[Cerek]

My perspective:

The award seems premature since it is based on Obama's words rather than his actions. It also seemed very clear to me that this was an award for President Obama not being George W. Bush more than anything else. In Obama's defense, however, this is not the first time the committee has rewarded a new world leader for replacing an unpopular predecessor. Gorbachev also received the award shortly after his rise to power in the USSR.

There have certainly been outrageous choices in the past; Yassir Arafat comes to mind and the award given to Henry Kissinger and Lo Duc Tho seems to be the most contentious to date. Last year's award to Al Gore was just ridiculous and did as much, if not more, to diminish the meaning of the award.

As for President Obama, while the timing of the award might be questionable, I don't feel his nomination "diminishes" the award in anyway. If anything, it re-establishes a measure of respectability compared to last years winner.

To his credit, Obama was very humbled and gracious in his reaction to the award. That is one of the qualities I truly admire about him. I also give him credit for viewing this as a "call to action" rather than a reward for anything already done.