I was initially as baffled everyone else. However, whatever else one might think of the Nobel Committee, they are neither stupid nor naïve. They are, I suspect, intentionally putting the Mr. Obama in a tight spot. He is, right now, considering escalating the war in Afghanistan. There is also talk of a strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities. He is currently being harangued by his generals. Now he is a Nobel Laureate in Peace. That both increases his stature (oh yes it does) and it makes it rather difficult to for him to then become a war monger. Is the Nobel Committee crazy, maybe, maybe crazy like a fox.

More likely, I’d say, Obama fans are a bit embarrassed by it or happy about it. Republicans do their usual song and dance. But people in the middle have the idea reinforced in their head that this guy gets laurels heaped on him day in and day out despite having no major accomplishments as president.

I’m not sure it’s a huge liability. But I can’t see it helping even a little.

When receiving news Obama should have said:

Whatta ya mean they’re giving me a medal?
Whatta they want? This some kind of con?
What’s in it for them?

And money too?

It’s gotta be some kind blackmail thing? Yeah the Swedes want to run my foreign policy…yeah, they always wanted that…it gets boring up there in the dark…should just sic Hillary on ‘em…

Yeah that’s it…they think they can just buy me off.

Shit they need to know this is the White House not Congress you know?

Damn Swedes…Peace prize…

A peace prize from friggin Vikings and a dynamite salesman…what they know about peace? No real American wants a peace prize, yeah get them on the court and see how peaceful I can be.

They trying to make me look like Carter? A peacenik, human rights…look what happened to him.

Wait a minute, hold on here…this is an insult to George, right?

Right…They think they can just announce things without tellin’ me and have the Republicans jump down my throat?

Yeah…its a conservative Swedish thing…that guy from Ikea…he’s against this environmental talk right, big business thing, bet he doesn’t have health care for his workers here.

Shit that’s it…bet Rove is behind this, another funding blockbuster, make Acorn look like peanuts.

Pisses me off.

The bastards…they can just shove their medal…what?

How much?

Really?

Damn! that’s a whole lot of dead presidents… or dead kings or queens…whatever.

Well maybe we can make this work, it’s a hope for the world thing…

Gotta give it to some charity…..yeah…get Rangel on the phone.

Now how many troops can we give McCrystal to kick some Muslim butt?

Another possibility is that the Scandinavians are somehow still a bit ignorant in regards to American politics. If this is indeed a call for reciprocity, they may have shot themselves in the foot. I’m pretty sure Obama is suffering a pretty bad headache for all of this. The distraction can’t be welcome, especially given where we stand on health care reform right now.

Then again, that’s not to say you’re wrong, only that the Nobel was a miscalculation if that’s what they were up to.