Obama's Nobel: Like My Procedure, & Some Swing State Voting, It's Too Close To Call

This morning, I received an email from my mother that I quickly dismissed as probable spam, or at least the rudimentary beginnings of a bad joke. It declared that President Obama had won the Nobel Peace Prize. Her work email address is relatively safe, I think, and she doesn't have that sophistocated of a sense of humor. No one does, really. What would the punchline be here? A hackneyed "NOT"?

I like President Obama, but I've written before about how his administration has not exactly set the world on fire with regard to his policies. Evidently, though, I was wrong. His win of the Nobel Peace Prize proved this, but I remain adamant that his presidency is too nascent to garner such an accolade. As such a young president, both in terms of his term duration and physical age, I scoff at this award.

I understand the urge to slap Bush in the face with this. He was, simply, the worst president in the history of the US, and this is no small feat in a country that elected Nixon. Twice. And Reagan. Twice.

Mostly, I think that this award is a slap in the face to any and every moron who voted for Bush in either of his electoral wins. Lest we forget, America, you voted for that dumbass. I can hear the caterwauling and whining of limp progressive voters protesting that this is a lie. Well, his first win was bullshit, but his second, over the pontificating John Kerry, was legit, though not exactly resounding. In the end, it didn't matter. He was reelected, and viewed his win as a "mandate" to enact some of the worst policies, both foreign and domestic, possible. Ugh, he was such a terrible president.

With the election of Obama, it looked like America had finally inhaled the smelling salt and been brought back to coherence. So far, it only looks like a good prospect. Nothing tangibly different has really changed. Numerous pundits think, and say, that this award is more of a clarion call to action for Obama than a current reward for diplomatic success.

I would agree, but not now. I would rather wait until some real results can be seen, and so far Obama's policies have been too cautious and not very bold. Maybe in a while we will feel and witness his greatness, but now not much is there.

The same dilatory patience is needed for my stem cell procedure. On Wednesday afternoon, I was told that it could take as long as two years for the full effects of the reinfusion to be felt. I expected this, and didn't expect to be running marathons within the month. This sort of thing takes time, and was never meant as a quick-fix solution.

Still, no one has thrown a sash around my neck that says "I BEAT MS" in big bold red letters. You know why? Because concrete results remain to be seen. In this terribly ephemeral, Twitter-centric world of instant gratification, we all need to slow down a bit. The monumental bunglings of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan cannot be fixed overnight, and we have to learn to wait before bestowing awards for the hope of accomplishment, as opposed to actual action, or else such honors lose their meaning. For a community that came to scoff, rightly, at Bush's stupid "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED" declaration, is it not premature to bestow a Nobel onto someone who has not done much of anything? This distinction is far too premature, and Obama shouldn't let it lull him into complacency and a false sense of accomplishment.

Likewise, I have to wait until I can declare victory over MS. It's frustrating, especially for someone like me, to know that I have to wait, but c'est la vie. Sure, I would deign to accept a prize for defeating it just because I had the stem cell procedure. Don't get me wrong--I'd accept it, but I'd know I didn't deserve it. Yet.

The same goes for Obama. He can travel to Sweden and wear the brass ring, but he must know that he hasn't earned it.

Yet.

R