On the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize

Is the Norwegian Nobel Committee a political activist body?

Here’s an excerpt of CNN’s interview with Norwegian Nobel Committee Chairman, Thorbjorn Jagland, right after he announced the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize result.

CNN: A great many people are delighted. Some people are shocked. He has been in office less than a year. Most of what he’s tried, he’s still just at a startup. Is the committee acting a little fast?

Thorbjorn Jagland: No, not at all. We want to promote what he stands for. And this is the long standing history of the Peace Nobel Committee. We want to enhance the ideals that Obama is promoting for.

So did he admit that the Norwegian Nobel Commitee (or the Peace Nobel Committee) is actually a political activist body that exists to promote certain agendas instead of recognizing good works that have been done? This doesn’t seem to agree with its formal constitution.