When I heard that President Obama had won the Nobel Peace Prize, I was shocked.  What had he done to further world peace?  Then I saw the official explanation: his commitment to nuclear disarmament and his promises for greater diplomacy.  Commitment and promises? That's what earns someone a Nobel Prize?  I too think that nukes are bad and wish that everyone could get along.  Where's my $1.4million and prestigious award?  Well, I didn't get one, probably because I haven't done anything yet.  But wait, neither has the President!  Now in the ninth month of his presidency, he still is embroiled in two wars, one of which is facing an eminent increase in American military presence, routinely launches attacks into a friendly country (Pakistan), has done little to stem Iran's eminent nuclear capabilities, didn't even speak up when peaceful demonstrators faced brutal reprisals in Iran when protesting the supposed re-election of tyrant Mahmoud Ahmadinijad, and the list goes on.  Now don't get me wrong, I don't disagree with the President's policies thus far in Iraq and Afghanistan, or with attacks into the tribal regions of Pakistan, but I mean, Mother Teresa wasn't out there calling in drone strikes to assassinate people.  Even Teddy Roosevelt, one of America's more hawkish presidents, won the prize for structuring a peace deal between Japan and Russia, which is one more peace deal than the Obama administration has orchestrated.

Granting the Nobel Prize to someone on the hopes that they will accomplish something cheapens the image of the award (think of what would happen if the award for Science was given to someone because the committee thought that some day he might cure cancer, or the Literature award to an author for the book she was planning to write).  On a broader scale, however, Obama's award truly exemplifies the very idea of his presidency.  The President rode his promises into office.  Primarily he promised change, by which he promised to fix the economy, hold Wall Street more accountable, fix health care, pull our troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq, close Guantanamo, strive for equality for the gay community, and generally make life awesome for everyone everywhere.  By my count he's 0 for 8.  The stimulus was destined to fail from the start and has exceeded even its harshest critics' expectations in terms of its inefficacy.  Unemployment hovers around 10%.  Iraq has seen progress, but the gains have been offset by the backpedalling taking place in Afghanistan.  There are no plans to close Guantanamo, long after the President signed the order to shut down the infamous facility.  Obama has drawn fire from gay and lesbian leaders for not fulfilling his promises he made to their constituents.  Here at home, his popularity has taken a nose dive in the days since the inauguration.  Independents are jumping ship, even as Republicans flounder to put together a coherent message, and even members of his own party are showing their frustration.

Of course, none of these failed promises matter to the Europeans who select the winners of the award.  For them, it is enough that Obama isn't George W. Bush.  I'm sure they appreciate the shift from "What America says, goes" to the new attitude of "Whatever I did before, I'm really sorry," which the President and Secretary Clinton have trumpeted around the globe like someone apologizing to fellow partygoers for a night of drunkenness he no longer remembers.  For those of us back here across the pond, however, the award is downright offensive.  It posits the idea that words and intentions are good enough; that if you mean well then that's all it takes.  For millions of Americans without jobs right now, those intentions aren't worth much, let alone the $787 billion price tag with which they actually came.  For the people of Iraq and Afghanistan, good intentions haven't frustrated the aims of Al-Qaeda or the Taliban, and haven't allowed them to move on with their lives without having to deal with frequent violence or constant American military presence.  Promises of nuclear disarmament haven't stopped work on Iran's nuclear processing facility.  Hope for peace hasn't brought Israelis and Palestinians together.  Verbal commitments to the gay community haven't brought down any barriers to equality.  Tough talk on Wall Street hasn't been backed up by any tough new regulations, or even stopped traders from engaging in the same levels of risk that brought down the markets in the first place.

Good ideas and lip service may cut it for the Nobel Prize Committee, but Americans want results, and rewarding the President for merely thinking instead of acting is only going to further the public's frustration with a president who can't translate his words into actions.