Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports a disturbing development about Barack Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize:

Three of the five members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee had objections to the Nobel Peace Prize being awarded to US President Barack Obama, the Norwegian tabloid Verdens Gang (VG) reported Thursday.

“VG has spoken to a number of sources who confirmed the impression that a majority of the Nobel committee, at first, had not decided to give the peace prize to Barack Obama,” the newspaper said.

In a surprise move last Friday, the Nobel committee attributed the Nobel Peace Prize to Obama less than nine months after he had taken office.

Indeed, it turns out that Inger-Marie Ytterhorn, who represented the right-wing populist Progress Party on the committee, as well as Kaci Kullmann Five of the Conservative Party and the Socialist Left’s Aagot Valle, all objected to Obama’s receiving the prize. After some arm twisting by committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland, however, the committee reached its unanimous decision.

Perhaps the committee itself deserves a Peace Prize for overcoming controversy with such audacity to hope.