The big news today was the surprise selection of President Obama as the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.  Even as a HUGE President Obama supporter, I was surprised and taken aback by his selection.

No disrespect to the President, but when I think about the other American Presidents and World Leaders that have received this prestigious award, I felt his resume left a lot to be desired when compared to theirs.

But all that changed when I heard the explanation of the head of the selection committee.  Simply put – they selected President Obama for this award for the same reason we elected him President – because they believe in him.

It’s incredible when you think about it how stunning this is.  Just last week, right wing pundits across the nation were celebrating the selection of Rio De Janeiro over Chicago in the pursuit of the Summer Olympics as the end of the “International Obama Phenomenon”.  Considering the political setbacks of health-care reform, the lack of support for closing Guantanamo bay from within his own party, and the inability of our leaders to accomplish any “real change” over the last few months – it’s incredible that the fact that he was even nominated escaped national headlines.

But – it did.  Which makes the fact that he won even more stunning!  The international message this sends is clear:  President Obama, despite the best efforts of his political enemies, is seen by the rest of the world as our best hope for international peace.  He is Luke Skywalker facing the Death Star.  He is Doug Flutie throwing a hail mary.  He is the 1980 American Hockey team facing the Russians.

Has President Obama accomplished anything concrete to deserve this award?  Well, it depends on your perspective.  As an American, I say no.  He hasn’t closed Guantanamo.  He hasn’t completed the pullout of Iraq.  There’s still a risk of war with Iran, and the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is still a raw nerve to the world.  If you add those things up and then consider Afghanistan – it’s amazing his nomination wasn’t thrown out of the nearest window.

However, as a citizen of the world, President Obama has more than earned this award.  In his brief tenure as leader of the free world, he has changed the course of the most feared and powerful military machine from a path of unrestrained aggression to one of tempered resolve.  He has challenged other world leaders as never before.  He has successfully advocated for a Palestinian state, while confirming our nation’s unwavering support of Israel as an ally.  He has taken off the brass knuckles and extended an open hand.  Before President Obama was elected, America was considered an over-aggressive international bully.  Now, we are once again seen as a strong and compassionate world leader.

At least, that’s where our President is trying to take us.  The world looks at America the same way America looked at Mike Tyson.  We’re young and strong, with all the talent in the world – but if we can’t control our demons, we’ll waste our tremendous gifts and become an international disappointment.  That’s what the Nobel selection committee sees.  They chose President Obama for this award not for what he has accomplished, but for what he’s trying to LEAD US TO ACCOMPLISH!   If we don’t get there, then the failure will not be his – it will be ours.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 9th, 2009 at 6:28 PM and is filed under Featured Writers!!, The 'Real Deal'! by J. Osborn. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.