....I thought this was a joke when I first heard about it......
Kinda sad really.
Nothing else to say when an award that is prestigious precisely because of the impressive resumes of past recipients, is awarded merely on the envisioned future resume and unfulfilled rhetoric of a man whose biggest accomplishment to date is being elected. It's a slap in the face to those who have actually earned this honor to anoint this kind of prestige onto someone who is so obviously undeserving at this stage of his career.
It really puts Obama in a bind as well. It doesn't sound like he lobbied for this...so what is he supposed to do? Reject it? Not likely, and even if he did he would obviously face even more criticism.....
Ironically I think what is a pretty blatant partisan move by the committee does more harm than good to Obama here in the US. He is already fighting the perception of being long on promises/talk and short on results (SNL just did a skit on this, and they are far from alone in the criticism).
All of that seems to support the notion that they awarded it to him in the hopes of shaping his agenda...which if that is the case I hope he summons the balls to reject the award and openly rebuke the committee (which he almost certainly won't because its not smart politics).
Given his background, and given his political position, I think he is far more likely to accept the award and try to use it to his advantage rather than risk creating some international drama.
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| To Each Man, Responsibility |
