- The burden of ‘Hope’
US President Barrack Obama receiving the Nobel Peace Prize could be termed as the most media savvy subject in recent times, second only to him becoming the 44th American President. A lot has been written about, how Obama never deserved the Prize and was awarded the Nobel by virtue of – just not being George W Bush.
I do not consider myself a political expert to comment on wether Obama receiving the Nobel and his acceptance was a good political move. However from a Public Relation prespective, I feel Obama accepting the award was one of the best PR moves…..
Obama’s entire presidential campaign was focussed around ‘Hope’.
In his inaugral address- he attributes his Presidential win to the US citizens who had chosen ‘Hope over fear….’
In fact his campaign and his speeches harped on ‘Hope’ so much that by the time he was elected not just US but the entire World was rooting for his victory.
I am sure it takes a lot to change the world, and probably it is resonable to give the US President some more time to prove himself before we actually go out and pass a judgement on his failure.
I have always believed that Obama’s Presidential campaign made one grave mistake from the beginning, while on one hand they made him out to be a human, by talking about his racial roots, his grandmother, his wife, his daughters etc. somewhere down the line they also made him look like the saviour, the only super hero who could save us from despair. A reason why not just US but the entire World has been waiting for something truly out of the World from Obama.
As a human, its often difficult to live upto such super human expectations because there is always room to fall short..
Obama is making the right noises, reaching out to the Muslim world, talking of Nuclear disarmament and is again giving ‘Hope’ to the people of this world that probably his head and heart are in the right place and all he needs is some more time and faith to set things right.
If Obama had refused to accept the Nobel Prize for Peace, it is a very different discussion we would be having today – “Oh, maybe US is planning to wage a war on …. soon.” Or “US is probably diverting its fund to increase its nuclear arsenal.” “ President Obama’s decision to refuse the Nobel Peace Prize shows that all his promises of working towards ’World Peace’ is a farce.”
Enemies of US might have taken this as a hint and might have overworked to read between the lines.
Most importantly the Americans themselves might have thought, that maybe Obama does not have confidence in himself and the promises he made to them.
Hence, accepting the Nobel Peace Prize with humility was the best thing Obama could have done to keep his ratings, keep International diplomacies intact, keeping anti-US elements at bay and also it made perrrrrfffect PR sense.
Critics might go on and on but what really matters in PR is what your target audience thinks and perceives of you…and with this one move Obama has ensured, his core target audience, the American people, other nations and anti-US elements are all probably debating over his Nobel win….but are at peace.
This might also act like a course correction for Obama in the long run, people will start thinking of him as human rather than a super hero (only super heroes say No to Nobel Prizes!) and expect more humanly changes from him….
I am sure, in his heart Obama knows he has not recieved the Nobel Prize for ‘Peace’ but ‘Hope’……
