Obama Nobel Peace Prize 2009

Unexpectedly, the President of the United States Barack Obama has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2009.  The award was given to Obama for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples," the Norwegian Nobel Committee said.  This suprising choice makes Obama the third president in office to win the prize. President Theodore Roosevelt won the award in 1906 and President Woodrow Wilson won in 1919.

Obama's nomination for the prize barely made it before the Feb.1 cut off date.  There are many Nobel Prize watchers who think it is much too soon for Obama to have won the Peace Prize.  Rather than recognizing Obama's 2009 achievements, it seemed more as if he was being awarded for solving issues that have not yet been solved.

Barack Obama was praised for reducing the world stock of nuclear arms, easing American conflicts with Muslim nations and strengthening the U.S. role in combating climate change, all of these things are still being worked on.