The Nobel farce

President Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize for giving speeches? Former Sen. John Danforth of Missouri seemed rightly exasperated: "What has he done? It's a joke." I hope Jon Stewart and Saturday Night Live don't chicken out on this one. Lech Walesa, the brave leader of Solidarity in Poland, who won the prize in 1983, said it well: Obama "has no contribution so far."

Theodore Roosevelt won the prize in 1906 for some action: mediating talks that ended the 1905 Russo-Japanese War. Woodrow Wilson's post-World War I efforts contributed to the advent of World War II, but at least he won the prize in 1919 for some action, starting the League of Nations. One joke I heard: Obama will win the Heisman Trophy because he's talked about setting up a college football playoff system.

The awards to Jimmy Carter in 2002, Al Gore in 2007, and Obama now have cheapened the Prize and exposed it for what it represents: the views of several left-wing Norwegian politicians. In any event, it will be interesting to see what Obama does with the $1 million award: With the hyperinflation his spending policies may bring, the award could be $1 trillion in 10 years.