I don’t think this headline was supposed to elicit a guffaw

Obama awarded 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.

This is full of money quotes. Bear in mind that the guy had only been in office for a week when the nominations were done.

[Chairman of the Nobel committee Thorbjorn] Jagland said he hoped the prize would help Obama resolve the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, last year’s laureate, said it was clear the Nobel committee wanted to encourage Obama on the issues he has been discussing on the world stage.

“I see this as an important encouragement,” Ahtisaari said…

And Wangari Muta Maathai, the Kenyan environmentalist who won the 2004 Peace Prize, said the win for Obama, whose father was Kenyan, would help Africa move forward.
“I think it is extraordinary,” she said. “It will be even greater inspiration for the world. He has shown how we can probably come together, work together in a cooperative way.”

“Probably.” They’re giving away the Nobel prize on “probably” and “encouragement” now. To a guy who claims he wants to push for war in Afghanistan and has created international incidents in Honduras, Iran, Israel, and Poland.

Well, maybe this will encourage him to do something worthy of the prize, right? Like Yassir?

Where’s my prize? I could maybe unite some people.

Seriously though, I wonder what possible justification could be used for this other than shameless pandering.  It’s absurd to the nth degree, and the fact that the world is so publicly assuming the position for this hollow shell of a president – note that Nobel is not an American institution! – makes me nauseous for what the next three years will be like.

(EDIT: Even HuffPo thinks it’s absurd. When you lose Huffington…)

(EDIT) More prize quotes from around the web:

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