No. Absolutely not.
Many commentators, left and right,
are saying that he should indeed turn it down so as to
acknowledge his lack of accomplishments and avoid advancing his
narcissistic image.
But the implicit premise in those arguments is that the Nobel
Peace prize is an honor that President Obama doesn't deserve. The
committee's decision to award Barack Obama the prize clearly
shows that it is not an honor but a partisan joke. The prize has
gone to some dubious
characters in the past. But to award it to Obama...
Think of it this way: what would you do if you had woken up this
morning to discover on the news that they'd given the prize to
you? It's not that far-fetched a scenario, because most people
have done on net as much as Obama to foster peace -- after all,
he is prosecuting two wars and in fact
bombing the moon. If I had won it, I wouldn't reject it. I
would thank the committee and put it right next to (but below) my
1994 Oakdale School basketball championship trophy on my trophy
stand.
UPDATE: ...and as a commenter suggests, I'd also cash the check.
Their money is good even if their mental health is not.
UPDATE II: Another commenter suggests: "Hey, they really hurt his
feelings with that Olympics business. This is the just the euros'
way of cheering him up." Funny, that was almost the exact reason
I was awarded the 1994 Oakdale basketball championship trophy
after we were so crushed by losing to the Red Team. Except
instead of "euros" they were parents.
