It's an Obamanation, but what else is new?

It's an Obamanation, but what else is new? This was my first thought after reading the article Nobel Peace Joke posted by TexasRainmaker on his/her political blog. This unknown author's sarcastic article cut straight to the superficial heart of everything that is wrong with politics and society today. Say it and it must be true; write it and we will know it is true; the rich get richer; it is normal to get something for nothing; promises are made to be broken; it's not what you know, it's who you know (or who knows you) that counts. Any reader, whether they have a political opinion or not, can relate to the topic of this article. As President Obama and his supporters try not to excessively celebrate his newly awarded Nobel Peace Prize, his critics are trumpeting their outrage. Maybe, it is time to grow up!

President Barack Obama won a Nobel Peace Prize, and considering he was nominated for the award after being in office only 12 days, there isn't much chance he did anything substantive to earn the award. TexasRainmaker wins the first point of this debate.

According to the article, the Nobel Comittee explained their decision as follows:

Quote 1 – "President Barack Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize... to encourage his initiatives to reduce nuclear arms, ease tensions with the Muslim world and stress diplomacy and cooperation rather than unilateralism."

The author included this quote in the article, then continued to rant about the fact that President Obama hasn't done anything of substance to earn the award, and further guessed, "the committee was basing their decision on all the hopenchange messages he delivered on the campaign trail." If the Nobel Prize Committee were here, they would likely respond: Yes, this is correct (see quote 1 above), what's your point? With this obvious comeback, the Nobel Prize Committee ties the score in this debate at 1 point all.

Finally, in an act of desperation, TexasRainmaker took one more shot to discredit the prize by reminding us all that Yassar Arafat once won the peace prize, and Ghandi did not. TexasRainmaker, if this comment is true, it had wheels and you should have taken it out for a spin. Unfortunately, you did not, and based on the merits of the arguments presented, this debate ends tied 1 to 1 over a difference of opinion.

Did President Obama deserve this award? This is a matter of opinion, and it is the opinion of the Nobel Committee that counts. It is their award, and their endowment. If our President mounts his Nobel Prize on a shelf in the oval office, looks at it everyday to remind himself what he promised to the people of this country, and the world, uses it to encourage himself, and others to find peaceful solutions to their differences, and finds the ability to live up to his word, then the Nobel Committee just made a good decision. If not, maybe President Obama will feel obligated to leave the prize in the White House to remind future Presidents of what is left to be done. You never know what might happen.