A big burden

For starters, I will say I think Andrew Sullivan might have had the best take on it, so I'll encourage folks to check it out.

But, judging by the number of insanely overdramatic reactions to President Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize - some rivaling the best temper tantrum my two-year-old daughter can throw - it probably is worthwhile to piece together my thoughts on the matter (particularly in light of some colorful, and naive, Facebook criticisms).

I think it's a fair assessment to suggest that partisan dislike of this particular president has resulted in a large number of conservatives operating in an overly reactive manner to any type of news regarding Obama, whether it be 'bad' news (i.e. the Olympics) or 'good' news (i.e. the Nobel Peace Prize).

Why such vehement and irrational partisanship has replaced basic decency, or a general respect for country, among many Republicans is beyond me (particularly after their presidential candidate last year campaigned on a theme of 'Country First'), but the fact of the matter is it has. This isn't to excuse any progressives of outrageous statements or intentional insults, but it is a reflection of today's political environment which seeks to undermine any positive developments on one side of the aisle.

Do I think President Obama deserved it? Eh. I'm not sure.

Then again, I don't sit on the committee. I do, however, understand the justification for giving it to him, and I recognize that it was based on both promise and context - the promise of the U.S. taking a much-needed position of leadership regarding diplomacy, climate change, arms reduction, terrorism, etc. and the context that Obama is, for lack of a better description, the guy after President George W. Bush, whose policies greatly deviated from traditional American foreign policy.

(And, it must be noted, those rationales are consistent with the Nobel committee's decision-making process.)

Those are perfectly legitimate reasons, and though folks can disagree with granting him the award - again, I'm on the fence about it - it's just profoundly silly to devote so much energy on lambasting the process or the president.

What's important to recognize is that the award has been given to him, and it's been given to him largely based on his vision and his desire to rebuild the U.S.'s image in the world. Again, you can can disagree with that, but remember the award also is something that ought to hold him accountable, and it's something folks from all sides of the ideological spectrum should heed.

It's a heavy burden for any president, but these are heavy times with heavy challenges. Regardless of your political allegiances, you ought to hope the president can justify what the Nobel committee did this morning.