Obama’s promises

I wonder if Kanye West will let President Obama finish his acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize.

I can picture him opening with a general thank-you addressed to the audience, only to be interrupted by West’s claim that Beyonce is one of the best peace advocates of all time.

The camera will pan to a shocked and transparently delighted Beyonce Knowles while the crowd cheers supporting Obama.

Of course, Obama deserves the award more than Beyonce. But many are questioning if he is the most deserving citizen in the world. They wonder if the promises he makes during his speeches qualify him for the award since many of those promises have yet to be fulfilled.

He has such a fantastic way with words that he makes the follow-through seem secondary. Prior to being elected into office, Obama’s speeches riled up an entire nation, and any time the teleprompter accompanies our president on the podium, his turn of phrase takes the stage.

Listening to Obama speak is like staring at a delicious-looking cake in the window of a bakery. The thought of what that cake could taste like makes the onlooker’s mouth water. But there is no proof that it will taste good. In fact, it could taste like cardboard. But the presentation is so beautiful it’s impossible to consider the prospect that the cake will be anything short of wonderful.

Obama is smooth. His speeches are perfection. And like the decor of that cake, they’re fluff intended to lure us in and get us excited.

It worked for me. I helped elect that frosted dessert into office. So far, I have no regrets. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to buy him a “No. 1 Commander-In-Chief” coffee mug just yet. He hasn’t been in office long enough to prove himself.

It’s like giving a puppy a doggie treat because he tells you he’s planning on doing tricks. Challenge him to actually sit, stay and roll over. Then reward him.

I’m not implying that Obama should turn down the award. It’s an incredible honor and as Americans we should be proud that our president has been recognized in such a positive way. Vietnamese politician Le Duc Tho will remain the only Nobel Peace Prize winner in history to reject the award.

If he were a real winner, he would have been able to put a spin on his acceptance that made him look both humble and worthy. That’s the way Obama is rocking his honor and that’s why he won the presidency.

Rather than rejecting the award as that man did, Obama promised me, in the beautifully written e-mail he sent me (and every other Democrat on his e-mail list) that he will accept the award as a call to action. He will use this award as an even stronger incentive to sit, stay, roll over and make the world a more peaceful place.

Maybe he will start by passing a law that will ban Kanye West from disrupting the peace at awards shows.