What are they smoking in Oslo?

Perhaps the committee felt sorry for Obama after his "hometown" of Chicago lost its 2016 Olympic bid to Rio or perhaps they are happy that he is on course to destroying the United States of America? Whatever the reason, if you're like me when you heard the news that the President had won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, you asked yourself - for what?

The nomination process ended just 12 days after the president was inaugurated. The committee said they decided to issue the citation to the president "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. 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." So???

The president is so determined to be liked around the world that he is forgetting that his real focus should be on his own country. Unemployment continues to rise, people continue to worry about losing their job, people aren't spending as much which hurts the private sector, nations around the world are thinking of replacing the US dollar as the international currency, he continues to want to spend money we don't have which will bankrupt us, and the list goes on and on. Let's just say if this road continues, he may very well not win the ultimate price from the citizens of the United States -reelection.

Awarding this prize to a man who had been in office for 12 days only makes the committee look even more ridiculous than before. Remember the Saturday Night Live skit where they made fun of the president for his record so far? Here's a recap - he's done NOTHING (except spend money)! He's fighting to wars and can't get a climate bill through Congress which is controlled by his own party.

The president should have turned down this award. Afterall, the Nobel Peace Prize should be awarded for what one has acomplished not what they promise. It appears that the committee chose to give the prize to Obama simply because he is not Bush. He could have said that while he is grateful for the award, he hasn't done the things he wants to accomplish and therefore can't accept the award. The award comes at an interesting time. The president is debating whether to follow through with General McCrystals' request for an additional 40,000 more troops for Afghanistan. The question is now that he is the winner and the committee is looking to him for "peace", will he send the troops needed to get the job done or will he make us retreat?

Reaction around the world is mixed but even the Times of London declared that the committee's choice makes a mockery out of the award. Lech Walesa, former Polish President who is also Nobel laureate, said the president hasn't made any contributions and that it was far to early to award such a prize.

I hope there is enough duct-tape to keep the president's head from growing any bigger.