It is a shame the conservative right-wing media treated President Obama as if he’d committed some affront by being awarded a prize that he didn’t ask for. Their snarky put downs about it were an absolute farce of journalism.
No doubt the question is fodder for philosophical debate. Did he deserve it when the nomination took place two weeks after his inauguration? During his campaign, he spoke of foreign policy in a manner refreshingly different from the disaster that was the Bush administration. His intention was to engage with other countries in a mutually respectful manner. It seemed as though he was nominated as an aspirational prize, something the world expected him to live up to. He understood that. He also was not the first to receive such a prize.
I respectfully disagree with the author’s statement that Obama deserved the Peace Prize for having overcome cultural biases against his race and perceived struggle to overcome adversity. If one could receive the Nobel Peace Prize for living a hard-knock life, then almost every Afghan would win one after enduring decades of war and combined, the gold could back your currency and it would be the most stable in the world.
The world’s fascination with Obama certainly is justifiable in that a Western country elected an African-American leader. It is also unprecedented that a Western nation at war with two Islamic countries elect a president with an Islamic name, especially his middle name Hussein. If some Jews dislike him, they do it because he supports a two-state solution with the Palestinians. A two-state solution benefits the Jews more because is one of the biggest points of contention among the Arab states and Israel.
It is a shame the conservative right-wing media treated President Obama as if he’d committed some affront by being awarded a prize that he didn’t ask for. Their snarky put downs about it were an absolute farce of journalism.
No doubt the question is fodder for philosophical debate. Did he deserve it when the nomination took place two weeks after his inauguration? During his campaign, he spoke of foreign policy in a manner refreshingly different from the disaster that was the Bush administration. His intention was to engage with other countries in a mutually respectful manner. It seemed as though he was nominated as an aspirational prize, something the world expected him to live up to. He understood that. He also was not the first to receive such a prize.
I respectfully disagree with the author’s statement that Obama deserved the Peace Prize for having overcome cultural biases against his race and perceived struggle to overcome adversity. If one could receive the Nobel Peace Prize for living a hard-knock life, then almost every Afghan would win one after enduring decades of war and combined, the gold could back your currency and it would be the most stable in the world.
The world’s fascination with Obama certainly is justifiable in that a Western country elected an African-American leader. It is also unprecedented that a Western nation at war with two Islamic countries elect a president with an Islamic name, especially his middle name Hussein. If some Jews dislike him, they do it because he supports a two-state solution with the Palestinians. A two-state solution benefits the Jews more because is one of the biggest points of contention among the Arab states and Israel.