Norwegians Bummed with Barry
By LisaB on December 9, 2009 at 7:05 PM in Current Affairs
As President Obama jets to Europe for climate meetings and to receive his Nobel Peace Prize, some of his most ardent non-voting fans think he’s a wee bit snobby.
The Daily Beast has a piece today about Obama’s Nobel agenda and what it doesn’t include.
A day before President Obama receives his Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, the president’s treatment of his Norwegian hosts has become hot news across Scandinavia.
News outlets across the region are calling Obama arrogant for slashing some of the prize winners’ traditional duties from his schedule. “Everybody wants to visit the Peace Center except Obama,” sniped the Norwegian daily Aftenposten, amid reports the president would snub his own exhibition at the Nobel Peace Center. “A bit arrogant—a bit bad,” proclaimed another Aftenposten headline.
Apparently they’re just figuring out the arrogance part. I guess that’s understandable. But it is interesting that Obama’s view of American “un-exceptionalism” was what attracted many Europeans to him in the first place.
They just didn’t get that “un-exceptionalism” didn’t extend to Obama.
Meanwhile, the Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet is reporting that the president has declined an invitation to lunch with King Harald V, an event every prize winner from the Dalai Lama to Al Gore has attended. (The newspaper’s headline: “Obama disses lunch with King Harald.”)
It’s an interesting problem, isn’t it? Obama accepts the Nobel Peace Prize, although it’s not entirely clear on what basis he was selected. Controversy ensues. But he decides to personally accept the award anyway – why? I have no clue. However, some must have felt that for the President to participate in all the pomp and ceremony attending the award would not play well back home.
So, Obama makes the worst of both worlds. He goes to accept the award but decides to show that he either does not have the time to do so gracefully or wants to appear humble and eschew all the pageantry as well as the press conference.
Of course, this doesn’t go unnoticed.
Whereas other prize winners have viewed the standard Nobel Peace Prize CNN interview as an opportunity to address the world for a full hour, Obama seems unwilling to answer any questions at all. There will be no press conference, just a statement from the president.
“It’s very strange that he is unwilling to meet the press,” said Marie Simonsen, political editor at Dagbladet, one of Norway’s biggest daily newspapers. “I’m very disappointed. You get the impression he is not proud of the prize.”
Honestly, I think Obama is very proud of the award. But I also think he is very aware of how it is playing back home. So, what to do? No way he’s not going; no way he won’t accept the award. Only thing to do is play it down.
The problem with that is at this point, a visit by an American President is a very big deal. And by not going through the traditional Nobel activities, Obama draws just as much or more attention to himself as he would by accepting graciously.
I guess he figures that by ticking off the Norwegians, he can yet prevent Americans from seeing him walking through another exhibit dedicated to his wonderfulness. If there’s no photo op, it didn’t happen, right?
Or perhaps the White House got advance warning of a CNN poll about whether Obama deserved the prize. Only 19% agreed, although more think he EVENTUALLY will deserve it. And there is this:
Still, greater than four in 10 believe the president will never deserve the prize.
The poll found 7 in 10 felt Obama should be gracious and go to Oslo. Good manners do count for something, after all.
I have no idea why the Norwegians selected Obama for the Peace Prize. But it sounds as if there are a few second thoughts. Here too.
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