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A beaming President Barack Obama said Friday
he was both honored and humbled to win the Nobel Peace Prize and
would accept it as a "call to action" to work with other nations
to solve the world's most pressing problems.


      Obama told reporters in the White House Rose Garden that he
wasn't sure he had done enough to earn the award, or deserved to be
in the company of the "transformative figures" who had won it
before him.


      But, he said, "I will accept this award as a call to action, a
call for all nations to confront the challenges of the 21st
century."


      Obama will travel to Oslo, Norway, in December to accept the
award.


      Obama, 48, is the third U.S. president to win the prize while in
office, after Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson.


      In its surprise choice, the Norwegian Nobel Committee cited the
president's creation of a "new climate in international politics"
and his work on nuclear disarmament, even though he is just nine
months into his presidency.


      "These challenges cannot be met by any one leader or any one
nation," the president said. "That's why my administration wants
to establish a new era of engagement in which all nations must take
responsibility for the world we seek."


      Obama acknowledged that, while accepting an award for peace, he
was commander in chief of a country engaged in wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan.


      "We have to confront the world as we know it," he said.


      He said he was working to end the war in Iraq and "to confront
a ruthless adversary that directly threatens the American people
and our allies" in Afghanistan.


      "I'm also aware that we are dealing with the impact of a global
economic crisis that has left millions of Americans looking for
work," he said.


      "This award must be shared by everyone who strives for justice
and dignity," he added.


      He said that some of his goals, including that of a
nuclear-weapons-free world, might not be accomplished in his
lifetime.


      "I am both surprised and deeply humbled by the decision of the
Nobel Committee," Obama said.


      "Let me be clear, I do not view it as a recognition of my own
accomplishments, but rather as an affirmation of American
leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all
nations."


      Obama said he was aware that "throughout history, the Nobel
Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement,
it's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of
causes."


      The award took the Obama and his staff by surprise. Press
secretary Robert Gibbs learned from reporters that Obama had won
the 2009 prize, and telephoned the White House early Friday to pass
along the news to his boss.


      "Well, this is not how I expected to wake up this morning,"
Obama said. He described his interaction with his two daughters.


      "After I received the news, Malia walked in and said, 'Daddy,
you won the Nobel Peace Prize, and it is Bo's birthday.' And then
Sasha added, 'Plus, we have a three-day weekend coming up.' So it's
- it's good to have kids to keep things in perspective."


Obama will donate the $1.4
million cash award that comes with the Nobel Peace Prize to
charity.

      White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says it's likely that more
than one charity will share the windfall.


      Gibbs says the president has yet to decide which charities will
benefit from the award.

Gallery

President Barack Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize

Politics and Government News

A beaming President Barack Obama says he's
honored to win the Nobel Peace Prize, but says he isn't sure he's done enough to earn it.

Obama 'surprised and humbled' by Peace Prize

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