A Proud Day for the United States

Today President Obama became a Nobel Laureate. He was humble -- acknowledging that he is not in a class with the "giants of history" who have also received the Nobel Peace Prize, like Schweitzer, King and Mandela. He was pragmatic about Afghanistan -- he doesn't delight in using force, but he's acknowledging the "imperfections of man and the limits of reason" even as he recalls Dr. King's words, "violence never brings permanent peace." He was proud -- reminding the world that America has helped preserve global security with the "blood of our citizens and the strength of our arms."

I'm not sure how I feel about the Afghanistan surge, but I was proud to see my President on the world stage, speaking responsibly as both peacemaker and peacekeeper.