Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Did Obama Deserve the Nobel Prize?


By Tom Kando

I just sent this letter to the Sacramento Bee, in response to a whole slew of letters very critical of Obama's receipt of the Nobel Prize:

You recently published an amazing amount of vitriol about President Obama’s Nobel Prize. Even on the "Left Coast," many hate the man - viscerally, irrationally, moronically.True, the Nobel Committee was motivated to encourage the beleaguered President, in the face of the hateful opposition illustrated by such letters as Gonzalez, McPherson, Dupree, Moore, Bogetich, and Labahn.

But let’s not overlook the President’s real accomplishments: (1) His stimulus program has pulled us back from the abyss where decades of Republican and Wall Street greed and mismanagement had brought us. He has canceled wasteful military programs, including (2) the Eastern European missile shield and (3) a military airplane. He is improving relations (4) in the Middle East, (5) with Iran, (6) Russia and (7) North Korea. (8)He is engaged in a titanic effort to reform health care, and (9) his environmental policies are bringing America back to a position of leadership in that area as well.

Most importantly, he has fundamentally altered the planet’s political climate, from confrontation and contempt for America, to respect and cooperation. All these steps are tangible progress, not vague hopes. They can be taken to the bank.
This is a miraculous list of achievements, after nine months. This presidency is truly transformational. It richly deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.
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4 comments:

Jan Q said...

Tom,
I agree 100%. I've been expressing many of the same points at other blogs. President Obama has reversed the direction of our nation -- no small feat! -- from unilateralism to international cooperation; from free reign for the plunderers like Big Oil to the beginning of a sustainable energy plan based on renewables; from national arrogance ("America first") to mutual respect and inclusion (We are planetary citizens first); from myopia to long range vision.

It's not just that he had "pretty words," as one of his right-wing critics said. It's that he helped us to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and he was able to inspire so many millions of us to support this vision of a better day -- and eventually of a nuclear-free world.

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Anonymous said...

NASHVILLE (The Borowitz Report) - President Barack Obama stunned the country music world today by picking up its highest honor, Country Music Entertainer of the Year. Mr. Obama was chosen unanimously, according to the Country Music Association, beating out such favorites as Carrie Underwood and Toby Keith.

In Nashville, country music insiders were shocked by Mr. Obama's selection, given that he has only been in office for eight months and during that time has yet to record a single country song. But Mr. Obama was gracious in receiving the honor, saying that he was "honored and humbled" by the award before excusing himself to accept this year's Heisman Trophy. He has after all, watched several footballs games.

Tom said...

Thanks, Jan, for your good words, and for reminding us of another major contribution to world peace by President Obama, namely his efforts for nuclear non-proliferation and for a nuclear-free world.

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