In my weekend column, I did not eschew the cheap jests of the moment:

With brilliant comedic timing, the very next morning the Norwegians gave him the Nobel Peace Prize. Up next: His stunning victory in this year’s Miss World contest. December 12, Johannesburg. You read it here first.

At the time I wrote it, I was not aware of this:

The Miss America Organization says Rush Limbaugh will be a judge for the 2010 pageant in Las Vegas.

I rather enjoyed Orrin Judd’s response:

There could be an awkward moment when he has to crown Barack Obama the winner.

I also liked this retort to my column from a pro-Obama reader:

If Obama discovered the cure for cancer,this fool [ie, yours truly] would find some way to criticize.

The Nobel prize is like the post-modern version of the Emperor’s new clothes: To a fool, His Majesty appears entirely naked. To a wise man, His Majesty is also naked but the wise man is sophisticated enough to admire the potential His Majesty has to be fabulously dressed at some point in the future.