Last Friday, right before 6 o’clock in the morning, a White House phone rang. Much to Hillary’s disappointment (probably), the voice on the other end of the line alerted President Barack Obama that he had won the Nobel Peace Prize. As he had only been in office nine months, I think he was about as surprised as me.

According to the Nobel Prize Committee, Obama was given such a high honor “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” I’m not questioning his ability to eventually deliver on this statement. However, right now, I’m not so convinced that he deserves it.

I wouldn’t see a problem with this award being bestowed upon him in perhaps another seven years, but nine months after taking office, it doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense. When you look at the Nobel Peace Prize selection process, invitations are sent out in September (when Obama was still on the campaign trail), with a final deadline of February. In February, Obama was a new president, and the promises that he had made during his heavy campaigning had not yet been tested. They hadn’t had a chance to be broken, either.

Traditionally, individuals that are awarded the Peace Prize have actually done something to deserve it. Although it can be argued that Obama has changed America’s face abroad, I still see an unemployment rate that flirts with double digits, and a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that should have been removed immediately, according to promises I heard not too long ago.

When asked about the committee’s decision, last year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner, former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, stated, “I see this as an important encouragement.”

What I didn’t know is that such a serious award could be given as encouragement. Obama receiving encouragement by receiving the Nobel Peace Prize is comparable, in my mind, to giving someone in a race the gold medal for saying at the outset of the race, “I’m going to win.” It doesn’t seem right.

As can be seen from the fact that Obama is the the third sitting U.S. president to receive the prize, Nobel Prizes aren’t customarily just handed out. Woodrow Wilson received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919 for the creation of the League of Nations, which directly promoted world safety and policing. In 1906, Theodore Roosevelt was awarded the Peace Prize for creating peace between Russia and Japan.

I feel like the Nobel Prize Committee was in a rush to acknowledge Obama. I am completely convinced that in another decade, the United States will be in a better place, with much of the progress owed to our current president. As of right now though, Obama is falling short on the platform on which he ran. Nothing has really changed, and until we withdraw from a peaceful Afghanistan, I want Obama’s Peace Prize to be held in escrow.