An Appeal to Morality

I wonder if Obama has yet to sit and reflect on what was bestowed him recently, a Nobel Peace Prize? What thoughts and passions ran through his head and heart upon first chance to contemplate the historic names of those who've won the award? Mandela, MLK Jr., the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, the list goes on. What did Obama think now that he was to be added to that pantheon? Would it push him to become a peace president?

Obama knows well like all of us that this is premature, hopeful of his "potential," focused on his symbolic candidacy and not being Bush. Now I'm not one to say he should refuse it, apologize for it or let it become a "political liability" as all the DC insiders say and what the media peddles. This guy sums up the cynicism:

“At this point, Barack Obama is like the kid who gets a Porsche for his sixteenth birthday. It's wonderful but where can you go from there?” William Jelani Cobb, Professor of History, Spelman College....

I say, only in America can you find a a large part of a society ashamed of such a victory. He should accept, be gracious and get back to work.

But this cuts deeper, especially in the wake of a big decision on Afghanistan. He's now a man of peace. How does he justify fully embracing such an award when he is about to add to a war? I shouldn't suggest he's adding troops, I don't know, but we have to wonder if it's hard for him to reject the military power structure. He knows any drastic action will kill his "agenda" and cause the Democratic Party an even tougher election year (that looks to be a gain for Republicans), something the House would not be happy with. Rahm's a House guy. Can Obama stand up to these forces? I think he could live up to much of the award hype if he drastically de-escalated the war in Afghanistan and make sure we're working with Iraqis on a real withdrawal strategy.

I know I'm pretending to know what he thinks of himself and history. Maybe he thinks he deserves it, I don't know. But I really believe that it does mean something to him. Don't tell me being the president changes all of that inside a person.