Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize

The Nobel Committee awards its 2009 Nobel Peace Prize to President Obama "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples," the Norwegian Nobel Committee said, citing his outreach to the Muslim world and attempts to curb nuclear proliferation. The Washington Post adds:

"The announcement, less than nine months after Obama took office, sparked immediate questions from reporters in Oslo about whether the Nobel committee was acting prematurely in rewarding a world leader who has outlined a lofty and ambitious agenda but has not yet made many concrete steps toward realizing it.

But Thorbjoern Jagland, chairman of the five-member Nobel committee, said 'we have not given the prize for what may happen in the future. We are awarding Obama for what he has done in the past year. And we are hoping this may contribute a little bit for what he is trying to do.' In making the announcement, the committee said Obama has "created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play."

The New York Times adds the announcement was "so astonishing that the audience in the Norwegian capital of Oslo gasped."

The White House was not notified about the award prior to the 5am announcement and has little comment.

UPDATE: Right-wing commenters launch an attack. Red State's Eric Erickson calls it an "affirmative action quota."

Comments

[Mellovirgo89]

Wow!! What a huge honor! I'm happy for him.

[kayman]

And the countdown begins until the conservative and aversive racists come a beckoning for his head in 3, 2, 1...

[Bobby R]

I am going to relish this win today for President Obama. I will be back on the front lines for peace and change tomorrow to ensure that I am apart of the change and not just waiting on him to make all of the change alone.

[Honut SInti]

What a fantastic honor for our president!

[Osiris]

Great!

[Luther]

Wow, I hadn't heard this, good for Obama and the country, well those of us who are progressives and see it as a good thing. But, your last sentence shows that hate mongers, sorry GOP voting folks see it in a sick, negative light and with those outdated Reagan code words no less.

[CC]

May this remind him that the world is still watching and change must come - Kudos and congrats!

[Distant Lover]

Hooray for President Obama!
The Right as always are wrong!
Their heroes such as Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush will never be as universally revered as President Obama and will never receive such an honor. Just nine months into his term and only the second President in this country's history to win the Nobel Prize while still in office!
That ain't bad and the 'Conservatives' hate it! No matter how much mud they try to throw at this man it just slides off of him and hits the Right in their face!!!

[MRCHOCOLATE615]

Congrats Pres Obama

But oh lawd....The racists and the angry white gays are in full effect over at Towleroad and other places.

I must admit I was shocked and I saw his press conference and he was shocked as well.

[Kevjack]

I was shocked by this. But I think this is more of a slap to Bush than a kiss to Obama. As the Bishop said, Obama has a lot of potential in international relations, and they don't usually award the Nobel Peace Prize for potential, but for accomplishments.

[Nathan James]

President Obama joins Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson as only the third sitting President to become a Nobel Laureate. This high honor reaffirms Obama's accomplishments as a statesman and scholar dedicatyed to making our world a more peaceful, safer place in which to live.

President Obama's use of statecraft and diplomacy have prevailed on the Nobel Committee to make what the media is referring to as a "stunning" award, but I am not surprised at all. Congratulations, Mr. President!

[mjolnir202]

I just woke up, turned on my computer and almost fell out of my chair. I almost did a spit-take like on TV. WTF? I mean, he's only been president for 9 months.

Yeah, the right wing is going nuts and getting racial, but the wind blowing outside makes them do that. I can't imagine that the white house is actually happy about this. As if he didn't have enough pressure and enough terrible issues to face, now Obama has this hanging over his head. Oh, and an imminent decision to make on the Afghan WAR. Ugh!!

I know the world is glad to be rid of George W. Bush, but this almost seems like emotional blackmail. Every decision the administration makes for the next three years will be measured against the Nobel Prize. I were he, I would go to Oslo, give a great speech humbly thanking the committee for the honor, but declining it on the grounds that I would like to earn it through my accomplishments, not potential, while in office.

[soulbrotha]

mjolnir202, I understand your initial reaction. But you need to take a minute to understand what the Nobel Peace prize is and what it is not:

Myth: The prize is awarded to recognize efforts for peace, human rights and democracy only after they have proven successful.

