Nobel surprises Obama, but daughters keep him grounded (News Feature)

By Mike McCarthy Oct 9, 2009, 21:28 GMT

Washington - US President Barack Obama's winning of the Nobel Peace Prize caught the White House by surprise as much as anyone else.

'This is not how I expected to wake up this morning,' Obama said in opening remarks to accept the prestigious award.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said he telephoned Obama while he was sleeping at 6 am - an hour after the news was announced in Norway - to inform him he was the latest Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Gibbs said he was unaware that his boss had even been nominated and wasn't sure who placed the nomination.

'I think it's safe to say he was very surprised,' Gibbs said.

Obama's carefully planned out day had to be altered so he could address the announcement that came out of the Nobel Commitee in Oslo. His speechwriters got to work and hours later he was in front of cameras at the Rose Garden - after a delay of more than 30 minutes from the original start time.

Obama spoke for about six minutes before wrapping it up and proceeding with his busy day. He held meetings with advisors and a senator and had lunch with Vice President Joe Biden. He then went on to give a speech about regulating the financial sector.

By the mid-afternoon, he was meeting with his top advisors to discuss a new strategy for Afghanistan that could include escalating the conflict by sending as many as 40,000 more US soldiers into the fight. Later Friday he was to host a barbecue for members of the Secret Service and their families.

Obama's winning the award so early in his presidency when many of his lofty goals remain unfulfilled came as a surprise, and also left the White House fielding questions about whether the president was deserving, and how the possibility of intensifying the war in Afghanistan squared with a Nobel recipient.

'I'm not a member of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee,' Gibbs said, directing those inquiries to Oslo.

Obama himself seemed to understand some of the questions that were raised about how he could win an award when his presidency has so far yielded few major foreign policy accomplishments. He wondered whether he deserved to be in the class with previous recipients.

'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,' he said.

Obama's message of bringing nations together and his effort to reset the tone of international relations was the main reason the committee chose him for the award. Obama's desire to reach out to rest of the world to tackle global problems has made him very popular abroad.

But it was perhaps his daughters who humbled him most.

Malia, 8, and Sasha, 11, came into the room to offer congratulations, but they had other things on their mind than just having a father who is a president and now a Nobel peace laureate.

Malia reminded him that it was Bo - the dog's - birthday. And Sasha was excited because of the upcoming three-day weekend - Monday is Columbus Day.

'It's good to have kids to keep things in perspective,' Obama said.