Saturday Night Live, for all its recent irrelevancy, struck it rich this weekend when a Barack Obama imposter went down the list of all the things our new president has not accomplished.

Just how big a skit that was became clear today when Obama was announced as the latest Nobel Peace Prize winner. The most common reaction from critics? What has Obama done?

Forget that he is the first black president in a nation that used to have slaves and promoted the equality of man in its founding document despite including that slaves (blacks) would be counted as three-fifths of a person for population purposes.

In my opinion, Obama won because he is not Bush. The world hated the United States in December 2008 and prior to that. I remember watching the World Cup in 2006, and the American soccer team was the only team out of 32 that needed a fully-armed escort. By February 2009, it seems to have made a pretty substantial turnaround.

Then there are the issues. Sure, Obama has not accomplished a whole lot…yet. He is a meager nine months into his presidency of a country that values money over just about everything. Were he a king, maybe we would see change. Instead, he has to argue with politicians who have their own interests, paid for by corporate America, and not the interests of the American people.

Even without accomplishment, one can feel the hope Obama generates. Take the insurance debate. For so long, American workers have been trampled by growing insurance and medical costs. Most of Europe, and most of the other industrialized nations have figured this out. Are we naive for not following suit? No, they are socialists whose governments pose a danger to the populace. If nothing else, Obama is trying to get this nation’s poor some standard care.

Then there is Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. For a country that loves war as much as this one, this is a notoriously bad policy that denies qualified soldiers a chance to serve. Though it has yet to be overturned, Obama is on board.

Also there is Guantanamo. Another human rights issue. Obama wants the makeshift prison closed, but who disagrees? Republican congressman scared us into believing these prisoners would be released in our own backyards.

So maybe Obama has not accomplished a lot. I say getting elected on progressive ideas in a backwards country is progress enough and explains why the world might appreciate our president more than we do.