Some on the right took pleasure from the left’s (mostly) stuttering unbelief last week concerning the president’s Nobel Prize. Many seemed to believe that the left’s lament–“this is crazy, he hasn’t earned it yet“–could be the first rumblings of a breakdown of the Obama myth. I don’t know that I entirely agree.

Jay Cost and Steve Sailer hit on the truly unmentionable lens through which the prize could well be viewed: That the award was entirely in keeping with Obama’s entire career history and that, in any case, he is not “less qualified” to have a Nobel today than he was “less qualified” to be president in 2008.

In a sense, cleaving to “he hasn’t earned it yet” is actually a defense of Obama, in that it’s a stance that allows his erstwhile defenders to avoid a more critical position. Also, I might well agree with Galley Reader C.L. who wrote in to suggest that at the end of the day, the Nobel stands on its own, becoming not a bug, but a feature. Instead of reminding voters of how unqualified Obama is, it becomes a listed qualification.

Czabe captures the farce, particularly this insufferable SI piece which made excuses for their very bad behavior:

Strict moralists will look at the circumstances of their initial attraction—the messy entanglement of a wealthy sportsman with the wife of a good friend, Andy Mill; the Madison County–style longings of a hausfrau with three school-age children—and deliver a swift verdict of no. To bolster their case, the scolds need only point to the postseparation remarks of Laura Andrassy, who told an Australian newspaper that Evert had been “aggressive” in pursuit of her husband of 25 years (“In front of me, like I didn’t exist”) and that Norman’s quest for superstardom in both golf and business had left her feeling “like a single mom.”

Here, for example, we find Greg resting his bare feet on Chrissie’s knees while he reads the Financial Times. “We both have foot fetishes,” she explains, gently tugging on one little piggy while coyly eyeing another. “We rub each other’s feet all the time.” She tilts her head as she runs her thumbs up his calloused soles. “Boy, feet. I think all athletes know the importance of feet.”

“Chrissie likes to do things with me,” Norman says, kicking off his shoes as N1GN breaks through the clouds over Santo Domingo. “One of the greatest compliments a spouse can give you is to simply say, ‘Hey, can I come with you? Hey, let’s go for a hike in the Tibetan mountains.’ My ex-wife never gave me that.”

Listen to Norman: “She makes me feel alive again.” Listen to Evert: “We’re better people together.”

What will those scolding, strict moralists say now? The prigs!

Last November I asked a group of friends what they thought the over-under was on when Obama would get his Nobel Peace Prize. The general consensus was 2011–the theory being that the Nobel Committee would think they were handing him a boost for his reelection campaign.

In retrospect, it’s clear that the over on that line was a huge sucker’s bet.

Galley Friend P.G. keeps digging:

I just went back and checked the episode recaps for the episode where they discussed Trek. Sure enough, not only do they discuss Trek, but the guy who basically broke the case open for Fringe Division ALSO CLAIMS TO BE SPOCK! And he’s the one who connected the dots between The Pattern and Bell. So a man who claims to be Spock also seems to know more about Bell than anyone else. Surely he must notice the similarities between William Bell and the man he claims to be?

Or maybe Google will just spin it off. How much do you think someone would pay today for a massive website with millions of users that burns through money with no path to profitability?

[Ed: Probably about $10 billion. Oh, never mind.]

Bonus: Where did CNET get those great sources!

Has just noticed something peculiar about Barack Obama.

McCain-Feingold! Booooo!

Good to the last drop!

Oh come on, you know you want to click the link.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens to Letterman going forward. One the one hand, consenting adults and all that. On the other hand it’s really creepy to have serial affairs with women who are both (a) your employees and (b) much younger than you. But it’s the former half of that equations that’s the most troublesome. Unless Worldwide Pants is really insulated from Viacom, I suspect Letterman ran afoul of a book-load of corporate policies regarding the workplace.

Of course, those things are never apply to grand personages.

Update: I have no idea whether or not this Viacom Global Business Practices handbook is either current or applicable to Letterman (he might well be an independent contractor (or “supplier”) through his production company. But just as a glimpse into the type of apparatus giant, multinational corporations erect to govern the conduct of employees, click on the link and scroll to page 24:

“Viacom recognizes that consenting romantic or sexual relationships may develop between a manager and a subordinate. these relationships frequently lead to complications for the parties involved as well as for others in the workplace. that is why, if a consenting romantic or sexual relationship develops between a subordinate and someone senior to him or her, Viacom requires the more senior person to promptly disclose this information to his or her company’s Human Resources Department.”

My guess is that Viacom has some similar verbiage attached to dealings with their outside contractors.