Robert Reich on the Nobel Committee's mistake:

[. . .] The Prize is really more of Booby Prize for Obama's predecessor. Had the world not suffered eight years of George W. Bush, Obama would not be receiving the Prize. He's prizeworthy and praiseworthy only by comparison.

[. . .] Giving the Peace Prize to the President [. . .] only underscores the paradox of Obama at this early stage of his presidency. He has demonstrated mastery in both delivering powerful rhetoric and providing the nation and the world with fresh and important ways of understanding current challenges. But he has not yet delivered. To the contrary, he often seems to hold back from the fight -- temporizing, delaying, or compromising so much that the rhetoric and insight he offers seem strangely disconnected from what he actually does. Yet there's time. He may yet prove to be one of the best presidents this nation has ever had -- worthy not only of the Peace Prize but of every global accolade he could possibly summon. Just not yet.

Well said by Reich.

Speaking for me only

Will he play? That's the question of the day in college football - will Florida QB Tim Tebow play when the Gators travel to Death Valley to face LSU. My view remains that even if the doctors clear him, he should sit. Concussions are a very serious thing. Even with Tebow, winning in Death Valley at night is almost impossible. Florida is a 7 point favorite over LSU. I can not imagine LSU getting beat by 7 at home. In any event, Go Gators!

My first selection pick (I'm 15-10 (.600) on the season) is Iowa (-8) over Michigan. I have never been a believer in Michigan and Iowa's offense has improved. Iowa should win easily. More . .

BTD is at the Bruce Springsteen concert tonight. I've been offline all day and not seen the news. What have we missed?

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

This week's National Journal Bloggers Poll is out (here is their Beltway Insiders Poll.) I am going to present the first question (on health care reform) to you in a poll.

The second question asks "if unemployment continues to rise, should their be a second stimulus?" My answer was "They should have passed a bigger stimulus in the beginning to avoid the rising unemployment we have suffered."

What do you think?

The defense of the farce committed by the Nobel Committee in awarding President Obama the Peace Prize is exemplified by Robert Naiman, who writes "the Nobel Committee is [. . .] giving an award to encourage the change in world relations that Obama has promised, and to try to help shield Obama against his domestic adversaries." Chris Cilizza agrees that it will have that effect:

Winning the Nobel Prize will allow Obama to go to his divided Democratic caucus and make the case far more forcefully that the time is now to stay united behind him on Afghanistan.

You think that is what the Nobel Committee had in mind?

Speaking for me only

I am in the Cult of Charlie Rangel. But even taking that into account, I think Kos is wrong - the accusations against Rangel do not amount to "corruption" even if proven. I do not believe he should step down. The allegations simply do not merit it. A reprimand? A rebuke? A censure? Perhaps. But Rangel is not accused of corruption - as the word is understood. Let me put it this way, when Tim Geithner resigns, get back to me.

As for the title of this post, I am taking at shot at BarbinMD, who has decided that thinking Obama does not deserve the Nobel Peace Prize is a capital offense - and means you are a Republican or in the Taliban. Weak weak stuff from her. Hey Barb, here is another Taliban agree-er:

Nils Butenschon, director of the Norwegian Center for Human Rights at the University of Oslo and a well-known human rights champion in Norway [said] “It seems premature to me. I think the committee should be very careful with the integrity of the prize, and in this case I don’t think we are in a position to really evaluate the full impact of what this candidate has achieved. Sometimes of course the prize is awarded to people who are in the process of making history, so to speak, but in this case I think it is too early to know that.”

Speaking for me only

The President speaking now. Glenn Greenwald wrote:

[T]here are simply no meaningful "peace" accomplishment[s] in his record -- at least not yet -- and there's plenty of the opposite. That's what makes this Prize so painfully and self-evidently ludicrous.

President Obama says he does not deserve it. Good for him. He will accept the award though. Looks sheepish about the whole thing. I take it he hopes this goes away quickly. President Obama's awkward reference to the Afghanistan "theater" demonstrates how ridiculous this all is.

Final thought - future headline "Nobel Peace Prize Winner Escalates War in Afghanistan"

Final Final Thought - the problem here is NOT President Obama, it is the Nobel Committee. Obama did nothing wrong and it is absurd to criticize him for the foolishness of the Nobel Committee.

Speaking for me only

From farce to the most important event in the history of the Republic - Saturday night's Florida-LSU game.

Tebow remains a game time decision but I get the feeling he is going to play. I think he should sit. Easy for me to say.

This is an Open Thread.

For reasons that are unfathomable, President Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize:

President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday. [. . .] [T]he Nobel Committee announced in Oslo that it has awarded the annual prize to the president “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” The award cited in particular Mr. Obama’s effort to reduce the world’s nuclear arsenal.

Just because the Nobel Committee wants to make fools of themselves, Obama should not have to play along. He should turn it down.

Speaking for me only

Sadly, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed the Patriot Act renewal provisions yesterday. A few modifications were made, but not enough.

Marcy at Empty Wheel live-blogged the hearing and says, other than Feingold's statement, "We're not the Prosecutor's Committee, we're the Judiciary Committee,"

The rest of the hearing featured Democrat after Democrat arguing that we need to develop lists of all the potential suspects out there buying acetone and hydrogen peroxide.[More...]

A preliminary hearing was scheduled tomorrow for Mohammed Zazi, father of Najibullah Zazi. The Grand Jury returned an Indictment against him today, which means there won't be a prelim. Fed. R. Crim. P. 5.1(a)(2) provides that a defendant=s right to a preliminary hearing does not apply in a case where the defendant is charged by indictment.

The Indictment charges Zazi with one count of making a false statement to the FBI on September 16, 2009:

...defendant ZAZI denied that he spoke with anyone by telephone regarding whether Najibullah Zazi was in any trouble, when, in fact, on or about September 11, 2009, defendant ZAZI did speak by telephone with a person regarding whether Najibullah Zazi was in any trouble.

[More...]

The defense has rested in the trial to the court of New York state senator Hiram Monserrate, charged with assaulting his girlfriend with a broken glass, causing her to get 20 facial stitches. Monserrate, as is his right, did not testify. (Background on case here and here, on waiving jury here.)

The Judge threw out two charges after the prosecution rested. [More..]