Stunning event, even in the midst of absolute hosility from Republicans who are running a populist revolt against what they see as big government. Aspirational, to be sure, but still a great honor. One hopes he can use it as leverage to get some of the work done on so many international fronts. On! BP

Describing himself as "both surprised and deeply humbled" by the award, Obama later said he did not view it as a "recognition of my own accomplishments" but as a way to give impetus to broadly shared aspirations.

"To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who've been honored by this prize," Obama said in the White House Rose Garden late Friday morning. But he said the peace prize has often been used "to give momentum to a set of causes."

Therefore, he said, he would accept the prize "as a call to action" to confront the challenges of the 21st century, including nuclear nonproliferation, climate change and racial and religious discord.

In honoring Obama, 48, the Norwegian Nobel Committee echoed a global embrace of the U.S. president that has seen his popularity overseas often exceed his support at home. Though Obama's name surfaced early among contenders, the announcement astonished observers -- drawing gasps from the audience in Oslo -- in part because Obama assumed office less than two weeks before the Feb. 1 deadline for nominations.

The committee praised Obama for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples" during his nine months in office and singled out for special recognition Obama's call for a world free of nuclear weapons, the subject of a major speech April 5 in Prague.

Heralding Obama as a transformative figure in U.S. and international diplomacy, the committee said: "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. 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."

Obama is the third sitting U.S. president -- and the first in 90 years -- to win the coveted peace prize. His predecessors won during their second White House terms, however, and after significant diplomatic achievements. Woodrow Wilson was awarded the prize in 1919, after helping to found the League of Nations and shaping the Treaty of Versailles; and Theodore Roosevelt was the recipient in 1906 for his work to negotiate an end to the Russo-Japanese war.

Washington Post

10-9-09