That sound you hear is the combined explosion of heads all over right-wing America. Al Gore has won the Nobel Prize for Peace, along with the United Nations Climate Change Panel.
What's better than being President?
I think being a prophet.
UPDATE: Not surprisingly, Bob Somerby has a nice summary of the mainstream press' take on Gore and his Nobel. It differs little in either intent or even content, only in tone.
UPDATE II: Here's a complete list of Nobel laureates, dating back to 1901. Among Americans who have won, we have three Presidents (Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Jimmy Carter), two diplomats (Ralph Bunche, Henry Kissinger), a physicist (Linus Pauling), and a couple religious figures (Jane Addams, Martin Luther King, Jr.).
I think the prize is even more important, and prestigious, now than it was a century ago. As the age of the nation-state wains, and as international and supranational organization becomes paramount, we shall look more and more to those who have been recognized for their unique contributions to peace as guides to the future. Whether they are democracy leaders such as Aung San Su Khyy of Burma and Nelson Mandela of South Africa; spiritual leaders such as the 14th Dalai Lama; or international organizations such as the Office of the UN Commissioner of Refugees or Medicin Sans Frontiers - these will be the harbingers of the world to come.
