Why President Obama Won the Nobel Peace Prize

President Obama, our 44th president, wins the nobel peace prize, "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples." The Nobel Committe said, "Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics...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 nobel peace prize is defined as, "Any of the six international prizes awarded annually by the Nobel Foundation for outstanding achievements in the fields of physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and economics and for the promotion of world peace."

I for one, am more confident and proud to have President Obama speaking to national leaders than I was when our previous 'leader' represented our country. Furthermore, Bush was mediocre in his desire and ability to speak with other leaders. In my opinion, Obama is peace seeking, the pursuer of peace and an enabler of unity; the opposite of Bush, who was war mongering and utilized scare-tactics for control. Obama would rather talk out issues where Bush would prefer to go in with guns blazing.

When Obama speaks, I am proud. When Bush spoke, I was embarrased and turned off the TV, for shame. When Bush was elected both times, I felt fear, shame for our country, and embarrassement. Obama's election was bone-chilling, beautiful and unifying. From America to Kenya, people rejoiced and unity was omnipresent. I cried tears of joy. I'm an Obama believer through and through. For the first time in such a long time, I have confidence in our leader.

Theodore Roosevelt was the first American to win a Nobel in any category for his work in helping broker the end of the Russo-Japanese War in 1905. Roosevelt did not feel right accepting the Nobel while in office. Woodrow Wilson won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919 for his services establishing the League of Nations. Jimmy Carter was awarded in 2002, for "his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development," in the words of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

Congratulations to our President!! Obama said he viewed the decision less as a recognition of his own accomplishments and more as "a call to action." This year's Peace Prize nominees included 172 people, the highest number of nominations ever.