Obama Wins Nobel (?!?)

In Surprise, Nobel Peace Prize to Obama for Diplomacy - NYTimes.com

This. Is. Ridiculous.

An analogy inspired by an old friend:

It's like getting kudos for winning "Biggest Loser." Before actually losing the weight. Based on promises to lose weight. And others hopes that the weight might be lost. But meanwhile, for the most part, the same old fast food is being consumed (if perhaps under different wrappers, and a medium fry instead of a large). And there is no real workout plan in place.

But really. What has he actually DONE? Oh, wait! Forgive me. He has done a couple things: continued to prosecute two unjust wars, causing the deaths and injury of thousands of innocents, and wasting billions that could actually be used for peaceful purposes.

Oh, and then there's Columbia: support for continued militarism. And the U.S. defense budget: INCREASES, and well beyond $600 billion a year (more than the next 16 or so countries, several times more than all of the potential enemies of the U.S. combined).

How about a list of what he hasn't done. Peace in the Middle East? No progress there. Iran? Rising tensions. North Korea? Nothing. Darfur? Still waiting. Nuclear weapons reduction? Only promises. Closing Guantanamo Bay? Broken promises. AIDS and global infection diseases? Hardly a word. World poverty? Silence. Torture and civil rights under the "war on terror"? Harmful and illegal policies continued.

Hope is not substance. This award historically has been for work, not simply words.

For instance, Jimmy Carter received it for negotiating a substantial peace treaty that still holds, and years of post-presidential works supporting democracy and peace. Woodrow Wilson spearheaded the birth of the League of Nations, the first real international organization dedicated to avoided war and promoting peace between countries.

There are also many other deserving nominees this year.

Gandhi never received one; one could be considered posthumously.

And Peace Prizes have not been awarded in some years for the lack of worthy candidates; better that than this.

This is all not to say that Obama can't reverse course, and actually perform accomplishments that are truly worthy of an honor for doing "the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses". However, the prestige and significance of the Noble Prize for Peace will be forever diminished by this undeserved, misplaced (and only potentially premature) award to Barack Obama.