Obama’s Nobel

Controversy continues to rage over the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to President Barack Obama. What seems surprising is that it’s the Americans themselves – the very people we might have expected to be proud of such an honor – who are the most taken aback by it. The Washington Post expresses Americans’ general surprise that the Nobel Peace Prize should be awarded to “a president still in his first year in office with no major accomplishments internationally.”

The New York Times described the award as a “mixed blessing” which highlights “the gap between the ambitious promise of his words and his accomplishments.”

On the other hand, reactions outside the U.S. have been more positive. The Nobel Committee points out that the prize has been awarded to Obama “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples.” World opinion agrees with The Asian Age that it is “a prize which gives hope to the world.”*

Such divided reactions are understandable. American opinion demands concrete results which will take some time to materialize. International opinion, on the other hand, is full of hope. Opinion of the world’s greatest superpower was negative during the Bush era. Now Obama is reconciling the world with the United States.

A great hope has been born. It must not be disappointed.

*Translator’s note: The Asian Age headline actually called the award “a prize for giving hope to the world”.