Nobel Peace Prize Seen in a New Light

I would doubt anyone goes to bed praying they'll be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize.

The kind of people who win the prize are not usually the kind who do what they do because they want to win a prize.

And I would guess that no one at the White House was praying for the President to win the Nobel just yet.

Not because they are selfless, humble souls whose only goal is to help humanity, but because they are very good professional politicians who would know better than most of us that an undeserved accolade has a high probability of backfire.

For the record, I generally agree with the President's approach on foreign policy, but the Nobel Committee did him no favors by giving him the award before he had anything to show for his efforts.

It's like a parent doing a child's homework. Sure, you love the kid, but telling the teacher he needs an A before he turns in his work doesn't quite get it.

So instead of cheers, the President gets to take his lumps - reactions of incredulity, laughter, sarcasm, Republicans accusing him of being all talk and no action, Democrats accusing Republicans of siding with the enemy (which is what Republicans used to accuse Democrats of!), and on and on it goes.

I am not one who believes this will cause the President to rethink any of the difficult decisions he faces on foreign policy.

What the Nobel Committee has managed to change, and I am sorry to say it, is the way we look on the prize.