Obama Won the What?

When the morning editor called to alert me to the "Whaaaa?'' news that Barack Obama had won the Nobel Peace Prize, my first thought was, "Tom, you kidder. Why are you really calling?'' It's not exactly like giving an Academy Award to a Vince Vaughn movie, but "surprising'' doesn't begin to cover it. (No word yet on whether Glenn Beck's head has exploded, though Rush Limbaugh was his usual gracious self, opining that Obama had in fact been rewarded for self-loathing: "They love a weakened, neutered U.S.,'' he said, referring, one supposes, to our European allies.)

Still, just as our president ponders doubling down on his Bush-like "surge'' in Afghanistan, Oslo honors him . . . for not being George Bush?

Just yesterday, I heard Kenyan environmental activist and 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Muta Maathai on NPR, describing meeting the president this week as "the moment of a lifetime,'' and giggling -- no kidding -- that she sure hoped the picture she'd had taken of that moment would come out OK. (Sheesh, you're a Nobel laureate; woman up!) Today, she called the move "extraordinary. It will be even greater inspiration for the world. He has shown how we can probably come together, work together in a cooperative way."

Though we can probably come together, it hasn't happened yet, as even the Nobel Committee tacitly acknowledged, so isn't this a little like giving your kid his graduation present when he's still in seventh grade? The citation issued this morning said that the committee chose Obama "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." It went on to say, "Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future."

After the hopelessness felt around the world at the lack of interest in and attention to diplomacy under the Bush administration, maybe we still underestimate what a little hope feels like.

Certainly, with this decision, the Nobel Committee has itself located a rare point of agreement between left- and right-leaning Americans; I think it's fair to say that the most common reaction among both groups this morning was, "Huh?" (Although, that said, I most certainly did not agree with this over-statement from the Republican National Committee: "The real question Americans are asking is, 'What has President Obama actually accomplished?' It is unfortunate that the president's star power has outshined tireless advocates who have made real achievements working towards peace and human rights. One thing is certain – President Obama won't be receiving any awards from Americans for job creation, fiscal responsibility, or backing up rhetoric with concrete action." Does the RNC even think there should be a Nobel Peace Prize? Who is the last winner whose work they supported?)

If, however, receiving this award encourages Obama to live up to his campaign promises in Iraq, and persuades him not to repeat the mistakes of Vietnam in Afghanistan, then my hat will be off to those forward-thinking Norwegians.

Update:

Someone who just echoed the feeling that the award was premature and a little embarrassing? Barack Obama himself. Needless to say, he did not skip into the White House Rose Garden this morning kicking up his heels, or showing any sign that he'd begun the day with a celebratory mimosa. But the president went well beyond the expected display of humility, giving an almost apologetic speech that began, as usual, with an anecdote about how his kids keep him real: "This is not how I expected to wake up this morning,'' he said, barely smiling. "After I received the news, Malia walked in and said, 'Daddy, you won the Nobel Peace Prize -- and it's [First Pooch] Bo's birthday,' and then Sasha added, 'Plus, we have a three-day weekend coming up!' So it's good to have kids to keep things in perspective.''

"I am both surprised and deeply humbled,'' he went on, adding, "Let me be clear: I do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments, but as an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people of all nations. To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who've been honored by this prize -- men and women who inspired me and inspired the entire world through their courageous pursuit of peace. But I also know that this prize reflects the kind of world that those men and women and all Americans want to build, a world that gives life to the promise of our founding documents. And I know that throughout history, the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievements; it's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes, and this is why I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century.'' Fair enough.