Barack Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize

In a surprising announcement this morning by the Nobel Committee, President Obama was named the winner of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.  According to the committee, Obama was given this high honor for his, “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”

Already Republican leaders are criticizing Obama, saying he has yet to accomplish anything worthy of this prize.  A statement from the Republican National Committee this morning read:

“The real question Americans are asking is, ‘What has President Obama actually accomplished?  It is unfortunate that the president’s star power has outshined tireless advocates who have made real achievements working towards peace and human rights. One thing is certain — President Obama won’t be receiving any awards from Americans for job creation, fiscal responsibility, or backing up rhetoric with concrete action.”

While the criticism that President Obama, only nine months into his term, has yet to accomplish anything worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize may not be completely unfounded it is more important, in my opinion, to look at what this award can symbolize for our nation as a whole.  By bestowing this prize on the sitting President, the Nobel Committee has shown optimism and faith in what the United States can do to help promote peace worldwide.  Instead of launching attacks, now is a time to come together as one nation, and celebrate.

Read more as the story develops here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/10/world/10nobel.html?_r=1&hp

This entry was posted on Friday, October 9th, 2009 at 12:16 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

4 Responses to “Barack Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize”

  1. Molly Rivera says:
    October 9, 2009 at 1:27 pm

    That statement from the RNC is absolutely uncalled for. The President of the United States (yes he is the president for Republicans, too, RNC!) just won the Nobel Peace Prize. How about some respect? Some patriotism?

  2. Jamie Stark says:
    October 9, 2009 at 1:53 pm

    I know, Molly! Why can’t we be proud of an American winning such a prestigious award!? How on earth can anyone “criticize” Barack for something he did not lobby for, did not ask for, did not even know he was nominated for? That is ridiculous. He lobbied for the Olympics, and we did not get them, yet somehow he is facing more ridicule for winning a Nobel Peace Prize.

    Thanks for posting, Maggie.

  3. Bruce Bahrmasel says:
    October 10, 2009 at 12:40 am

    please remember that the president brought together, for the first time, a boston policeman and a black college professor for a chat over a beer

  4. Travis Serebin says:
    October 12, 2009 at 7:40 pm

    Amen! Any time a sitting American President receives the prize, it sends a message to our whole country that we should be proud of.