Sur-Prize!
Pres. Obama won the Nobel Prize this a.m., becoming the third sitting POTUS to be awarded the distinction.
Norwegian Nobel Cmte Chair Thorbjorn Jagland told CNN this a.m. the five-member cmte's decision was unanimous. Jagland, on Obama: "We want to promote what he is standing for and what he has already done."
Reax among pundits this a.m. ranged from surprise and skepticism to hope that the award would further America's global interests.
On "Morning Joe," MSNBC's Scarborough asked: "Can you ever think of a Nobel Peace Prize winner that has won this award for doing less than this president?"
Time's Halperin responded: "I think the best thing you can say about this is it's premature."
FNC's Kilmeade noted that Obama was awarded the prize less than nine months into his presidency, but noted: "If it helps America's foreign policy and interests, it's great news. It's extraordinary. This is a major news event that we're not going to forget any time soon."
Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-FL), in an appearance on "Morning Joe": "What a morning to be on television. We're blowing up particles on the moon, and the president wins the Nobel Peace Prize. What a country."
WH senior adviser David Axelrod: "It's an honor. It's nothing that anyone expected, certainly nothing the president sought. I think that he's less interested in individual honors -- and this certainly is one -- than in advancing the causes that were cited by the Nobel committee."
Speaking with Jagland shortly after the prize was announced, CNN's Mann asked whether a POTUS who is leading two wars could really be considered the world's most distinguished peacemaker.
Jagland responded: "We do want to emphasize that there is a need now for strengthening diplomacy, for resolving conflict. And that's what Barack Obama is trying to do."
"One could hope that this would help with resolving all those conflicts," he added.
(FELICIA SONMEZ)
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