Obama's Nobel Is the 'Not George W. Bush' Award

What do Sarkozy, Clinton and the Taliban have in common?

(NEWSER) - The decision to award President Obama the Nobel Peace Prize has clearly made some people unhappy, writes Katie Connolly for Newsweek. Here are six of the most peeved:

1. Nicolas Sarkozy: The French president was also up for the honor but was passed over for someone he’s described as “naïve and inexperienced.”
2. Michelle Obama: If you thought controlling “the one’s” ego was hard before…

Nicolas Sarkozy says something odd about the world's hearts

(NEWSER) - Not everybody thinks Barack Obama's Nobel prize is a weird choice. Jimmy Carter, who won it himself in 2002, calls it a "bold statement of international support for his vision and commitment." More reaction:

• Taliban spokesman: "He has done nothing for peace in Afghanistan. We condemn this year's peace prize as unjust."
• Hamid Karzai: "His hard work and his new vision on global relations .. make him the appropriate recipient."
• Mark Halperin, on Morning Joe: "I don't think he'll embrace this. Because there is no upside."

With US the biggest obstacle to action, they hope prize acts as stick

(NEWSER) - The Taliban and conservative commentators in the US aren’t the only ones steamed by Barack Obama's Nobel Peace Prize. “It’s hard for me to emphasize enough the thickness of the international resentment towards America at the climate negotiation level,” Ben Jervey writes. The argument is simple: The US “is the biggest obstacle to reaching a global climate treaty;” climate change is “the biggest threat to global peace the world has ever known;” ergo, “the US is the biggest threat to global peace the world has ever known.” More»

One says of critics: 'Where do these people come from?'

(AP) - The Nobel panel that gave the peace prize to President Obama is strongly defending its choice amid widespread criticism. "We simply disagree that he has done nothing," said chairman Thorbjoern Jagland. Another of the five panelists said of critics: "Where do these people come from?" The four who returned calls to AP said they expected the decision to generate both surprise and criticism. More»

Israel fears prize will spur president to 'force-feed' them peace deal

(NEWSER) - President Obama won praise from Israeli and Palestinian leaders after yesterday's surprise Nobel Peace Prize win, but many others on both sides of the conflict expressed puzzlement and wariness. The decision is "very strange," said the speaker of Israel's parliament, adding that he hoped Obama wouldn't now feel he could "force-feed Israel with his version of peace." Obama's special envoy is currently in Israel trying to break a stalemate over freezing new West Bank settlements. More»