Obama Wins Peace Prize, Internet is Divided

, by Gianna Palmer, Blargus Co-Editor

It’s a sad day when the president wins a Nobel Peace Prize and the first thing that comes up on related google hits is a story about the reactions happening on Twitter. According to CNN, this morning’s tweets were divided between those who are happy with the news and those who feel the prize was undeserved for a leader who has spent less than 9 months in office. The article even cites 12 original tweets— wow, how’s that for investigative reporting?

Social network sites aside, the announcement certainly has the potential to polarize a lot more than just the internet. Truth be told, Obama was inaugurated only 10 days before the February 1 Nobel nomination deadline. Thorbjorn Jagland, the chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee was quick to brush aside the notion that the award may be premature. “We are not awarding the prize for what may happen in the future, but for what he has done in the previous year,” Mr. Jagland said. “We would hope this will enhance what he is trying to do.” In its official announcement, the Nobel Committee granted Obama the award “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”

So far, however, reactions to the news have been less than overwhelmingly positive. The New York Times went so far as to suggest that the award could actually be a political liability. Of course, it will take more than a few hours in the non-stop news cycle to see how public opinion will shake out. In the meantime, if your morning tweet about the news wasn’t enough internet participation for your taste, you can head to the Washington Post website to vote in its user poll and on whether or not the president deserves the award.

About gpalmer

Gianna Palmer is a senior English and Sociology major from Eugene, Oregon. At Wesleyan, Gianna has written for the Argus and Wesleying, and tutored through the Writing Workshop. Outside of Wesleyan, Gianna has interned/written for Preservation Magazine in Washington, D.C. and the New York Daily News. Besides heading up the Blargus, Gianna is keeping busy her senior year by doling out funds as a member of the Student Budget Committee, dancing in student-choreographed pieces and scoping out the class of 2014 as a senior interviewer in the Admissions Office.

1 Comment

  1. Safe at last

    Obama got the peace prize for not being GWB.

    GWB destroyed so much good will so fast, abrogating all of our treaties and offending all of our allies and the UN. This is Europe’s way of celebrating the end of the terrible 8 years after the stolen election, with a return to hope and peace. Nothing against Obama — I think he’s a great man and great for our country — but this was a referendum of GWB.

Leave a Reply

Twitter