Done nothing?

It seems the Internet is abuzz with self-important assholes this morning, who think they are more qualified than the committee who decided to give Barack Obama the Nobel Peace Prize this morning, or perhaps think they've done more to promote peace than has our distinguished leader. Personally, I think the only people with a right to whine are the other nominees (because you should always get to whine when you don't win) and the members of the Prize committee who cast their vote for other nominees - OH WAIT it was an unanimous decision.

A lot of what I've heard lately is, "but he hasn't DONE anything." well, maybe not compared to George W. Bush, who, in his first 8 months in office...

- signs executive order limiting access to presidential records from Reagan forward
- raises legal amount of arsenic in drinking water (overturning a Clinton-era regulation)
- gives large corporations & wealthy individuals a $1.65 trillion tax cut
- takes a month-long vacation while intelligence warns of Osama Bin Laden's impending attacks
- signed the "Patriot Act"
- opened Guantanamo Bay prison (ok, that was January 2002)

In Barack Obama's first 8 months, he

- revokes executive order limiting access to presidential records
- signs an order to close Guantanamo Bay prison within a year (that's January, folks)
- signs Lilly Ledbetter fair pay act
- renews economic sanctions against Iran
- attends a NATO summit
- eliminates limits on Cuban-American family visits & remittances
- meets with Israeli President and Prime Minister to discuss Israeli-Palestinian relations
- holds a summit with Pakistani and Afghan Presidents
- denounces assassination of Dr. George Tiller
- begins removal of troops from major Iraqi cities
- meets with Russian President to discuss diplomatic progress with regard to nuclear weapons
- meets with Russian Prime Minister in ongoing effort to restructure US-Russian relations
- meets with many other world leaders (including Muslim leaders) in attempts to foster diplomacy, peace, and general goodwill

and, as TrueMajority reminds me
- Obama de-escalated the conflict with Russia by ending Bush's needless missile defense programs;
- After years of bluster and military threats from Bush, Obama successfully re-reopened dialogue with Iran, including their nuclear program;
-In Egypt and Eastern Europe, where Bush's government was a symbol of tyranny and empire, Obama electrified young people and reformers while pointing the way to a nuclear-free future;
- And where Bush wanted to begin a new arms race, Obama has begun to bring sanity to the military budget by ending programs like the F-22 and missile defense.

Yeah, you're right, he's done nothing these past 8 months, certainly nothing to promote peace. *eyeroll*

"The committee cited Obama's "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."

The committee said Obama had created "a new climate in international politics."

"Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future," the ... Read Morecommittee said, in a news release. "His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population."

I, for one, hope this award lights a fire under Obama and renews his spirit and resolve to promote peace and goodwill in the world. After all, he's spent the better part of the last couple of months not signing good legislation and participating in peace talks and summits, but rather fighting off the ugly but prevalent lies and ignorance regarding healthcare reform.

Pass your torch to other talking heads, President Obama, and live up to that Nobel Peace Prize. Continue on the hopeful path you laid out so early in your Presidency, and make us proud.