I applaud all that President Obama has done to change the tone of our international diplomacy and how he has reached out to the world to repair our relationships with, well, just about everyone. The Bush administration did just about everything they could to destroy America's reputation and standing in the world and to destabilize international cooperation and efforts for peace, so Obama's efforts do represent a significant departure and a move toward a more sane and hopefully a more peaceful world.

Still, I cannot help but feel that this is too much, too soon. Give him some time to see things through and to accomplish more. Give time for dialogue to bear fruit and for a real return to an America that is a beacon of hope. We still have too much of the Bush legacy yet to be undone internationally and domestically. When Guantanamo is gone, when alleged terrorists are tried in a fair court of law, when extraordinary rendition is a thing of the past, when spying on American citizens is ended, when the abuses of the Patriot act are mitigated or eliminated, then I think it would make sense to award the prize.

As much as I hate to say it, I think this was not a wise decision by the Nobel committee.

I applaud all that President Obama has done to change the tone of our international diplomacy and how he has reached out to the world to repair our relationships with, well, just about everyone. The Bush administration did just about everything they could to destroy America's reputation and standing in the world and to destabilize international cooperation and efforts for peace, so Obama's efforts do represent a significant departure and a move toward a more sane and hopefully a more peaceful world.

Still, I cannot help but feel that this is too much, too soon. Give him some time to see things through and to accomplish more. Give time for dialogue to bear fruit and for a real return to an America that is a beacon of hope. We still have too much of the Bush legacy yet to be undone internationally and domestically. When Guantanamo is gone, when alleged terrorists are tried in a fair court of law, when extraordinary rendition is a thing of the past, when spying on American citizens is ended, when the abuses of the Patriot act are mitigated or eliminated, then I think it would make sense to award the prize.

As much as I hate to say it, I think this was not a wise decision by the Nobel committee.

I understand you entirely. I worked for the Obama campaign and was a delegate for him at our county and state conventions and am currently working to help get decent health care reform passed. It's just too soon to be credible. I wish they had waited to see more results.

Given the relentless, irrational bashing you've done of Obama and anything on the "left," and even though I think the award was premature, I still discount your words here. Your perspective is too poisoned by your hatred.

Please explain what you mean.

All I can say is that if I were in President Obama's position, I would consider what I've accomplished to this point as the tip of the iceberg with the real work still ahead. Telling the world that we will engage again by talking honestly with our neighbors, being willing to compromise and not simply ramming our agenda down their throats, is an enormous change from the Bush administration. But as others have said, then Obama's accomplishments are great only because we had fallen so far. It seems odd to me to get a prize for bringing the U.S. back to where we should have been in the first place.

Certainly moving us to this point was essential, but it amounts to righting the ship of state. Now he has to show his skill at sailing it.

I think there is a lot of merit in what you said. It's just that Obama's righting of our ship of state is just a beginning. It gets us back to being a member of the community of nations instead of an out of control empire bent on imposing its will on the world.

As I said before, I applaud this accomplishment, it just seems wrong that getting the U.S. to behave well should be sufficient for a peace prize.

All you say is essentially true but irrelevant to youngservative. Like all trolls s/he lives to get a rise out of people and to derail any real discussion. As annoying and provoking as they are, they are best ignored. I think the most you can hope for is that they may read the more thoughtful posts and gradually see the value of a real conversation.

Yes, some people never change. Even so, in this matter, I'm somewhat like Obama. That is, I prefer to try to constructively engage with those I disagree with, even those I profoundly disagree with.

Where I part with Obama on this is that I don't think one is obliged to a high level of engagement with individuals or groups that engage in bad faith. Once an individual, like youngservative, or a group, like the Republican Party, shows themselves to be dishonest brokers in the debate, they lose standing to be engaged beyond an offer to bring them into the debate again when they demonstrate a willingness to be civil. Until they drop the innuendo, the ad hominem attacks, the lies and half truths, they will be marginalized and ignored. And I'll move forward with my goals without being overly concerned about them.

Given that he was awarded the prize and that he hasn't had much time in office, I think his humility and recognition of how much there is yet to do strikes exactly the right tone.