Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for what the committee called “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” This award given to Obama so early in his administration shocked me and I’m sure many people around the world were equally surprised as I was at the selection. Even Obama was surprised by the choice and said “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...” see the CNN.com article for more.
When compared to Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Teresa, Bishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela, the Obama resume seems short on sacrifice and accomplishment. But there aren’t many people alive or dead that can stand up to the amazing contributions of people like King. I’ll tell you, Obama showed a great deal of class in accepting it as “a call to action.” There is a lot to be done in the U.S. and around the world to improve the lives people and maybe Obama will have a major impact. He has however, done a lot to change the tone and perception of how America projects its power around the world, in the short time (9 months) that he has been in office. So lets see if the president’s critics can display some amount of class, congratulate him and move on to important matters of state.
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I agree with you on this, he does come short in many things but he does hold down his position well. Let see what happens next!
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