AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
President Barack Obama makes remarks about him being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, Friday, Oct. 9, 2009, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington.
The news that President Obama has been awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace is, to put it mildly, a shocker, even to him. The president’s staunchest admirers could not have imagined that he would receive the prize only nine months into his presidency. Immediate reaction in the United States has, by and large, been predictably partisan. Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele is unimpressed, asking “what has President Obama actually accomplished?” The Democratic National Committee, in turn, is outraged that Republicans are criticizing Obama for receiving the peace prize. The blogosphere, not unexpectedly, is also dividing along ideological lines. Conservative reaction has been sharply negative. Liberal reaction has, in general, been positive, though a few observers wonder if the prize might not be premature.
Whether President Obama deserves the peace prize may be open for debate. In its press release, the Nobel Committee was confident in its decision, praising Obama “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” Indeed, his ascendancy to the presidency, accompanied by an altogether more conciliatory tone than his predecessor, has led to a sharp uptick in international respect for the United States. Atlantic Monthly blogger Andrew Sullivan notes that many Americans are unaware of the extent to our standing around the world fell during the administration of George W. Bush. But Glenn Greenwald — a liberal civil rights activist known for his criticism of the Obama administration — observes that the president’s public diplomacy offensive has had least effect in the places where it is most important, notably the Middle East.
The doubters have a point. One need not oppose President Obama’s foreign policy agenda to believe that he still lacks a tangible major accomplishment — a deal with Iran over its nuclear program, for instance, or a breakthrough on Arab-Israeli peace talks. This lack of results is hardly surprising; the president is less than a quarter of the way through his term. But that, in a way, is the point: however admirable one may find the president’s approach or specific policies, they have yet to bear significant fruit.
The prize may prove to be a mixed blessing for President Obama. It will certainly further raise his prestige around the world. But it will be the occasion for even more bitter partisan attacks here at home. And, even among the president’s supporters, it raises expectations of achievements yet to come. Only time will tell whether he can meet them.
Joe Barnes is the Baker Institute’s Bonner Means Baker Fellow. From 1979 to 1993, he was a career diplomat with the U.S. Department of State, serving in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.