I'm a self-confessed Obama fan. The man remains a charismatic darling in my eyes, and despite the novelty of his blackness in the whiteness of the, uhm, White House having worn off, I still think - hope, wishes - that he will have a successful term as president, not least because, yes, I do wish the first black US president to be a success, a BLACK success story- there, I've said it :) BUT ... this is NO REASON for those, likeminded, like the Norwegian Nobel Committee, clearly, to get ahead of themselves.Obama has simply done NOTHING to justify the award of Nobel Peace Prize...by his own admission, too.
I just read through the Committee's text that briefly sets out its reasons, and it is patently unconcinving. It refers to Obama's amazing work on a number of fronts: 1) general multilateralism being restored, in particular the role of the UN; 2)great strides having been made, apparently, in reducing global nuclear armament; 3) the US's role in being a human rights beacon is being restored; 4) climate change leadership from the US being aMAzing; and - for kicks - 5) Obama being inspirational.
The only claim here that is true, at this point, is 5) - and even then only if you do not speak to Republican Americans :) The other reasons are a wish list, not reality.
1. The UN has yet to restore it's credibility. The day it is able to reign in countries like Iran or Zim more effectively, we can buy this claim. Security Council reform would help too.
2. Global nuclear disarmanent remains a goal only.
3. The US is not a human rights champion - *cough* Guantanamo *cough*
4. We need to wait until the Denmark negotiations to see if a decent replacement for Kyoto Protocol is found - and the US can start by NOT being one of the worst polluters: that would be leadership.
If this award is one intended to inspire Obama and the US to get to where the committee thinks they already are, then ok - but I'm not sure that should be the aim of the award, and if it is, let's be honest about the fact that it is an incentive, an encouragement and not so much a prize for achievements that are already on record.
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Exactly! Unless the Nobel Committee knows something we don't. So odd.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see a self-confessed Obama fan is equally shocked! He really can do WITHOUT the token accolades at this point..
ReplyDeleteWhen Christiane Amanpour proposed to Mugabe that he should stop insulting Desmond Tutu because the arch is a Nobel recepient, he shrugged her off and said..."oh come on"! And today i am doing the unthinkable and saying, "Oh come on"...the Nobel prize has never been cheapened so badly! Obama, likeable as he is, just simply should have never even been nominated so early in his life.
ReplyDeleteWhat we hear and see is all good and great vision statements...when he has achieved those goals, perhaps then they would consider nominating him!
Did you notice that he kept mentioning that he was suprised to be awarded such a prize, me thinks Obama himself knows that the award is a little undeserved. I keep thinking what if Biden was president and he said exactly the same things that Obama has been saying??would he have been given the award? I doubt it!