President Barack Obama Awarded 2009 Nobel Peace Prize

President Barack Obama has made history again! He has won a Nobel Peace Prize. Yes, I am sure this is going to tick the Rethuglicans off! He was praised by the Norwegian Nobel Committee for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.""Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future," the committee said. "His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population."Wait, didn't Arizona State University refuse to give him a honorary degree when he delivered the commencement address there earlier this year because his body of work has yet to be realized? The Nobel Peace Prize is far better than any honorary degree. Of course, Michelle Malkin, Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Matt Drudge and Glenn Beck will be foaming at the mouth over this latest accomplishment. Joe Scarborough, host of "Morning Joe," says he just wants President Obama to "do something before winning awards." We just can't get along, can we?

The committee also said Obama has "created a new climate in international politics." The announcement came as a surprise -- Obama's name had not been mentioned among front-runners -- and the roomful of reporters in Oslo, Norway, gasped when he was named. In his short time in office, Obama has acted on a wide range of issues from the economy to terrorism and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Obama also lobbied unsuccessfully to bring the 2016 Olympics to Chicago, Illinois. (Source: CNN)

After returning from Denmark, Obama expressed no regret about his trip, saying it is "always a worthwhile endeavor to promote and boost the United States." Former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, last year's Peace Prize laureate, said it was clear the Nobel committee wanted to encourage Obama on the issues he has been discussing on the world stage. "I see this as an important encouragement," Ahtisaari said. (Source: CNN)

This is an extraordinary accomplishment and it is a great inspiration for the world. He showed us during the presidential campaign that we can transcend race. On the world stage, we can come together and work for the better of mankind. Obama, only nine months into his administration, became the third sitting president U.S. president to win the prestigious prize -- Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 and Woodrow Wilson in 1919. Jimmy Carter was the fourth American leader to win, but he was out of office when he was recognized in 2002.

UPDATE#1: According to Breitbart, an AP article just had to interject President George W. Bush in the equation by surmising that "the plaudit appeared to be a slap at President George W. Bush from a committee that harshly criticized Obama's predecessor for resorting to largely unilateral military action in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks." It further added that "rather than recognizing concrete achievement, the 2009 prize appeared intended to support initiatives that have yet to bear fruit: reducing the world stock of nuclear arms, easing American conflicts with Muslim nations and strengthening the U.S. role in combating climate change."