Rep. Lamar Smith On Nobel: "The World Is Actually A More Dangerous Place" Since Obama Took Office

While the far-right is going berserk over news that President Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, most elected Republicans have resisted the impulse to attack the president for winning an award he didn't ask for and never claimed to deserve.  However, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) seems not to have gotten the memo.  In an interview with the Austin American-Statesman, Smith said he doesn't see "evidence to justify the peace prize" because "the world is actually a more dangerous place" than it was before Obama took office:

"I am very surprised," Smith said Friday. "I don't know that I see a whole lot of evidence to justify the peace prize."

"Most people actually tend to think the world is a more dangerous place than, say, it was a year ago."

Smith, the first Austin-area House member to answer a morning request for reaction, cited as indications of reduced safety North Korea firing off a missile contrary to international wishes, Iran building a nuclear facility perhaps toward fashioning a nuclear bomb, disappointment in the failure of U.S. overtures to Russia and the alienation of European allies over the U.S. decision not to continue working on a missile shield over Poland.

"I'm not aware of any major breakthroughs for peace around the world," Smith said.

One year ago, the most powerful country in the world had a president whose administration fabricated evidence to justify a war, tortured in violation of international treaties, and generally didn't care what the rest of the world thought.  Today's award is, as M.J. Rosenberg wrote earlier, not really about Obama's personal achievements.  More than anything else, it is recognition of the international community's renewed willingness to follow the lead of the United States, which is something that all Americans should embrace.