By Randy Cowling, Managing Editor
October 9, 2009 — Status has won over substance.
As the sun rose over the horizon this morning news began drifting out. It wasn’t of another deadly attack in Afghanistan. The price of oil hadn’t skyrocketed. No major politician had resigned, been caught in a scandalous affair or had suddenly dropped dead.
It was news from Oslo, Norway. An announcement that President Barack Obama had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The reaction of my colleagues — “What?”
Admittedly, I did a double-take as I heard the news on talk radio on my drive into Claremore. Joe Kelley of KRMG reported the news. He also commented if there was any day to listen into Rush Limbaugh today would be the day. While I might enjoy hearing The Rush dismantle our sitting president I think I will pass.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee cited Obama’s “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”
Obama officially took office in January, just 9 1/2 months ago. What has he got to show for it? Let’s be honest, are there tangible, concrete achievements that would warrant such a prestigious prize? I think not.
Nominations for the prize had to be postmarked by February 1 — only 12 days after Obama took office. The committee sent out its solicitation for nominations last September — two months before Obama was elected president.
The winner of the 1983 Nobel Peace Prize, anti-communist Polish leader Lech Walesa, was quoted in The Wall Street Journal as expressing surprise.
“Who, Obama? So fast? Too fast — he hasn’t had the time to do anything yet,” Walesa told The Wall Street Journal.
At the White House, officials were caught completely off guard. Robert Gibbs, Obama’s press secretary, heard of the announcement from reporters, before telling Obama just before 6 a.m. White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel jokingly made reference to last week’s awarding of Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Olympic— which some viewed as a snub to the United States after Obama went to Copenhagen, Denmark to make a pitch for Chicago.
“It’s clear Oslo beats Copenhagen any day of the week,” he told CNN.
Obama said he was humbled to be chosen. He should be humble since he really doesn’t deserve it.
Among those who have received the prize:
• Mother Teresa, (1979) who gave her life to working among the poor.
•Martin Luther King Jr., (1964) who marched for civil rights amid an extreme racial divide and lost his life because of it.
•Mohamed Anwar Al-Sadat, president of Egypt, and Menachem Begin, prime minister of Israel, (1978) who went against many of their own supporters to attempt to bring peace to the Middle East.
•Elie Wiesel, (1986) a Holocaust survivor, who continues to bring awareness of one of the darkest events in the world’s history.
•Nelson Mandela, leader of ANC, and Fredrik Willem De Klerk, president of the Republic of South Africa, (1993) for ending apartheid in South Africa.
•Albert Schweitzer, (1952) missionary surgeon, who left his comfortable confines to serve natives of Africa.
Only three other U. S. Presidents have ever been awarded the prize.
•Theodore Roosevelt, (1906) for getting a peace treaty signed between Russia and Japan.
• Woodrow Wilson, (1919) for helping form the League of Nations.
•Jimmy Carter, (2002) for his service after his presidency,
All of these people have given their lives to a cause that brought about peace and improvement to their region’s of the world. What has Obama given — only words and promises.
To give Obama the award at this stage of his presidency is really unbelievable, a joke or is it really April Fools Day?
