Accepting praise

By Terry Plumb - Special to The Herald

Reaction to news that Barack Obama was to receive the Nobel Peace Prize might be unprecedented in that it united wide-eyed liberals and blood-red conservatives in disbelief.

Everyone from Rush Limbaugh to the president himself chimed in with pretty much the same response: He doesn't deserve it — not yet anyway.

True, the young first-term president has set lofty goals — from nuclear disarmament to reducing carbon emissions — but even the most ardent Obamaphile acknowledges that he has only begun to hoe such long, hard rows.

That the deadline for submitting this year's Nobel Prize nominations came less than two months after his inauguration reinforced the notion that the award was premature, at best.

At worst, it could prove counterproductive by creating unrealistic expectations for the administration or by rankling people who see the award as a slap at former President George W. Bush.

Speculation about the motives of a few Norwegians makes for an interesting parlor game for pundits, but the episode might have more value as a life lesson in accepting underserved praise

Some have suggested that the proper thing for Obama to do was to say, “Thanks but no thanks.” Whether he seriously considered declining to accept the award we may never know, but that certainly would have offended those who esteem the Nobel Peace Prize. Nor would such an action have won the president any favor with those who want him to fail to reform health care, resolve the Afghanistan situation or end the recession.

Even his severest critics should admit, however, that the president handled the situation well. He said he didn't deserve the high honor but would accept it on behalf of the American people and others who labored for the betterment of mankind.

Who hasn't been on the receiving end of an honor he or she didn't deserve?

Stuck in a drawer somewhere is a medal I was given in 1970, shortly before I departed the Republic of South Vietnam. It was, I was told, the highest honor the National Police could bestow on a civilian.

Although my job required me to work with the National Police, nothing I did that year merited such recognition. Indeed, I suspect that the police captain who orchestrated the award did so in gratitude for something that had nothing to do with my regular duties.

On the order of my superior officer, I took the captain's grandmother, an old lady in the latter stages of cancer, to a U.S. military hospital for an examination. My boss, a lieutenant colonel, wrangled an appointment for the woman by telling higher-ups that she was the mother of the mayor of Saigon. As far as I know, that was a total fabrication, but it helped cut through red tape and won favor with an important ally.

More to the point, when the captain wanted to pin a medal to my chest, I knew enough to keep my mouth shut and not embarrass my commanding officer or our counterparts.

On the other hand, that medal doesn't hang on my wall.

I was blessed with parents who raised their children to believe that actions were their own reward and that what others said or did to acknowledge our accomplishments didn't matter. For every prize we deserved but didn't get, my mother would say, we'd receive another we probably didn't deserve.

In other words: Smile, say thank you and shut up. President Obama probably received similar advice from his mother or grandparents.

Despite critics' attempts to portray him as having the ego of a rock star, Obama seems to be doing a good job of balancing the public and private aspects of the presidency — neither letting the perks of the job go to his head nor pretending he's the guy next door.

Of all the comments about the Nobel Prize, my favorite came when Obama relayed his daughters' reaction to the news: “… Malia walked in and said, ‘Daddy, you won the Nobel Peace Prize, and it is Bo's birthday.' And then Sasha added, ‘Plus, we have a three-day weekend coming up.' So it's — it's good to have kids to keep things in perspective.”

Amen.