Nobel Peace Prize ? Obama ?

Don't misunderstand me. I voted for Barack Obama, and although I don't agree with every decision he's made, I'm still a big supporter. But I must admit that I was shocked when I learned he had won the Nobel Peace Prize.

I mean, he's been president for less than a year and really hasn't accomplished very much -- yet. We're still in the middle of two foreign wars that don't seem to be accomplishing much except to continue the killing of both soldiers and civilians. He still hasn't instituted rules to control the shenanigans of the financial world, and health care reform is still a mess.

Very little has been accomplished on the international scene either. Pirates are still operating out of Somalia, Honduras is still in crises, there are no Mid-East peace talks, Israel has ignored pleas to stop building on the West Bank, Iran and North Korea are going nuclear and the world-wide recession still drones on.

Jimmy Carter won because he engineered an amazing peace accord between Israel and Egypt. So what has President Obama done to warrant the prize? To figure that out, we have to listen to the words of the Nobel chairman and committee.

Chairman Thorbjoern Jagland said, "Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given it's people hope for a better future." The committee said Obama was honored "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."

I think I understand now. He got the award because he's not George Bush. Europe is so happy to be rid of George Bush and his cowboy mentality, they're willing to do almost anything!

For his part, at least President Obama is not bragging about the prize. Here's what he said:

"I am both surprised and deeply humbled by the decision of the Nobel Committee. Let me be clear: I do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments, but rather as an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations."

"To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who’ve been honored by this prize, men and women who’ve inspired me and inspired the entire world through their courageous pursuit of peace."

I don't have a problem with President Obama winning the Nobel Prize, but now he needs to get busy and earn it for real.