What President Obama Has Done To Deserve The Nobel Peace Prize

Some people are saying that because President Obama was nominated just two weeks after becoming President that somehow makes his win of the Nobel Peace Prize less legitimate. That’s ridiculous because over 200 people were nominated for the Prize. It actually doesn’t mean much to be nominated (apparently even George W. Bush and Rudy Giuliani have been nominated before.)

It’s also a stupid complaint because Obama had actually already done a lot for world peace simply by being elected. He replaced one of the worst Presidents in US history (Bush) and kept John McCain & Sarah Palin out of the White House. Certainly he deserved his nomination just for that.

Furthermore, Obama has accomplished a great deal already to improve international relations and to promote the well being of people in the US and around the world over the past two years. What follows are some of those accomplishments:

3/18/8 – Candidate Obama generated world-wide attention for his moving speech on race relations.

7/24/8 – Lays the foundation for a new era of international relations and began inspiring renewed hope in American leadership during his campaign speech in Berlin.

11/6/8 – President-Elect Obama’s victory was hailed as a promise of hope for the world.

12/1/8 – President-Elect Obama began plans to restore U.N. ambassador to cabinet rank.

1/22/9 – President Obama appointed a Special Envoy for Middle East peace.

1/22/9 – Ordered the closing of Guantanamo Bay.

1/22/9 – Ordered comprehensive review of detention policies.

1/22/9 – Prohibited use of torture.

1/22/9 – Signed an executive order to close CIA secret prisons.

1/23/9 – Lifted “Global Gag Rule” on international health groups.

1/26/9 – Began to address climate change by increasing fuel standards for automobiles.

1/26/9 – Appointed Special Envoy for Climate Change.

1/27/9 – Signed Lily Ledbetter “Fair Pay” Act.

2/5/9 – Again addressed energy conservation by increasing standards for appliances.

2/24/9 – Directed almost $1 billion for prevention and wellness to improve America’s health.

2/25/9 – Initiated international efforts to reduce mercury emissions worldwide.

2/27/9 – Committed to responsibly ending the war in Iraq.

4/1/9 – Agreed to negotiation of a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with Russia.

4/1/9 – Enhanced U.S. – China relations.

4/2/9 – Led global response to the economic crisis through the G20, obtaining commitments of $1.1 trillion to safeguard the world’s most vulnerable economies.

4/4/9 – Renewed dialog with NATO and other key allies.

4/5/9 – Announced new strategy to responsible address international nuclear proliferation.

4/13/9 – Began easing tension with Cuba through new policy stance.

4/17/9 – Secured $5 billion in aid commitments “to bolster [Pakistan's] economy and help it fight terror and Islamic radicalism.”

4/22/9 – Developed the renewable energy projects on the waters of our Outer Continental Shelf that produce electricity from wind, wave, and ocean currents.

5/8/9 – Proposed International Affairs budget that included funds to create a civilian response corps — teams of civilian experts in rule of law, policing, transitional governance, economics, engineering, and other areas critical to helping rebuild war-torn societies; Provide $40 million for a “stabilization bridge fund,” which would provide rapid response funds for the State Department to help with an international crisis situation.

6/4/9 – Gave historic address to the Muslim World in Cairo – “American is not at war with Islam” Foreign affairs experts insist that Obama’s engagement with the Muslim world has been remarkable. “He has been able to dramatically change America’s image in that region.”

8/4/9 – Used DIPLOMACY to free 2 American journalists from a North Korea prison.