Issue date: 10/13/09 Section: Opinion

Media Credit: Evan Andrews [Click to enlarge]

As President Barack Obama accepts the Nobel Peace Prize, critics are right to question whether Obama's achievements justify the award. Obama may have revitalized the Democrat Party, but the president's impact on world peace has yet to be determined. It is too soon for the Obama to have earned the prize, and the prestige inherited with a pre-emptive trophy may place unrealistic expectations on the president.

Because Obama ran his campaign on the promise of change, the pressure to fix the problems of the nation is already high. Caution has defined his presidency so far, as the solutions to the issues that have plagued the nation will neither be easy nor immediate. And while peace talks have progressed favorably so far with Iran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's uranium enrichment facility has added the threat of further political turmoil in the Middle East.

Less than a year into his presidency, Obama has not had the opportunity to prove his promises on the world stage. Too many of the country's issues have yet to addressed for Obama to be placed in the same category as Nelson Mandela and Elie Wiesel. The Norwegian Noble's decision derived from "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." The ambiguous reasons for granting Obama this honor takes away from the prestige of the extraordinary figures that have earned the Noble Peace Prize.

Obama's nomination was made merely two weeks into his presidency, far too early for him to even have fully explored the White House. Obama's lack of peaceful achievements only shows the damage done by President George W. Bush to America's reputation in the international community. Hope is not reason enough to give someone a Noble Peace Prize, unless the perception of the former leader is bad enough for the world to value any move towards change. The Noble Prize should not be used to illustrate the lack of confidence in American foreign policy over the last eight years.

Obama may be able to use the recognition of the award to make progress abroad, but that plan has the possibility of backfiring. Wisely, Obama has responded to the international attention with modest demur, believing he must earn the award throughout his term. But until the president delivers on his campaign promises, a Noble Peace Prize will only add pressure on Obama to turn hope into reality. Critics have already used the award as evidence that much of the publicity surrounding Obama is overblown hype, and the clamor for change will intensify if the issues facing the country are not immediately improved.

Induction into the list of Noble Peace Prize recipients may be a tremendous honor, but the president needs to prove his name deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as past recipients. While Obama's nomination is pre-mature at best, the country should draw hope from the change the president has already brought to the country's image. Hopefully Obama will be able to use the clout received with the award to create actual peace.

Ian McPhail is a junior history major.

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