Hey World, does Obama really deserve the Nobel Peace Prize yet?

Don't get me wrong, generally speaking I am a fan of Obama and his style of governing. More-over it's nice to have someone who can pronounce words and string sentences together. However, what has Obama done yet to deserve the Nobel Peace Prize? I mean, there are people who dedicate their lives to the cause of peace, but you give it to the guy that's not even been in office for a year. I know, you like the guy. And you wanted to send a message saying that you love the fact that he's not Bush (you won't get any complaints from me), but without Palin, McCain would've been at least a LITTLE better than Bush.

It IS a great thing that he got it, but the simple fact that I am questioning the merits means that there's a Boston Harbor full of Tea-Baggers, Birthers, Beck-ians, and Limbaugh acolytes that are going to jump on this and let it support their wacky ideas of the coming Apocalypse. Yes, Obama has severely shifted the American tone in the World and it has been a great thing to try to win our good-standing back in the World, but I think this pick comes across as politically expedient and reeks of political correctness.

They could have waited a few years in my opinion. I have little doubt that as the Obama presidency moves forward, he (and his Administration/staff) will further attempt to bridge gaps and bring peace to the World - just as the US should use its standing to do - and what better way to help in about three years when reelection comes up? You see, the conservatives are going to foment over this for the next three years saying Obama is the President that Europe (they will say it in a very condesceding way) likes. This will further their message that he's a socialist/Marxist/blah-blah-blah-ist, but the dumb American public is going to buy into it. I just think the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Obama was a bit too preemptive.

The Health Care Chronicles: I hear cries of "RINO" in the distance...

Amidst all of the disinformation campaigns and cries of "socialism" and "communism" on the right and the unwillingness to back down from a full public option on the left, it is nice to see that there are some politicans that are interested in working together to craft bipartisan (or at least compromised) legislation. The sad part is that any attempt by a Republican to reform health care will be viewed by neocon Republicans (and their adoring public ditto-heads) as capitulation to the Democrats; they term these people "RINO" - Republicans In Name Only - a term that plagued Arlen Specter for years. In this potential legislation, the public option would only take hold if the health care industrial complex does not meet the goals outlined in the proposed legislation. Unfortunately however, few are likely to report this in depth and even fewer in the public are going to care.

It was said best in the movie Gladiator: "The mob is fickle, brother." Even now as we have important things to debate, the more viewed stories on CNN are "Heigl to take 'Grey's' Hiatus" and "Michael Jackson to be interred Thursday." People have hit overload and they are losing faith in the plan according to polls, and the politicians - outside of a few - are doing nothing to help keep this topic as a part of REASONABLE public discourse.

I have heard many positive messages on NPR as of late regarding health care, but it's falling on ears that already agree that something needs to be done. We have some semi-objective studies done of what is offered around the world ( TR Reid's The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care), but people have already made their minds up. They listen to Glenn Beck decry socialism at the idea that the government could take on a minor role, while leaving much of the system private (read: STILL CAPITALISTIC!) and see images of the hammer and sickle and imagine themselves being planted into a bread line in Communist Russia. The few responsible Republicans that remain and the Democrats are doing nothing to battle this perception problem. I want Olympia Snowe to come out against the neocon notion that she is only a Republican in name only; I want her to come out sneering at the Party-of-No Republicans that at least she is attempting to compromise. But that might be expecting too much out of politicians, and expecting that the public will be thoughtful and open-minded probably would be too.