel Peace Prize within his nine month of office? He has no concrete achievements. What’s more, there are facts speaking against the vision of peace in the world - what with a strong military presence of the US in Iraq and Afghanistan. Quite confusing isn’t it?

Is it enough to explain the Norwegian Nobel Committee treats this prize based only on good intentions as a kind of encouragement?

During a press conference Obama said that he felt he did not deserve to be among past Nobel Peace Prize winners. It doesn’t surprise me. Among others there were two other American presidents who were given the award: Theodore Roosevelt in 1906, for negotiating an end to a war between Russia and Japan, and Woodrow Wilson in 1919, for the Treaty of Versailles. Additionally we should mention other world leaders like Michail Gorbachev, who won for helping end the cold war, and Nelson Mandela, who sought an end to apartheid. As a Pole I am sorry I could not resist to drop a line about Lech Wałęsa (a Nobel Prize Awarded in 1983) an electrician at the shipyard in Gdansk in Poland. The Time magazine named him as one of the 100 most influential people of the past century. Let me cite them: “Lech Walesa's courage helped bring about the disintegration of the Eastern Bloc and the end of the Cold War”.

I must admit - an impressive list. But how you can explain that Joseph Stalin, the Secretary General of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1945 and 1948 for his efforts to end World War II? Well, The Norwegian Nobel Committee is not the United Nations. They are representatives of the estate of Alfred Nobel. They follow their own rules, which ones? I think it is a big secret.

Honeste speaking after the Obama nomination my first thought was – “poor guy”. This puts so much pressure on him. Now the whole world expects something extraordinary.
He has to struggle with the internal problems like the nation’s health care system in the US. As for the foreign affairs – Afghanistan, peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians then the extremely fragile situation in Iraq, North Korea with missile tests; Iran continues to enrich uranium... ufff long long list. I wouldn’t like to be on his place. How to cope with it? I do understand why he didn't look particularly happy during his press conference ;)

Then I was wondering for a moment if it might have been better for the president not to accept the prize. He couldn’t. He is bold enough and I think likes challenges, he sounds all the right notes for the future.

Show must go on. Let’s wait. I keep my fingers crossed.