Friday, October 9, 2009

Nobel Peace Prize Jumps the Shark ...

President Obama was sworn in as the 44th president on Jan. 20, 2009. The list of Nobel Peace Prize contenders was compiled February 1, 2009.

Despite doing nothing more than a one-term junior senator from Chicago or week and a half president could do to bring peace in his limited sphere, Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize this morning.

In the words of one news report:

Obama was selected not for substantive accomplishments, but for his "vision" and inspiring "hope" at the beginning of his presidency.

"For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world's leading spokesman," the committee said, explaining its decision.


All right. Stop. Say that again?

So apparently, what won Obama the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize was ... wait for it ... A SLOGAN! After all, "Change We Can Believe In" shouldn't just be enough to win a presidency. Oh, no. It should bring with it all the treasures of the earth and honors we can think of (Grammy anyone? We'll see if Kanye can introduce the award for "Best Presidential iTunes Playlist").

It's official, the Nobel Peace Prize just jumped the shark ... and now has the reputational impact of Time's Person of the Year.

Next year's winner? Well, let's just say that now that the preemptive precedent has been set, I'm throwing my hat in the ring.

NOTE: I like Obama. Really, I do (even though I may not agree with a number of his policies or approaches to government). The above is more a slip-slap, jib-jab at the prize givers than anything else. I actually like what Obama said when he found out (probably more shocked than any of us) that he had won the Prize:

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.

Let's just hope the award does spark the peace and prosperity it was meant to honor.

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