I don't know all the details but I just think it is odd.  What has he done that is Nobel Peace Prize worthy?  I feel like maybe they could have waited until his Presidency term was over and he had other accomplishments to show but whatever.  No one asked me!!

I agree w/ Brandie. We have had many great Presidents in our life time. I don't know if any of them received the NPP. Why him, why now?? I think we all know the answer.....no one wants to be the one to say it!

The reaction seems to go down party lines more than anything--if you are D and voted for him you are fine with it; if you are R and didn't vote for him you think it is ridiculous.  When the news first hit that he had won, it seemed a little strange to me, but I read a comment (by someone related to the Nobel PP commission --President or something) that the prize was to award not only accomplishments but also the hope and dream of peace.  Regardless of our national problesm, which are many even now, the entire world breathed a sigh of relief when Obama was elected.

In the end, you should probably just feel honored that the President of your country was awarded the prize.

Sharon, I really hope you are not insinuating that he won it because he is black...

1. Theodore Roosevelt (1905)
2. Woodrow Wilson (1919)
3. Jimmy Carter Jr (2002)
   
4. Barack Obama (2009)

More information about each award:

• Teddy Roosevelt won it in 1905 for helping to end the Russo-Japanese War.
• Woodrow Wilson won it in 1919 after pushing to join the League of Nations.
• Jimmy Carter won it in 2002- (not while he was elected in office) for humanitarian efforts.
• Barack Obama won it in 2009 for "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples".
• Al Gore is the only VP to win it for his efforts on reducing Global warming and promoting strict environmental standards.

Thanks Carol for clarifying the others that have received the award.  I just have issues with politicians in general.  I think that for the most part they have really good intentions but politics has turned into such a self serving mess that I think we all just get defensive when things happen good or bad.

I am a D and I voted for him, but I don't get it at all. 

My FIL is a Nobel Prize recipent and I understnd that for everything there is to know about it.  Yet, Obama's leaves me blank.  He should have declined and insisted it go to someone worthy.  Oh well. 

Am I the only one that thinks the Nobel Peace Prize is a complete joke?  I mean, does anyone take this seriously?  How can winning a "peace" prize that Yassar Arafat shared in 1994 for "efforts toward peace in the Middle East) be taken seriously?   It's not like the Nobel Prize in medicine or science where the recpient has actually accomplished anything.  So, my answer is it doesn't bother me one bit that he won it.  Good for him.  It just doesn't mean anything.

Usually awards are for people who have ACCOMPLISHED things...I am clueless as to why he won...I think it is a disgrace to other people who work very hard at accomplishing peace and it's not fair that he got the award because of his celeb status.

I don't understand why the Prize would go to a President who is currently presiding over two wars.

I try hard not to be prejudice. I grew up in the south where prejudices run very deep. I've tried to raise my children not to be prejudice to others.  with Obama being the first black President there has been a lot of discussions on what he is like. I've watched how he handles certain situations and it intrigues me. yes he does have many fine attributes, there are others, like any president, I do not agree with. I do believe and I'm not trying to start any racial arguements here, that one of the reasons he was chosen for the NPP was because he is the first black president to be chosen in the US. He has shone the way for many blacks that you can acheive anything you set out to do. 

  I guess the way I put what I was saying in my first reply came across as a racial comment. That was never my attention. But I still believe ONE of the reasons why he was chosen was because he is black. Sorry but that is the way I feel. I hope he can lead this great nation of ours as a leader of all races. Maybe somewhere down the road Obama should deserve the NPP but right now, at this moment in time, he hasn't done enough to deserve it. That is my opinion and I hope that I don't offend anyone, we are all entitled to speak our mind, and I guess i did just that. I love reading cjane's comment corners because of it's diversity.