Obama's Nobel Lottery

While the Nobel Committee's inexplicable decision to award its peace prize to someone who manifestly does not deserve it might be initially maddening to conservatives, over the longer term it might actually be good news. Here's why.

First, it is a great illustration that Obama hero worship might have finally jumped the shark. Even liberals have got to be chagrined. Perhaps now that the tide of sycophancy has reached this point, it will finally begin to recede.

Second, the politically compromised Nobel Prize has been shrunken to Moveon.org-like irrelevancy. Two recent winners were Jimmy Carter and Al Gore, and Obama makes for a perfect hat trick.

Obama, who must have felt like he hit the lottery today, now has two awards out of all proportion to his qualifications. He should have declined the Nobel (which he admits he doesn't deserve) and allowed someone who really has accomplished something for peace to receive it. He would have been seen as a real statesman; instead, he is becoming the butt of even more jokes.

It may turn out that winning the Nobel Prize is worse politically for our president than last's week's loss of the Olympics.

(For more on this topic, see my Thought of the Day.)