Should President Obama Have Accepted the Nobel Peace Prize?

When President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize, many people were confused. A couple big questions on everyone's mind were, why did he get it? What did he do to deserve it? Did anyone else deserve it? Even after time has marched on, many people are still very confused about this.

Some people have said that Barack Obama did not even want this honor in the first place. They claim that giving the President an award when he really didn't do anything to deserve it was either a very bad move on someone's part that had good intentions, or it was a very smart and calculated move on a person that knew there would be a backlash.

Although the President was definitely grateful for the honor, he obviously did not refuse the award. To do so would probably have made him look even less favorable in the eyes of those that don't necessarily support him.

Was it meant to cause problems for the President? I personally believe it was, because it's basically a lose-lose situation for him. Like it was mentioned earlier- if the President accepted the honor and displayed gratitude, then people (his detractors) would be upset that he go the award when he really didn't deserve it. If he refused the award, it would not make him seem very American and patriotic in some people's eyes.

So what should the President have done, ideally? Some people have said that it would have been a very smart move for him to humbly acknowledge the prestige of the award and how honored he felt to have been considered, but politely decline and say he has not earned such an honor. This would have not only pacified those that are very proud of the Nobel Peace Prize, it also would have showed how humble and centered the President is.Now, the fact of the matter is he did not humbly turn down the award. That is fine, as responding positively to award nominations is not part of the President's job description. Maybe next time he'll be better prepared.