Obama Nobel Peace Prize spurs Twitter reaction

President Obama awarded 2009 Nobel Peace Prize

On Friday, President Barack Obama was awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, becoming only the third sitting U.S. president to win such a prize. The Norwegian Nobel Commitee praised Obama’s “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples,” also citing his creation of “a new climate in international politics.”

“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 committee said in a citation, according to Reuters.

According to CNN, the announcement came as a big surprise. Obama’s name had not been mentioned among front-runners and the roomful of reporters in Oslo, Norway, gasped when he was named.

The announcement was widely criticized on Twitter:

Kenshin__ (Tokyo, Japan) Obama won the Nobel Prize ?! For a man who will send soldiers in Afghanistan soon, that’s amazing… 09 Oct 2009 from web

dandyleon (Undisclosed) daddey read obama got peace nobel prize.that’s BS lol.what has he done yet? 09 Oct 2009 from web

MehdiHussain (London, UK) #Obama winning a Nobel Prize? Just when you thought this world couldn’t get any more messed up… 09 Oct 2009 from web

LiliCosic (Slovenia) Obama got the Nobel peace prize, why? :/ 09 Oct 2009 from web

thidc @flaviobessajr (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) Eu achava que o Nobel era imparcial e justo, mas vejo que é mais um vendido pela fama do Mr. President Obama. Its a shame =/(I thought that the Nobel was impartial and fair, but I see that it is one sold by the fame of Mr. President Obama. Its a shame = /) 09 Oct 2009 from web in reply to flaviobessajr

thierryB (Lavaltrie, Quebec) Le Nobel de la paix pour Obama : c’est une blague, non? Il est là depuis moins d’un an (The Nobel Peace Obama: it’s a joke, right? He has been there less than a year). 09 Oct 2009 from TweetDeck

The decision was even criticized by Twitterers in the United States:

armcomm (Upstate New York) Obama getting a Nobel Prize for a speech means as much as Arafat getting his for peace efforts. Yawn. Ceased to mean anything long ago. 09 Oct 2009 from Echofon

BadMayo (Chicago, IL) Nobel Appease Prize 09 Oct 2009 from Twitterrific

ChasingYourStar (New York City, NY) Hmmm. Long story short: Obama does NOT deserve the Nobel Peace Prize. 09 Oct 2009 from txt

john_tucker_ (Horn Lake, MS) You can be in the middle of two wars and allowing two third world countries too develop nuclear arms and win the Nobel Peace Prize? 09 Oct 2009 from txt

aeg0707 (Undisclosed) RT @markknoller: Worth noting, Pres. Obama took office less than 10 days before the Feb. 1 deadline for Nobel Prize nominations 09 Oct 2009 from web

oicStars (Burbank, CA) am I dreaming? Obama wins Nobel peace prize? for what??? weird. 09 Oct 2009 from Tweetie

Some world leaders applauded Obama’s strides toward peace. Mikhail Gorbachev, former Soviet leader and a Nobel Prize winner himself, said: “I am happy…In these hard times people who are capable of taking responsibility, who have a vision, commitment and political will should be supported.”

However, the announcement did not pass without criticism.

“Obama’s winning the peace prize shows these prizes are political, not governed by the principles of credibility, values and morals,” said Islamic Jihad leader Khaled Al-Batsh.