Obama deserved the Nobel Peace Prize

Like I tried making perfectly clear in my 1st round argument, a good portion of his "accomplishment" is simply the stances he's taken on the issues and the fact that he's made it to the very top with these stances. It's not just his stances, however, it is how he compares to his predecessors. Yes, he's followed the liberal agenda instead of a conservative one - this is of no relevance, however. It just so happens that the liberal agenda is more peaceful, and it would be hard to see how a conservative could win a peace prize based on the fact that they are in fact waging the 8 wars I listed below and they consistently find themselves on an immoral footing. Obama has ACCOMPLISHED becoming President - more than most of the other Nobel Prize winners have accomplished. Becoming President of the greatest country that ever lived is the ultimate achievement, and doing it on a peaceful platform is a great accomplishment in and of itself. Past Presidents have achieved becoming President but they have not achieved it with peaceful policies, which is why they are not eligible for the award. Reagan's history of anti-environmentalism, Bush 41's history of stoking the war on drugs, and Bush 43's obvious blunders in Iraq are good reasons why they would never be selected for an award like this. Moreover, these 3 have worked in favor of big business almost exclusively which condemns the proletariat to lower and lower standards of living. Obama has stepped up on behalf of the poor, and look what is happening to him: he is being chastised on a daily basis by the media and by people who don't want him to succeed with extinguishing these wars. Of course these same people also label themselves as patriots in order to avoid this conclusion... The reason why I do not accept your argument is because conservatives are standing in Obama's way, and if he is not successful in achieving his peaceful intentions, it is only because of the opposition by conservatives. An analogy: if I go into a burning building to save lives and die before I save those lives, am I any less deserving of a medal of valor? Obama's lack of success is irrelevant; there is good reason why the Nobel committee chose him. All that matters is that Obama is fighting the good fight. Analogies that I have seen circulating on DDO are akin to "I want to find a cure for AIDS... Where's my Nobel Prize for science?" If someone was working on a cure for AIDS, and they came close to finding it but didn't quite find it, it is conceivable that they could win the prize even if they didn't technically cure AIDS. What matters here is that you make your mark, which doesn't necessarily mean you achieve your ultimate goal. Many Nobel Prize winners don't actually achieve their goals; they just make steps to bring them closer. If we sit back and demand that all our problems are solved before we give any recognition, then we won't get anywhere. What matters is that you raise the standard so that future generations have to do a better job based on your achievements. Future Presidents will have to do better if they want to fill Obama's shoes, for these 8 reasons. 1) Middle East: Those 17,000 troops are going to Afghanistan, not Iraq. If he wants to use some of our troops in the Middle-East to assist other countries in anti-terror efforts, then no one is going to have a problem with that. Our problem lies with the questionable invasion of Iraq to "spread freedom" that had nothing to do with Al-Queda or 9/11. As far as Iraq is concerned, our troops are over there already and it is pretty well agreed upon at this point that we can't just bring them all home at once, less we cause chaos. Obama has done everything that anyone could possibly ask of him at this point in order to bring a reasonable end to the Iraq conflict: he has set an official end date to combat operations in Iraq and made a timetable for their immediate and steady removal until the vast majority are gone; the only ones left will be the ones the Iraqis ask for themselves to help them maintain order. This mess that Bush 43 created will take time to clean up, and there is no magic button to press to immediately end it. 2) WoD: Like I said, Obama has a history of leniency concerning the WoD. Contrast this with Bush 41, or John McCain, or any other conservative who persecutes drug users as evil, and you can see that his "peaceful" intentions are clear. If every politician took Obama's lead, we wouldn't have this WoD and we would be in a better position right now. Again, as a high ranking political official, his word carries great weight even if he doesn't technically stop the WoD. It's the same concept as if he were to go on TV and endorse Coca-Cola... Whether or not Coke's profits immediately increase or not is irrelevant; the President just endorsed Coke and that carries much weight. 3) Gay rights: Obama is making great strides with gay rights, and if conservatives strike him down we should not go after Obama; we should support his effort with an official acknowledgment, like the Nobel Peace Prize. If and when homosexuals are ever considered full-fledged people, his efforts will be recognized as integral in their achievement. I would think this situation, in fact, is inevitable. 4) Immigration: Obama has made progress in this area, most recently in Prince William County in Virginia. People are accusing him of "watering down" immigration control, because they are mad about his efforts there. Again, we should not sit back and wait for him to end the entire immigration issue entirely before we recognize his contribution. 5) Christian monopoly: I'm not really following your point here... I'll let my original post stand unless you reword it. 6) Patriotism: Obama has already ordered GITMO closed, and banned the use of torture. The rest is just red tape while they get it done. His timeline was "less than a year" which has not run out yet. 7) Environment: While previous administrations have been consistently reversing environmental legislation, Obama has changed course. He has been passing regulations on climate control and energy, and it is clear that we are back on the right track on this subject. Again, this is a stark contrast to his predecessors. 8) Poverty: Obama's healthcare reform fight speaks for itself: he is pushing hard for healthcare reform, and being chastised daily for it. If conservatives strike it down and we turn to Obama as a failure, then it is our own faults, not Obama's. He cannot single-handedly push this bill through without our support. No single person, President or not, can do this for us. We need to follow his lead and support his efforts to fix the system. His lead is established and is worth noting. Obama cannot single-handedly end these wars; no one can because we are too far in and too culturally set in our ways. Obama is moving us in the right direction and he is setting new standards. These standards are why he deserves the Prize. Yes, other Presidents are not the only ones eligible for the prize, but it is how Obama stands out in relation to these other Presidents (his peers) that makes him shine so brightly. People keep saying "Obama's not doing anything"... I hear it every day. This couldn't be farther from the truth, however. He is slowly and surely making the most positive of differences in this country while he navigates the fierce partisanship and misplaced pride that bar his way. If you haven't checked lately, Republicans make up half the population and half the government and they are doing everything in their power to sabotage his efforts just so they can get the satisfaction of saying that he didn't do anything. It's pretty funny, actually, if you think about it. Half the time they are whining about how little he does, and the other half they are whining about how angry they are about all he is doing...