Nobel Peace Prize Winner Obama

Unless you live in a cave, you probably heard that Obama won the coveted Nobel Peace prize last week. So now it's time for the "Hate Obama even if it makes me look like I hate America" crowd to chime in. "What's he done?" That's all I've heard from both sides (but mostly Republican nimrods like Calamity Hannity, Rush to get more pills, and Bill O'Really).

I think if he received an award for greatest U.S. President, he'd be undeserving at this point. Believe me I have intense disappointment with Obama's record on gay rights to date and I readily acknowledge that his domestic stuff just hasn't been forthcoming. On the other hand, I think these pundits are missing the point entirely by grading his Nobelness by his domestic performance. This is an international award and it has to do with bringing peace to the world. After eight years of "agree with us or we'll crush your country" and "these treaties apply to you but not to us" and "if we even think you did something, we'll arrest you, torture you, and deny you the right to a trial", simply replacing that behavior with Obama's less aggressive "can't we all get along" attitude has caused the globe to collectively sigh with relief. Our allies feel like being allies again and even our former non-allies (Russia and China) are starting to see things our way. I think that's deserving of a Nobel Peace prize. It's true that Bush was an easy act to follow, but still. The fact remains that the world views us as a better, more likable, more peaceful country since Obama took the reins. That seems worthy of some recognition.

Besides, he's AMERICAN. What about a little pride and patriotism towards our president from our "you hate our country if you don't support our war... uh... I mean our troops!" Republicans? Or is your hatred for the man so obsessive that you broke out in cheer because we didn't get the Olympics and boo hoo any achievement Obama makes? The problem is not that Obama hasn't gotten anything done. The problem is that these kinds of republicans don't WANT him to. I can't think of anything more childish and non-productive - not to mention anti-patriotic - than that. It's time for some of these folks to start looking in the mirror and ask themselves the same question they ask the left all the time, "Why do you hate America so much?"

[Edit: I almost forgot... I wanted to post this quote from Shimon Peres' about Obama...]

“Very few leaders if at all were able to change the mood of the entire world in such a short while with such a profound impact. You provided the entire humanity with fresh hope, with intellectual determination, and a feeling that there is a lord in heaven and believers on earth.” Mr. Peres, who won the peace prize with Yitzhak Rabin and Yasir Arafat in 1994 following the Oslo Accords, added: “Under your leadership, peace became a real and original agenda. And from Jerusalem, I am sure all the bells of engagement and understanding will ring again. You gave us a license to dream and act in a noble direction.”