Norway. All those fjords. Cold in winter. Peaceable folk. So much so that they award the Nobel Peace Prize. And this year, they managed to turn the award into one heck of a grenade, which has gone off all over the commentariat of US politics, because the recipient is Barack Obama.
Not all liberal leaning folks are supportive of the award: the Guardian’s Michael White, not known for reactionary thought, isn’t impressed. It’s an interesting line he takes, but it should be borne in mind that the award is not necessarily for achievement of peace, but also for aspiration and approach. Obama’s approach to areas such as nuclear proliferation, the Palestinian problem, and Iran has worked in his favour.
But it’s the right wing of US politics where the real unhappiness and dissatisfaction is showing itself. The deeply unpleasant Rush Limbaugh has been, well, deeply unpleasant about the award. Other conservative commentators have been dismissive. And, just to show that they’re up for a fight, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) have accused the Republicans of siding with terrorists, as the GOP and its supporters have come out against the award. So it’s warming up nicely.
I commend Sam Stein’s post to anyone who wants to get a handle on this story. And yes, I’ll have another look later.
[UPDATE: John McCain has responded in a measured and positive way to the award. So that’s him ostracised by the GOP then]
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Curiously, nominations for the NPP close on February 1, by which time Obama probably hadn't finished adjusting his office chair in the Oval Office.
It would be so interesting to know who it was made the nomination, but neither of us will live long enough to find out.
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