Congratulations, President Obama!

Seeing as how I am the recipient of Time Magazine's designation as Person of the Year for 2006 - remember this?

- I wish to congratulate our president, Barack Obama, for his Nobel Peace Prize, which, according to the Associated Press,

Rather than recognizing concrete achievement, the 2009 prize appeared intended to support initiatives that have yet to bear fruit: reducing the world stock of nuclear arms, easing American conflicts with Muslim nations and strengthening the U.S. role in combating climate change.

Or as the Nobel Committee itself put it,

"We trust that this award will strengthen his commitment, as the leader of the most powerful nation in the world, to continue promoting peace and the eradication of poverty," the foundation said.

Two other U.S. Presidents have received the Nobel Peace Prize: Theodore Roosevelt for brokering a peace between Russia and Japan, which ended a horrific war being fought by the two countries; and Woodrow Wilson for - misguided as it may have been - creating the League of Nations in an attempt to give the world's nations a forum for settling their differences peacefully (COUGH - World War II).

At least you can make the argument that these two presidents accomplished something; they made something happen toward bringing peace to the world. Even the Nobel committee admits that Obama was given this award with the hope (there's that word again) that Obama will work toward creating a peaceful world.

Is there anything about this man that counters the notion that he is nothing but an empty suit? At least I had accomplished something concrete when I became Time Magazine's Person of the Year: I had created a blog a full year earlier, and it has now been running for over four years. Obama was President for less than three weeks when he was nominated for his Nobel Peace Prize.

Nevertheless, from one award winner to another: Congratulations Mr. President. You deserve your award as much as I deserved mine!

Good Day to You, Sir