Truth: More often, the prize is awarded to encourage those who receive it to see the effort through, sometimes at critical moments.

(Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ibu-kfROlVhexdt7vLCBR7KGa1gwD9B7CB282)

So yes, he most certainly deserves it.

[Nathan James]

@soulbrotha You are correct. When Dr. Martin Luther King won the Nobel Prize in the 1964, it was as much for his accomplishments to that date, as it was to show support for his nonviolent strategies of the Civil Rights movement, from the world community.

Nobel Prizes are often awarded for the works in progress, not the past accomplishments, of historical figures like President Obama.

[SouLKid]

Ok, i dont get it.Anyone who doesnt think Obama deserved the Prize is being racist?

I like Obama and i do believe he is gonna be a success but i also IMHO think there were more deserving people.

[Kool]

Still wondering exactly what accomplishment won Obama the Nobel Peace Prize. But hey, if somebody is giving out awards, why not take it.

[Nathan James]

The Peace Prize is unlike other Nobel Prizes. As @soulbrotha has pointed out, it is often awarded not for what the recipient HAS accomplished, but for things they are TRYING to accomplish. History bears this out, and I wonder why the "mainstream media" isn't saying this.

[kayman]

You guys should know by now that the "mainstream media" enjoys pedaling foolishness in form of racial and ideological bias so that they something to talk about. Otherwise, you see more journalists like Rachael Maddow debunking the lies on a regular.

[Diva1961]

This is the first president to try (at different points) to:

1) Really try to reach across party lines

2) Acknowledge the poor race relations in this country, by speaking about unfair police stoppings and other practices

3) Open lines to the Muslim world (which if Muslims are to blame for 9-11, why would you shut down lines of communication (Bush), then no one from that part of the world would speak on your behalf)

4) Open the lines of communication back up to the entire world, as well as the UN

5) See a health plan that has worked around the world and is trying to implement it here, so that more people, not less, would be covered. No plan is perfect, but this at least tries to include instead of exclude people. It's not Socialist to try to keep people from praying not to get sick because the insurance can end up taking their house if they do

6) Come into a huge financial mess when he took office, and is really trying to clean it up. The markets are stablizing because of what he has done, even though lots of people told him not to do what he did regarding bailouts and such. No one else had a plan, but only empty words.

Also, having an intelligent, well-spoken man of the world as leader of the free world doesn't hurt:-)

[Mead]

And hes done WHAT besides speeches?
How could they make this decision when he was only in office for two week?

Color me unimpressed. They gave Arafat one of these.

Oh and does this mean his inaction on gay rights or fumbling of health care has paid off?

YAWN

[MRCHOCOLATE615]

If that be the case MEAD

Then YOU do something.
You want full equality rights for gays then YOU do something.
You want better access to healthcare then YOU irritate your congressmen, and or women to pass it.

YOU DO IT NOT OBAMA!

Only YOU can bring forth real change!

Okay????

[TC]

Miss Chocolate and Mr Chocolate have a totally different reaction at Towleroad and Queerty. Perhaps because those audiences are more sophisticated, more upscale and dare I say ... not so biased toward Obama?

Just a thought...

[Derrick from Philly]

"Just a thought..."

Thought my pretty golden ass...more like a fart--meaningless and intrusive.

[mjolnir202]

Sorry, still not buying it. He is 9 months into his presidency and I don't see much on these fronts that we're supposed to believe the Nobel Institute is rewarding him for besides pretty speeches.

This is not to come down on the president. I don't think it's realistic to expect change overnight internationally with the current condition of the country.

Of course I understand that the Nobel Peace Prize is not handed out because a person has achieved peace, but it's usually handed out to someone who has been working tirelessly for YEARS on a humanitarian cause and YES, with something concrete to show for it. Sorry, Obama doesn't qualify and he said so himself. And, no, everyone who disagrees with this decision is not a racist or self-hating. Get a different script.

[MW09]

I'm was surprised that he won. I feel he will truly earn the prize later in life when he puts his strong and stern words into ACTION. Nevertheless I'm proud of him for receiving this incredible honor.