The Pros and Cons of a Premature Peace Prize

It seems safe to say that most people around the world are surprised by the selection of President Obama to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.  The committee sent out solicitations for nominations in September of 2008 and all nominations had to be postmarked no later than February 1st 2009 – a time frame ranging from 4 months before to 12 days after Barack Obama was sworn in.  I would love to hear the recording from Robert Gibbs’s phone call early this morning informing the President that he had won.  We are told that he said he was “humbled” to receive the prize, but I’m pretty sure something more along the lines of a “you’ve got to be kidding me” is more accurate.

Without a doubt, the President has shifted the rhetoric of the previous administration and has thereby changed the international climate.  His speech in Cairo was historic and demonstrated a real desire to make amends with the Muslim world.  He’s showed an unprecedented willingness to sit and talk with historic enemies.  He’s begun a push toward nuclear disarmament which, if successful, would certainly be deserving of a peace prize.  But almost everyone knows that the President hasn’t accomplished anything truly of substance just yet, although many are confident that he in fact will.

In any event, a peace prize at this stage of the game means several things.  It’s demonstrative of strong international support for the President and should increase his clout on the international stage.  In dealing with the challenges posed by the Middle East and North Korea, this can definitely strengthen his hand.  Perhaps the political fallout will even be beneficial to Obama at home, paving the way for him to push through his domestic agenda.  Nobody should underestimate the power of simple popularity.

But I think there’s a good shot that this could backfire for Mr. Obama.  He’s likely to be scrutinized a lot more as people will expect him to live up to his early accomplishment.  And as if Republicans needed any more ammunition to showcase how little the President has accomplished, they are no doubt going to take full advantage of the genuine shock that the win has generated.  If I was President Obama, I’m not sure I’d want this prize just yet.

A friend of mine just told me that there’s an email being circulated at his job that President Obama is receiving the Cy Young award for throwing out the first pitch at the MLB All-Star Game.  I’m pretty sure that SNL is going to have a field day with this whole thing.