Drinking the Køøl Aid

Last night, I logged on to the International Herald-Tribune to see what was going on the world.  To my utter shock, I saw that Obama had been given the Nobel Peace Prize.  I thought it had to be some joke.  But it appears to be no joke.

Of course, this is not the first time that the jury which determines the recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize has picked questionable people as recipients.  There are any number of people who think that Henry Kissinger’s prize ought to be revoked or ought never to have been given.  Korea’s recipient, late President Kim Dae Jung, was clouded by allegations of illegal monetary transfers to the authorities in Pyeongyang to guarantee Kim Jong-il’s cooperation at the summit.  In fact, I do not think it wrong to say that his prize is tainted forever as a result.  Kissinger and Le Duc Tho did negotiate an end to the Vietnam War, though when you get down to it, it is difficult to determine which one is more repellent personally.  Al Gore won the Prize as did Jimmy Carter, the same man who helped to create the current situation in Iran.

Some of the recipients have done great things such as Mother Theresa, Lech Wałęsa, and others.  What has Obama done to merit it?  So far, apart from getting our country into huge amounts of debt and further debauching our currency, Obama is now dealing with the perceptions that he hasn’t accomplished much.  Apparently, he is getting lampooned on Saturday Night Live.  The person impersonating the president in the sketch says, “when you look at my record, it’s very clear what I’ve done so far – and that is, nothing”.  Biting, indeed!  Other than impressive oratory skills, what has he actually accomplished, especially in that volatile region known as the Middle East?

Are the judges in Oslo so utterly in thrall of the man that they are willing to risk the reputation of the Nobel Prize itself on what Obama might accomplish?  But then, the Prize has become a joke lately, anyway, and a not very nice one at that.  One blogger snarkily commented that Øbama Køøl Aid is a popular drink in Oslo now.  Alfred Nobel never intended that the Peace Prize become a prize in oratory.  But that is what it has now become, it seems.