To Prize or Not to Prize, Whether tis Nobel. . .

Barack Obama, winner of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize? I like President Obama. I voted for President Obama. Do I think he has yet to accomplish what he has set out to accomplish? No. Do I think he is smart and working hard to achieve the goals of his campaign? Yes. Should he accept the Nobel Peace Prize? No.

I struggle to understand the decision criteria used by the Nobel Foundation to make this award. There does not appear to be any clear qualifications for nomination and presentation. Alfred Nobel's will stated that the Peace Prize should be awarded "to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses." It is accepted that the Peace Prize can be awarded to persons or organizations "that are in the process of resolving a conflict or creating peace."

The announcement of his award stated "only very rarely has a person of the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future. . .his diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population." Is Obama getting the award because more nations "like America" now? Is it because Obama is a "rock star"? In which case, was Bono nominated?


The scientific and literary Nobel Prizes are usually awarded in retrospect after the achievement has been published, discovered, accomplished; sometimes decades after the accomplishment. The Peace Prize seems to be awarded for more recent or immediate achievements. Again, I struggle to understand the "achievement" for which Obama is being lauded.


Commentary has suggested "that to award a peace prize on the basis of unquantifiable contemporary opinion is unjust or possibly erroneous, especially as many of the judges cannot themselves be said to be impartial observers." A nomination requires "only support from one qualified person." The description of qualified nominators is broad, and detailed in the statutes of the Nobel Foundation.

We are engaged in war on two fronts; we have been "outed" for tortuous and inhuman treatment of prisoners; we just "bombed" the moon. I am not feeling the "love".

I have no suggestion for a more deserving candidate for the Prize. Let's remember that Ghandi was never awarded the Peace Prize and the year after his death, no Peace Prize was awarded. It was announced that "no living person met the qualifications for award."

Should Arizona State University have awarded Barack Obama an honorary degree? Yes. Should the Nobel Foundation award Barack Obama the Peace Prize? No.

Sorry Mr. President, I love ya, but think you have to pass the test before you get to go to the prom.