Tavis Smiley: Obama Must 'Live Up to the Honor' of the Nobel Peace Prize

Add Tavis Smiley to the list of commentators with an opinion on President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize. Smiley, in Charlotte, N.C., on Saturday to speak at a financial literacy and economic empowerment seminar aimed at African Americans, acknowledged Obama's role in changing the "tenor and tone in this country and in the world."

"I celebrate that" and the prize, he said, before adding that the president's task is "to live up to the honor."

"Before honor comes humility," Smiley said, listing previous Peace Prize winners Ralph Bunche, Martin Luther King, Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela, adding that Obama's "got work to do" before equaling the record of those who came before him.


He said, taking note of the president's deliberations on the next steps in Afghanistan, that "you can't be Peace Prize recipient and a war president."

Even Obama himself acknowledged that he "didn't deserve it," Smiley said, referring to the president's reaction to receiving the prize.

(On Friday, Obama said: "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've 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 achievement; it's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes.")

Smiley, who currently hosts a late-night talk show televised on PBS and a radio show distributed by Public Radio International, referred to criticism he received because of sharp commentaries on candidate Obama on the "Tom Joyner Morning Show," the syndicated radio program. Smiley said it was about "accountability." He said it was no different from his treatment of every candidate and office holder, including President Clinton, whom the talk-show host has often interviewed.

On Saturday, Smiley compared Obama's remarks that "a rising tide lifts all boats" to similar statements Ronald Reagan made about his economic policies. It all depends on if you're in a yacht or a dingy, Smiley said.

"Wall Street is celebrating already," Smiley said. A "laser-like focus" is needed, he said, on the issue of jobs, particularly in the black and brown communities, which have been hardest hit.