Obama has won a Nobel

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by Munchkin03

I wonder how much of it is the European Community "commending" the US, for lack of a better word, for electing the opposite of George W. Bush.

I think that has a lot to do with it, and I think the President is benefitting from a reversal of the anti-Bush international backlash.

This is completely a "message award;" that doesn't necessarily make it different than past Nobel Prizes, but I think people should at least keep that point in mind.

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

and that is exactly it.

I think people get the idea that the Nobel Prize is about what is already done rather than in all actuality it's about the concerted attempt at what you are trying to do.

It's not a reward, moreso a reminder to keep up the good works.

But I think it's open to interpretation of whether that should actually be the case.

I'll admit that I have a rather limited understanding of the Nobel criteria for each of the categories. My limited understanding, though, is that in other categories (science and literature for example), the prize is given for someone who has either completed or substantially completed something. In the science categories, the individuals involved have either discovered something or substantially furthered the understanding of a concept.

In my opinion, the Peace Prize should be judged by similar criteria. I think that it's incredibly difficult to bring about the type of change worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize, but that's ok with me...it's an extraordinary award that should be given for extraordinary results.