Laura Echevarria

Obama’s Nobel Prize (?!)

I received a text yesterday telling me that Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. Of course, I responded to the sender with the question, “For what?”

I almost posted something on this blog immediately but decided to wait and really think about what I wanted to say. Sometimes, responding too fast is worse than not responding.

Nobel Prize nominations were due on February 1st of this year so the president was in office exactly two weeks. Now, aside from reversing Mexico City Policy which promotes abortion and not peace, I’m not sure of any other major undertaking he accomplished during that time.

Maybe he was awarded the prize because of his potential and for the encouraging speeches he has given but where is the value in that? The Nobel Prize is supposed to be prestigious and should go to those who have toiled to bring peace to countries or locales that are war-torn.

Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post voted for Obama but feels the same way. And she is right, Obama’s win just reinforces the perception that people love him just because he exists not for his accomplishments. The awarding of this prize seems to be as much a repudiation of Bush as an approval of Obama.

UPDATE: Ed Morrisey over at Hot Air comments on the DNC position that those in the GOP who criticize the awarding of the Nobel Prize to Obama are siding with terrorists.