To the editor:

The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to President Obama has caused some of his supporters to wonder about — and his implacable opponents to deny — his deserving it. Even the president himself admitted to being surprised and humbled by the news.

Overlooking the cant of those who reject all his actions on purely partisan grounds, we should perhaps view what he has done with a different eye, an eye not just for the flash and sweep of concrete actions: the invasions and forced compliances of the previous administration, but for the subtleties of mood and intent integral to diplomacy. To have returned this most dangerous country to the search for diplomatic solutions to pressing world problems after its long neglect merits more than a symbolic award.

Those who can’t appreciate the president’s profound and momentous shift in American foreign policy need to be reminded that not every good movie has a car chase.