Credit now, pay later..The new Nobel Peace prize

This year's Nobel Peace prize is awarded to USA President Barack Obama. Here is the official press release from the prize committee. He has (as of this day) been in office for just more than 9 months.

The peace prize was awarded 'for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples'. The prize, according to me and many others (including previous peace prize winners) has been awarded in 'hope' of doing everything he has pledged to do. He has inspired 'hope' in an uninspired world. Come on !! Anyone coming in after the Bush fiasco would've got the same sort of hope-inspiring effect on the US or other countries. 


Nobel prizes, peace or otherwise, were until today based on the impact of the laureate's work on the relevant field. e.g. This year's Nobel prize in Medicine and Physiology went towards the discovery of the telomerase enzyme and telomeres that have since then been implicated in very important aspects of aging and cancer. They have become widely studied and have impacted the field significantly. This discovery was first made in the early 1980s. It has taken more than 20 years for this discovery to be given its due. Now granted that peace prizes have been given for their immediate and far reaching impacts. Note the immediate and far reaching impact - NOT impending impact. This is exactly what the prize to Obama signifies. I earnestly hope that in him receiving this he is much more in the spotlight and under pressure, as a politician and world leader has never been before, to actually deliver some of the campaign promises they have made. Obama, in his defense, has been on the right path so far. 


Where have we heard 'I want world peace and no wars and bloodshed' a thousand-and-one times before. On every beauty pageant that you've watched (ok. This is a cliche but there's a reason it's a cliche!).