The last thing he needs?

Well, will you look at that—Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. Neat!

But while I find it incredibly exciting that the world has started to view the US in a more favorable light, I can’t help but think that this award is more a commentary on the Bush administration than a reward for any contributions Obama has made this far. Since, you know, he hasn’t even been in office all that long.

I wonder what the committee’s motivations truly were—was the other competition that lackluster? It doesn’t seem likely given the top favored candidate did some pretty impressive things (as mentioned in this article). Or do they believe that this award will be a powerful tool for Obama to further his agenda for peace? Probably, but I think in this regard the committee should have evaluated the actions and not the words.

I’m happy for Obama, but I think this award may be more of a hindrance than a help at this point of his presidency. It adds even more expectations to the ones he already has and arguably gives more ammunition to his critics that Obama is a man of just words.

-KP