This is huge, eh?

I sure wasn't thinking this was on the horizon. We can already predict the reaction from the wingers: this is all part of his cult of personality, he's never done anything, blah blah blah. And there is no doubt that there will be attacks from the left, both claiming that it's premature and that he's continuing Bush's warmongering policies.

On the other hand, look at the context. For eight years the United States, still the world's dominant power, had abandoned anything but a pretense of internationalism with a combination of unilateral imperialism and what could be called command diplomacy. The result: wars around the world, strengthened terrorism, and continued hostilities in the Middle East.

I think we can take the Nobel Committee at their world when they say, “We are not awarding the prize for what may happen in the future but for what he has done in the previous year. We would hope this will enhance what he is trying to do.”

In other words, in a world where international cooperation has become a radical concept, the Nobel Committee is taking the opportunity to be an active player on the world stage and support any efforts in that direction.

I support this decision.