General

Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize

President is surprised, but “humbled”

Just before 6 a.m. on Friday, U.S press secretary Robert Gibbs made a call to the White House, waking up President Barack Obama to give him the good news. Earlier that morning, the Nobel Committee in Oslo, Norway, announced that Obama is this year’s recipient of the annual Nobel Peace Prize. The Committee cited the president’s “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” Obama was apparently stunned to have received the award only nine months into his presidency. Even his closest White House aids expressed their surprise:”There has been no discussion, nothing at all,” said the president’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel. The award committee drew specific attention to Mr. Obama’s work in reducing the world’s nuclear arsenal. “He has created a new international climate,” said the committee. “Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world’s attention and given its people hope for a better future.”

The New York Times

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