No commentary today: hey, I'm just reporting here--  but when even the Associated Press seems a tad abashed, you have to wonder if all of this is maybe a bit too much, a little too early.

 From the AP story:

 "...The Nobel committee praised Obama's creation of 'a new climate in international politics' and said he had returned multilateral diplomacy and institutions like the U.N. to the center of the world stage. The plaudit appeared to be a slap at President George W. Bush from a committee that harshly criticized Obama's predecessor for resorting to largely unilateral military action in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

"Rather than recognizing concrete achievement, the 2009 prize appeared intended to support initiatives that have yet to bear fruit: reducing the world stock of nuclear arms, easing American conflicts with Muslim nations and strengthening the U.S. role in combating climate change.

"'Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future,' Thorbjoern Jagland, chairman of the Nobel Committee said..."

Well, whatever. It's always good to bring home the gold (in this case, $1.4 million dollars worth).

 So congrats to our fellow Redroom Author, the President-- and wasn't it a nice gesture from the folks in Norway, if only to make up for their fellow Nordics not giving Chicago the Olympics?

UPDATE POSTSCRIPT:

Okay, I've had my pre-dawn coffee and fielded some of the off-line comments sent to me about the above post.

And I'm sticking to my "no commentary from me" -guns, people: specifically, in response to an e-mail from "Albert from Los Angeles," I definitely do NOT intend to ask press secretary Robert Gibbs to verify that an official joint delegation consisting of Kanye West and Taylor Swift will be delegated to travel to Oslo to accept the Nobel Prize on behalf of President Obama. Such a question wouldn't be appropriate, much less respectful.

But, oh-- how I wish I had thought of that line first, Albert...

--Earl Merkel

MORE UPDATE

Okay, okay, "Jennifer from Wilmington NC": your line was good too: "How ironic!" she e-mails. "On the day our President receives the Nobel Peace Prize, we do a Pearl Harbor-style attack on the peace-loving inhabitants of the Moon!"

I wish I had thought of that one, too. Satisfied now?

Jeez-- why can't you guys log onto Redroom.com and harrass me there?

NEWS UPDATE:

From the Rose Garden: "I won it. It's mine. I'm keeping it."

Okay, so that's not a quote; it's a paraphrase, or a translation, or whatever you want to call it. But now, at mid-morning, I'm still betting that there's a contribution of $1.4 million soon-to-be-made to a "worthy" organization.