The Prize

First thing this morning, Barack Obama would probably have preferred that the Nobel Peace Prize pass him by. He still may have to make decisions for war, and he is not exactly an ascetic in sackcloth, but the Commander-in-Chief of the deadliest military machine in all of history.
And he has taken an oath to use as much of that power as necessary to protect this country. This Oslo award could get in the way of conducting some vital business.

That was this morning; tonight he probably sees the bright side of a sitting president winning the Nobel Peace Prize only ten months into his term. His election itself last November as a black man, in a country that until the mid-nineteenth century bought and sold Africans, has electrified the world. Such an historic change for the good in a country this powerful seems like a move toward a more peaceful world to those outside our borders. (When I was in the Philippines in January there was only one name on the lips of women and children,--and they hear the truth first--Obama.) Can he change the way the world sees America? He already has.