How dare they insult us by bestowing their highesthonor on the president of the United States and inviting him to deliver alecture?
The conservative media machine has nearly seized up,filling hours of airtime, reams of newsprint and zillions of pixels withglowing rage.
A columnist for TheWall Street Journal, usually known for her saccharine sentimentality, callsthe award "wicked and ignorant." A radio talker with an enormousaudience says that the Nobel committee "suicide-bombed itself" anddeclared that he is on the same side with the Taliban and Iran in theirdisdain for the committee's choice.
A nutty host on Fox News Channel suggests that thepresident had delayed escalating the war in Afghanistan in order to win theprize. An even nuttier and far more celebrated Fox News host insists that theNobel Prize is merely the latest development in a conspiracy by "globalinterests that have extraordinary power." (And the Republican NationalCommittee chairman dispatched a quick direct-mail hit, hoping to channel allthe anger into cash.)
Following closely behind this flood of bile from theright came the sour emissions of mainstream commentators, who either demandthat the president reject the prize or warn that it will hurt more than help.
Defeating Neoconservatism Was a SignificantAchievement
Stirred up as the wing-nuts seem to be, neither theynor their friends in the media possess much understanding of this littleepisode. If the hotheads understoodhow Obama actually did earn the prize, in the minds not only of the Norwegiansbut presumably most of the world's inhabitants, their fury might reach nuclearlevels.
The five members of the Nobel committee are much toopolite to explain their decision in unambiguous terms. All were selected by Norway'sparliament, in accordance with the terms of Alfred Nobel's will, and arepoliticians themselves. That could be why they were so impressed by theAmerican president's single big and undeniable accomplishment last November: Heinflicted a clear political defeat on those excitable extremists and theirpoliticians, and removed them from power before they could do any furtherdamage to world peace and security.
He kicked out the neoconservative faction, led byformer Vice President Dick Cheney, that prefers armed confrontation todiplomacyand the world applauded in relief, along with the majority ofAmericans. Whatever the new president may or may not have done since then,nobody beyond a minority of die-hards would wish the Cheney faction to return.
Stopping John McCain, a neoconservative belligerent,and his dangerously clueless sidekick, Sarah Palin, was a significantachievementand a close call until the final week or so. That is what he did,along with millions of other Americans. It is not a mere aspiration or a hopeor a pretty speech.
Will the prize help Obama? For a fair assessment ofthat issue, it is helpful to know who gave it to him. Conspiracy theorists andsmug commentators alike contend that the prize is somehow diminished by asupposed association with the left, always neglecting to note in their own ignorancethat such figures as Henry Kissinger were among the recipients back when Norway'sparliament was thoroughly dominated by Socialists.
While the committee's current chairman is indeed aleader of the social democratic Labor Party, two of the members of thecommittee that voted unanimously to honor Obama are politicians of the right.The deputy chairman is the former leader of Norway's Young Conservatives, andanother member also belongs to a conservative party.
Right and left, the world agrees that Obama is arefreshing change. He is restoring the prestige and admiration squandered bythe Bush-Cheney regime, as worldwide surveys have lately proved. The prize ismerely a symbol of what has already happenedand what may someday help thepresident to achieve his most important international objectives.
© 2009Creators.com.
