What a difference a week can make! After losing the Olympic bid, Obama winds prestigious Nobel prize

Last night I decided to sleep on the couch to take advantage of the cool air coming from the south and woke up later than usual (as I seem to lately since I re-arranged the furniture in the living room). After the pre-requisite yawning, scratching of my nether-regions, farting, etc, I decided to make today a late and lazy day due to the constant drizzle that has been falling in the Chicagoland region for the past two days. I turned on the TV and channel surfed, settling on the remaining minutes of ‘The View’ to see out of curiosity what that uber-hypocrite Elizabeth Hasslebeck was spouting today.

Fortunately she was absent from today’s airing, and after Whoopie and Joy oohed and aahed the latest kiddies’ Halloween costumes, the program cut for commercial break. The station promo’d their top stories for the mid-day news and to my surprise announced they would have reaction to the awarding of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize to President Obama.

“Huh? What?!” was my immediate reaction, and I grabbed my phone to check the latest headline from CNN. Sure enough – CNN confirmed that Obama WAS awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.

I was stunned.

I instantly began surfing the news channels, flicking between CNN and MSNBC…and yes, even entering the code to temporarily unblock Fox News to see what their reaction was.

While CNN and MSNBC were covering reactions from around the world and from the White House, and whether the award was justified or premature, Fox News – keeping to their seemingly latest mission statement of being the unofficial cable news network of ‘NO’ – made the announcement partisan and focused on the angle that it was a further rejection of the Bush policies, and that it was premature and questionable. However, they did NOT spend much airtime on the story as I seriously think that they – like the rest of the world – are at a loss at this latest development.

My thoughts?

Mixed – I’m caught off-guard as everyone on this news.

According to an article in The Washington Post chairman of the Norwegian Committee Thorbjorn Jagland said this morning that the prize "is a clear signal to the world that we want to advocate the same as he has done to promote international diplomacy. We are hoping this may contribute a little bit for what he is trying to do."

This statement comes as a blow to those that accused the president of apologizing for America in his visits to other countries in the early days of his presidency, but serves as justification to those who say that Obama’s foreign policies steeped in diplomacy and international cooperation is the right direction for America. They see this as further validation that the Bush administration’s policies was sorely resented by the rest of the world and how tarnished America’s image has been with the international community.

On the other hand we can look at it as a liability for Obama. This prize was clearly awarded based on future expectations that might be hard to fulfill given the complex war in Afghanistan and the current occupation of Iraq, as well as future actions regarding aid to Third World countries and policies with developing nations such as Pakistan, India, and the Asian economic powerhouses.

Obama responded to the news this morning with a six-minute speech given in the Rose Garden. "Let me be clear — I do not view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments, but rather as an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations," he said. "...This award must be shared with everyone who strives for justice and dignity." (Courtesy of Time.com)

Some Republicans are taking the political high road – possibly as a step in their bid for the 2012 presidential elections. Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty said the "appropriate response is to say congratulations no matter what the circumstance for the selection is.” (Courtesy of the Chicago Tribune.)

The last statement has fallen on deaf ears in the Republican Party. Republican National Chairman Michael Steele, who criticized President Barack Obama's overseas sales trip on behalf of the U.S. Olympic Committee, issued a grudging statement this morning in response to the president's winning Nobel peace prize. “The real question Americans are asking is, ‘What has President Obama actually accomplished? It is unfortunate that the president’s star power has outshined tireless advocates who have made real achievements working towards peace and human rights.” (Courtesy of The Baltimore Sun.)

Coming on the heels of America’s loss for the bid for the 2016 bid to host the Summer Olympics in Chicago, this latest news show how much can happen in the space of one week.

Regardless of your opinion of this latest news one thing is certain – President Obama is turning out to be one of the one of the most controversial and intriguing of American presidents.