They haven't gotten it right in the past, either.

In light of Friday's events, I've done a bit of research in regards to the Nobel Peace Prize. Stalin and Hitler were nominated, as was Gandhi. Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela have received the prize, as has Yasser Arafat. So maybe the seemingly haphazard decision to award Obama shouldn't be such a surprise.

Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin were both nominated for the award. (Although the nomination for Hitler was later withdrawn.) Gandhi--one of the most poignant symbols of peace in the 20th century--was nominated five times, and was never awarded the prize. And

in 1948, the Nobel committee decided not to give an award because there was "no suitable living candidate." This year, there were 205 nominees for the award--a record in the history of the prize. And while, we don't know officially who those nominated were (the names of the nominees will not be released for another 50 year, in compliance with Nobel policy), the rumored list is quite impressive, ranging from Afghan women's rights activists to American philanthropies to Chinese revolutionaries. So clearly, this isn't the first time well-deserving individuals have been passed up. (See previous post)

However, it would've been noble to see President Obama join a much smaller number within the Nobel Peace world--the number of people to decline the prize. The only person to ever decline was Vietnamese politician Le Doc Tho was was awarded the prize in 1973 along with US Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger. They were both awarded the prize for their negotiation of the Vietnam peace accord. However, Le Doc Tho did not accept because he felt that because of the current situation in Vietnam, he was not yet deserving of such a prize. A very honorable gesture. And one that would've likely been very politically favorable for President Obama, had he done the same.

And while it is still quite disturbing that he was nominated for such a prize just eleven or so days into the job, my research has revealed that the committee of given Norwegian elected officials haven't always got it right in the last 109 years. So, it's yet another mishap in this crazy world.

And I'll end with another interesting research tidbit: a poll on the Nobel Peace Prize website that asks "Did you know about Barack Obama's efforts for a nuclear weapon free world? 54% answered no.