Nobel Peace Prize Presidents

The Nobel Peace Prize was first awarded in 1901.  It was to be given "to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."  Since then, 4 American Presidents have won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Theodore Roosevelt (1906): The president who called for speaking softly and carrying a big stick held a peace conference to end the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905).  Despite his jingoist reputation - or more likely because of it, Roosevelt had no wars during his presidency and managed to quell one in which the US was not a participant.  He is the only Republican president to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

Woodrow Wilson (1919): The president who "kept us out of the war" until he was safely re-elected won the peace prize for his role in founding the League of Nations.  Though he had been its leading proponent, he was unable to convince the US Senate to ratify membership.  Thus, the US didn't join.  The US did join the League's successor, the United Nations.  Secretary of State Cordell Hull won the 1945 Peace Prize for that.

Jimmy Carter (2002): Though he won it long after his presidency ended, his peace prize recognized his years of work as a peacemaker.  Of particular note, the Camp David Accords, which led to a peace deal between Israel and Egypt, were hosted by President Carter during his presidency, very like the peace conference Roosevelt had hosted in 1905.  The 1978 Peace Prize was awarded to Menachem Begin of Israel and Anwar Sadat of Egypt.  The oversight of Carter's role was rectified in 2002.

Barack Obama (2009): President Obama was awarded the peace prize only 9 months into his administration "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."  Whereas the other three presidents had clear accomplishments in pursuit of peace, Obama had only aspirational speeches. At the time, this looked to be an award for things to come. Even Obama himself was astonished and suggested that it was not "a recognition of my own accomplishments but rather an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations."

In recent decades, the Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded arbitrarily.  The parameters for the award are clear: 

to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.

This is an award for diplomats, disarmament proponents, and peaceniks.  Former VP Al Gore won in 2007 for his film about climate change.  The 2011 peace prize was awarded to those struggling for women's rights in Liberia and Yemen.  The 2014 peace prize recognized efforts to educate young people in India and Pakistan.  Yes, these are laudable goals, but do they best represent the stated intent of the award.  I don't think so.