"Noble" Nominations

"The Nobel committee said yesterday that the reason they gave Obama the peace prize is for reducing tension around the world. So, the runners up for this year's Nobel Prize were red wine and the Brookstone three-speed massaging recliner."

--Conan O'Brien

My dad passed this along to me, and I obviously thought it was hilarious. I've duked it out with a few friends here at BYU regarding whether or not Obama deserved the Nobel Peace Prize. I don't mean to make my blog a debate forum, but I think to select Obama to be awarded an honor of such high esteem and prestige is way, way premature. All nominations were due no later than February 1, 2009, meaning when he was nominated he had been serving as president less than two weeks (if that). Seriously now, what had he done by then? We care about the peace prize because it means something. It has value. I just hope the Norwegian selection committee will consider that in future years. Alfred Nobel explicitly stated the qualifications and caliber of person he envisioned to be the annual winner, saying it should be given "to the person who shall have done the most or the best work..." (Slate Magazine).

An article explaining how the selection process works: http://www.tnr.com/blog/the-spine/how-the-nobel-peace-prize-works

And, an article discussing whether Obama was really qualified: http://www.slate.com/id/2231909/

In any event, I find myself wondering whether I will attach value to the Nobel Peace Prize in the future. Not that my opinion is anything important or special, but for me, I think I just don't care anymore.