Obama and Peace Prize - Hype or Real? So What?

Some say, "Why has he been nominated? He hasn't done anything yet. He hasn't actually accomplished anything."

I can see both sides. Results of his foreign policies haven't been fully gleaned yet. And the nomination deadline was February 1, only two weeks after he entered office. Should he even be considered for this Prize this year given the timing?

I would also offer that we are in a new era and what he has given many is hope. Is that measurable? If so, how so? Hope is one of these really esoteric intangible "things" that we know makes a difference but we can't see it or touch it. Can we feel it? Can we feel it collectively? If so, so what?How does hope change you and change those around you? How do you engender and offer hope to others?

I invite you to think about a time when you lost hope - and then found it. How did you know? What changed in your life as result of having hope? So What... then? :)