I heard a good conversation about this on the radio today.
I think just about everyone realizes the awarding of the prize to President Obama wasn’t based just on merit in the same way it has been in other instances in history. I suppose some will cynically see giving the prize to the President as the Nobel committee jerking off Obama.
I prefer to see the Nobel presentation as a statement that the US is trying to live up to an ideal that other countries have looked up to us for (especial since WWI). It's no secret that many other nations aren't real crazy about some very unpopular policies of the Bush Administration.
Maybe it is also a statement that we as voters overcame the obstacle of race when we elected President Obama by a fair margin. I'm not saying that anyone should vote for the black guy just because he's black. But it is still an achievement when you consider our nation is one with a history of slavery, lynchings, civil rights leader assassinations, a disproportionate number of minorities in prison, etc.
Maybe the awarding of the Nobel says our nation is a complicated role model in how blacks, browns, whites, yellows and reds can get along in a melting pot. I think that is something to be proud of, not exploit as a wedge to divide people.
The last caller wrote what I thought was a nice statement: “Can’t we all just be proud as Americans once in a while for something we’ve been given from the world, whether deserved, undeserved…?”
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