elfs | The head of the Nobel committee lets the cat out of the bag

"He got the prize because he has been able to change the international climate," Nobel Committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland said. "Some people say, and I understand it, isn't it premature? Too early? Well, I'd say then that it could be too late to respond three years from now. It is now that we have the opportunity to respond – all of us."

Hmm. One can take that two different ways: first, that the Nobel committee wants to influence the world, and in three years they might have missed their opportunity. But if Obama is so fabulous, they'll have that opportunity anyway, won't they?

The other way is far more ominous. The Nobel is only ever awarded to living individuals. Perhaps the Nobel committee, reading the sheer raw hatred we've seen from the far right, doesn't think Obama will meet that condition three years from now. "It could be too late to respond."