Did he really deserve it?

This is an article I had written last semester .But I decided to put it up for the sole reason that the man in question is arguably the most important man in the world today. Not only has he changed the face of hope as the messiah in the radiant lexicon of international politics,but has more importantly, changed the way we look at the most powerful nation in the world .But has he delivered the goods as yet? Or is it just the remarkably synergistic promise that lures us into believing in the man?On Oct 9,2009 Barack Hussein Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize after just eight and a half months at the White House. Did the Nobel Prize committee award the prize more out of awe for the enormous promise that Obama beholds rather than recognition of concrete achievement?It was worth viewing the whole affair from both sides of the spectrum.............

View:

In an era of renewed multilateralism, President Obama embodies the new spirit of dialogue and engagement on the world's biggest problems: climate change, nuclear disarmament and a wide range of peace and security challenges.
The peace prize came as an implicit condemnation of Mr. Bush’s presidency. And countering the ill will Mr. Bush created around the world is one of Mr. Obama’s great achievements in less than nine months in office. And another is Mr. Obama’s willingness to respect and work with other nations . Bolstering America’s global standing by renouncing torture, this time with credibility, he has pledged to close the prison camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba; rejoined the effort to combat climate change and to eradicate the world of nuclear weapons; and recommitted himself to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; and offered to engage Iran while also insisting that it abandons its nuclear ambitions. While he has made an excellent start on climate change with new regulations that finally begin to grapple with carbon emissions, the United States has to lead the way to a global agreement.
Mr. Obama did not seek the prize. It is a reminder of the extraordinarily high expectations for any American president — and does bring into sharp focus all that he has left to do to make the world and this country, safer. Americans elected Mr. Obama because they wanted him to restore American values and leadership — and because they believed he could. The Nobel Prize, and the broad endorsement that followed, shows how many people around the world want the same thing. And his words in Oslo on receiving the Nobel Prize accentuate this opinion. "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," Obama said. "And that is why I will accept this award as a call to action — a call for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century."

Counter View :

Giving the Peace Prize to the president so soon in his term embarrasses him and diminishes the honor.

After receiving the Nobel Prize before he had completed even a year in office, Obama managed to be both abashed and appreciative in his response. But no amount of self-effacing spin can obscure the oddity of this decision. Obama’s escalating image as the new prophet of world politics may have just been enough for the Nobel committee in draping the peacemaker’s mantle on the shoulders of a president who is presiding over two distant wars and who may soon send as many as 40,000 more troops to Afghanistan.
Obama was cited for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."  Yes, he has reached out to adversaries. Yes, he delivered an admirable speech in Cairo in which he called for "a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world." Yes, he has called for a world without nuclear weapons. But all of these initiatives are, to use a polite word, aspirational.
By contrast, other political leaders have received the prize for real accomplishments .Be it Woodrow Wilson for the foundation of League of Nations or Jimmy Carter for his role in the Camp David agreement. It's hard to escape the impression that Obama was honored because he is so different from George W. Bush .And his dynamic image does signify America’s return in the hearts of people around the world. That's an admirable trait, but it doesn't entitle him to a distinction Alfred Nobel said should be conferred on "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses." And somewhere down the line we suspect that Obama would agree.