MELISSA BLOCK, Host:
We wanted to hear what Americans across the country think of today's Nobel news. So, we sent reporters out in Alabama, Ohio, Nebraska and Arizona. And here's what they heard.
JOSEPH RAY: It's an interesting idea. I'm not sure how good - I bet there's better candidates than Obama. I wouldn't be too upset about it, really though.
LISA CALSIDIA: I have a problem with a lot of things and he's still given the award. I have a problem with the money that he's spending, I have a problem with the wars that we're in. I have a problem with the discourse among those who think, you know, what everybody thinks about the health care issues. There's a lot of unrest. I just think it's a little early on in to make a call like that.
RYAN ADAMS: I think it seems kind of fitting, considering what the guy's done and is trying to do in a lot of these administrative decisions with foreign policy and what not. So, you know, we're fighting a number of wars and all that jazz, so he's obviously still supporting that. I think he's going to support it in a much more positive way than what our former president did. So, I think that this seems fitting.
SHELLEY METERRO: I just think he's new on the scene and that doesn't mean that you can't make an impact in a short time. But I think there's been a lot of people plugging away for years that could have been acknowledged. I think he is just the fad for right now.
DIANNE HEISMAN: My first reaction was, is this a joke? Are you kidding? I was very shocked and all those accomplishments that he has been trying to work towards or that he perceivably has done, weren't even in play.
JOSH COOPER: I was confused at first. President Obama has said some very great things about promoting peace, but in a lot ways - and it may be because simply of the practical problems he has to face - it seems like he hasn't done very much to move our troops out of Iraq or to promote peace in Afghanistan by getting our troops out of there. And so, yeah, I don't completely understand the decision.
BLOCK: That's Joseph Ray of Birmingham, Alabama. We also heard from Lisa Calsidia of Tempe, Arizona, Ryan Adams of Athens, Ohio, Shelley Meterro of Mesa, Arizona, Dianne Heisman of Lincoln, Nebraska, and Josh Cooper of Dublin, Ohio. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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