Obama and the Nobel Peace Prize
In an earlier post I offered one defense of Obama's getting the prize - that simply his election changed the world's dialogue and the potential for peace. While he may not have taken actions that can be connected with increased peace, beyond campaigning for the presidency, I asked readers to identify someone or some group that had had a greater impact on world peace than Obama's election.
Today Obama said in his speech there were more deserving people for the prize. While there are people who have made greater personal sacrifices in pursuit of peace, I'm not sure that their impact on world peace was greater than Obama's election.
Since I wrote the original post on this topic, I thought further that if his mere election changed the dynamics of international relations, then perhaps the American voters, rather than Obama himself, should have been given the prize.
But after hearing Obama's speech in Oslo today, I can only wonder how we have managed to get such a thoughtful, and forthright president who can express his vision so eloquently. Maybe the years of having Bush as president have lowered my expectations. This president dealt with the complexities of the world, the contradictory tugs that our values and desires pull us. His words don't paint a black and white world, but one of great nuance. I can travel the world once again and proudly point to the man that my fellow citizens and I elected to be our president.
Yet I can't help but wonder what the people who support Palin think of such a speech. Is it too subtle? Is it too abstract? Part of me suspects that the better Obama is, the more some of his detractors oppose him. They simply can't deal with their world view being challenged in any way.
Today Obama said in his speech there were more deserving people for the prize. While there are people who have made greater personal sacrifices in pursuit of peace, I'm not sure that their impact on world peace was greater than Obama's election.
Since I wrote the original post on this topic, I thought further that if his mere election changed the dynamics of international relations, then perhaps the American voters, rather than Obama himself, should have been given the prize.
But after hearing Obama's speech in Oslo today, I can only wonder how we have managed to get such a thoughtful, and forthright president who can express his vision so eloquently. Maybe the years of having Bush as president have lowered my expectations. This president dealt with the complexities of the world, the contradictory tugs that our values and desires pull us. His words don't paint a black and white world, but one of great nuance. I can travel the world once again and proudly point to the man that my fellow citizens and I elected to be our president.
Yet I can't help but wonder what the people who support Palin think of such a speech. Is it too subtle? Is it too abstract? Part of me suspects that the better Obama is, the more some of his detractors oppose him. They simply can't deal with their world view being challenged in any way.