President Obama this week was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. This is a tremendous honor and Americans should be pleased an American president is the recipient of this long-admired and prestigious honor.

It is puzzling, however. Just what has the president accomplished to win the votes of those who determine the winners of the Nobel Prizes handed out in various categories?

There are many who suggest this year’s award to Obama was meant as a political signal from the Nobel crowd. The president had been in office for only a few weeks when he was nominated for the award.

As one critic noted, the award actually highlights a significant lack of accomplishments. Most of those awarded Nobel Prizes are recognized for a lifetime of significant work, whereas Obama’s record to date is working as a community organizer, service in the Illinois legislature, a short time as a U.S. Senator with a very limited voting record in this body and, now, president of the United States.

He is smart and a great speaker, but what has he accomplished?

A few days before the November 2008 presidential election Obama urged those in his audience to get out and vote and work for his election. He said, “We are five days away from fundamentally changing this country.”

Is this “change” what the Nobel judges are using to justify their vote to award Obama the Peace Prize?

Is this evidence of the political thinking of those who serve as Nobel jurors?

Obama does indeed intend to change America.

He goes abroad and apologizes for past American actions; he wants to close down and free many of the Guantanamo detainees; he has placed this nation and its citizens in record levels of federal debt; he is using every means to change this nation’s successful system of medical care; the federal government took over two of America’s biggest businesses, General Motors and Chrysler, and ruined thousands of dealerships; his “stimulus” efforts have done little and unemployment totals remain high; he has called for a change in the deployment of American missiles in Poland and other countries to defend against Soviet missile attacks; and he wants a redistribution of wealth in America.

“Change” is indeed the name of the game under the Obama administration.

Obviously Obama is a skilled politician and a gifted speaker. But, what has he done, or more importantly, what has he accomplished in furthering worldwide peace? Again, he talks a good game but, to date, where are the results?

Ronald Reagan did quite a bit in helping bring about peace and the dismantling of the Soviet empire. Bill Clinton has traveled the world, helping to raise more than $1 billion to help fight disease around the world. But neither of these presidents received the Peace Prize or any other Nobel award. Jimmy Carter was the last president to be recognized by the Nobel jurors, collecting the Peace Prize in 2002.

Could it be the European judges’ political leanings are far more liberal and want to recognize U.S. presidents who seem to favor a weakened Uncle Sam rather than a United States that stands firm for freedom for all people and a United States that is prepared to fight to protect those freedoms rather than to roll over, look the other way and pretend terrorists are not terrorists?

Again, Obama has enjoyed a tremendous and almost unparalleled rise in the political world. He organized and ran a superior campaign for the presidency. He and his aides raised a record amount of money to finance the campaign.

His campaign focused on “change” and he certainly has followed through on this pledge. However, did the majority of those who voted for him believe he actually intended to “fundamentally change this country”? For what, and for what reason?

Maybe Nobel jurors want to help bring about this change, and the Peace Prize is meant to strengthen Obama’s stature. If so, they must be basing their votes on what they hope may happen and how Obama may be able to lower the stature and strength of Uncle Sam.

So far, there has been a lot of talk, executive orders and many czars but little evidence to show how Obama has helped bring about a more peaceful world.