The coverage and backlash against Obama being awarded the Nobel peace prize continues, in an unusual move one of the judges has come forward to defend him and states he 'didn't look happy' about receiving the award.
Comment columns around the world have leaped all over Obama and many have taken the opportunity to try and knock him down a peg or two. The decision has been called 'a mockery' that's purely a political tool, that he shouldn't have accepted it at all and even that his humble approach is an act and he's reveling in the glory.
Disregarding the argument of whether he deserved the award altogether and even ignoring the question of what his receiving the award will achieve - I don't think he could have handled it any other way.
Obama has proven himself an intelligent President and he's handled difficult situations well in the past, he recognizes that America (and the world) is sick of a certain type of aggressive government and is offering an alternative, albeit one that had to make concessions when faced with the reality of leading the most powerful and vulnerable nation on the planet. He fought an election campaign based on his own principles rather than attacking his opposition and even admits when he makes mistakes, something his predecessor would have struggled to pull off and appear honest.
He's brought that considered approach to receiving the prize. If he had said no, then no matter how graciously he did so he'd appear arrogant, we'd say 'Thinks he's too good for it does he?' And if he'd accepted it with huge fanfare there would have been even more uproar and backlash, the articles calling him undeserving now are mild in comparison to what we'd see had he appeared deserving. The only thing we dislike more than someone undeserving of an award is someone who deserves it and knows they do.
He seems to have found a good middle ground and while the award perhaps isn't doing him too many favours right now, it could have been a lot lot worse.
Consistently excellent blog - always interesting, always tightly written. You are better though when you go in sideways like Berlusconi piece, rather than trying to take on The Whole World's Press head on.
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