Anybody is a saint compared with the war-mongering Bush.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/10/09/nobel.peace.prize/index.html
Obama: Nobel Peace Prize is 'call to action'
(CNN) -- President Obama said Friday that he was "surprised and deeply
humbled" by the decision of the Norwegian Nobel Committee to award him
the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.
The committee said it honored Obama for his "extraordinary efforts to
strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."
Obama said he viewed the decision less as a recognition of his own
accomplishments and more as "a call to action."
The decision appeared to catch most observers by surprise. Nominations
for the prize had to be postmarked by February 1, only 12 days after
Obama took office. The committee sent out its solicitation for
nominations last September, two months before Obama was elected
president.
Obama had not been mentioned as among front-runners for the prize, and
the roomful of reporters gasped when Thorbjorn Jagland, chairman of
the Nobel committee, announced that the president was the winner.
The Nobel committee recognized Obama's efforts at dialogue to solve
complex global problems, including working toward a world free of
nuclear weapons
"Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured
the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future,"
the committee said.
Jagland said the decision was "unanimous" and came with ease. Video
Watch the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize announcement »
He rejected the notion that Obama had been recognized prematurely for
his efforts and said the committee wanted to promote the president
just it had Mikhail Gorbachev in 1990 for his efforts to open up the
Soviet Union. Ed Rollins: Obama now must earn it
"His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead
the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are
shared by the majority of the world's population," the committee said
of Obama. Video
Obama said he did not feel he deserved "to be in the company" of past
Peace Prize winners, but would accept the prize while pushing for a
broad range of international objectives, including nuclear
nonproliferation, a reversal of the global economic downturn and a
resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
He also acknowledged the ongoing U.S. conflicts in Iraq and
Afghanistan, noting that he is the "commander in chief of a country
that is responsible for ending a war and working in another theater to
confront a ruthless adversary that directly threatens the American
people" and U.S. allies.
"This award is not simply about my administration," he said. It "must
be shared" with everyone who strives for "justice and dignity." Video
Watch Obama react to receiving the prize »
It was just before 6 a.m. that the president learned he had won the
award, said Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary. The
announcement by the committee caught the White House off guard. One
senior administration official said that "we were quite surprised."
Some analysts have speculated that the prize could give Obama
additional clout as he forms a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan
and attempts to engage Iran and North Korea. Another senior
administration official told CNN he hopes the White House can "use it
for the positive."
The domestic political consequences are unclear. Obama's supporters
hope the prestige associated with the prize will strengthen the
president's hand in the health care reform debate. A top Republican
from George W. Bush's administration, however, argued that "this will
backfire on them for a while" and asserted it was "a gift to the
right." Zakaria: Nobel honors Obama's 'bold gambit'
Obama, the first African-American to win the White House, is the
fourth U.S. president to win the prestigious prize and the third
sitting president to do so.
Former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, last year's laureate, said
it was clear the Nobel committee wanted to encourage Obama on the
issues he has been discussing on the world stage.
"I see this as an important encouragement," Ahtisaari said.
The committee wanted to be "far more daring" than in recent times and
make an impact on global politics, said Kristian Berg Harpviken,
director of the International Peace Research Institute. Praise,
skepticism greet Nobel announcement
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