by Michelle Nichols
Reuters.com
October 9, 2009
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The award of the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday to U.S. President Barack Obama had many puzzled Americans scratching their heads.
“It would be wonderful if I could think why he won,” said Claire Sprague, 82, a retired English professor as she walked her dog in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. “They wanted to give him an honor I guess but I can’t think what for.”
Itya Silverio, 33, of Brooklyn, was also surprised. “My first opinion is that he got it because he’s black,” she said. “What did he do that was so great? He hasn’t even finished office yet.”
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who won the peace prize himself in 2002, said Obama’s win showed the hope he had inspired worldwide.
“It is a bold statement of international support for his vision and commitment to peace and harmony in international relations,” Carter said in a statement…
…Some said the choice could damage the Nobel committee’s credibility and that of the award.
“It looks less like an objective award than it does a political endorsement,” said William Jelani Cobb, a history professor at Spelman College in Atlanta and author of a forthcoming book on Obama.
“Guantanamo is not closed yet and it makes it difficult for him to increase the number of troops in Afghanistan,” he said, referring to the U.S. prison in Cuba where some detainees have been held for years without trial.
Haag Sherman, director of Houston-based investment firm Salient Partners, said it politicizes the award.
“Largely left leaning U.S. leaders have been recent recipients of that award. It will clearly be viewed as political by the right,” he said. “It illustrates that the U.S. is still the prevalent power in the world and that the world really is seeking engagement with the United States.”…
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