eCapitol.net

Earlier this month, President Barack Obama hit the motherload when he received a Nobel Peace prize. But let’s take a closer look at how that may be perceived by many Americans and others around the world.

            To date, the Obama presidency hasn’t accomplished any significant campaign promises, and certainly nothing tangible on the global front that could be attributable to him or his hand-picked cabinet members. On the global scene the Middle East remains in turmoil, Afghanistan is spiraling out of control as confirmed by the senior military commander appointed by Obama to fix that mess, the Israelis and Palestinians continue their long-standing disagreement, Iran thumbs its nose at the Americans even though they’ve agreed to an alleged nuclear inspection of their uranium enrichment sites, and Guantanamo Bay prison remains operational. Nationally, employment and foreclosure numbers continue to rise while the economy sputters, and health care overhaul bills have become so laden with earmarks and generally unintelligible that even lawyers are having trouble understanding them. And when he blows-off a meeting with the Dalai Lama in lieu of a face-to-face chat with China's President, where’s the peace part of the puzzle?

            Here’s the deal: the prize he received should have been called the Nobel Piece Prize, because that’s what President Obama has managed to accomplish. He’s taken a piece of the auto industry, the housing market, Wall Street, and the largest banks and financial institutions in the country, tucked them under the wing of the federal government, and allowed the tab to be picked up the usual group of chumps, the taxpayers . Throw in an ongoing push for cap and trade that will hammer businesses even harder and you start to get a glimpse of how an actual peace price winner looks in today’s world of behind the scenes wheeling, dealing and, conscienceless functionality.

            However, in his defense, President Obama has taken advantage of every conceivable opportunity for getting in front of a news camera to apologize for the way the United States has, over the years in good faith, given direct assistance to numerous countries in actual lives, goods, and humanitarian services. Unfortunately, most have squandered the potential benefits through foolish, conscious decisions or outright corruption. As if his opportunistic apologies aren’t adequate insults to the American people and especially those who were actively involved in these actions, both living and deceased, consider his resolute attempts to make friends with some the sleaziest world leaders (e.g., Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez). But the president intentionally ignored opportunities to assist recognized peace activists in Burma and Myanmar thereby allowing them to rot in prisons to this day.

            I wonder how much a Nobel Prize would cost on eBay or Craigslist given the diminished value of it on a global scale.