Artful Dodger:

>  One Obama offical said that the award is an acknowledgement of Obama's
likely accomplishments.
>  In other words, Obama has done nothing to
deserve this award, but it's likely he will deserve it in the future.

I think we have to remember that President Obama did not ask for the award and he himself said that he had done nothing to deserve it.  If we are going to put blame, we should do it on the people who nominated him, and the committee that awarded it.  Those people did a diservice to the president and put him in a position in which people blame him for doing nothing.  Those that support the president are trying to excuse or justify the prize but in reality all that the Nobel committee did is make things harder for the president.  Now everyone expects him to do something to deserve the prize, and considering what he is facing it is not likely that things will go on his favor.  He faces opposition both at home and abroad.  It is unlikely that the Republican opposition will accept major reductions in the nuclear arsenal.  Israel will continue building settlements and oppressing Palestinians.  Hamaz and Hezbollah will continue to carry out attacks against Israel.  Afghanistan will continue being a nightmare zone run by extremists.  Iraq will continue to be torn by sectarian violence and hatred of the US.  Iran and North Korea are not going to give up their nuclear ambitions.  It will go on and on because those bent on doing harm enjoy war and killing.  The president is only one man against an unreasonable world.  He should never have had to inherit Iraq, yet he did.  It is why Republicans were quite willing to lose the election, because they knew that whoever was elected would have to deal with all the crap.  Now the Nobel committee wants Obama to fix it all and gives him the prize, not hoping that he will suceed, but hoping to put more pressure on him.