In his 2008 campaign, Barack Obama was, if not particularly ideologically committed, quickly branded as the comparatively antiwar candidate. It wasn't a hard case to make, with Sen. John McCain (R – AZ) running an intensely pro-war campaign.

But Obama's dubious antiwar bonafides were quickly embraced internationally, where he was heralded as a peacemaker of historical proportions and, in 2009, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize just nine months into his first term in office. He hadn't really done anything yet, and the prize was seen as an advanced award for the things he was expected to do.

Coming into his last few months in office, these expectations seem in retrospect incredibly wishful thinking, as Obama's "peacemaking" efforts have been few and far between, and far overshadowed by the non-stop wars he has championed throughout his presidency.