"Norwegians are incensed over what they view as his shabby response to the prize by cutting short his visit," the Manchester Guardian reports. "The White House has cancelled many of the events peace prize laureates traditionally submit to, including a dinner with the Norwegian Nobel committee, a press conference, a television interview, appearances at a children's event promoting peace and a music concert, as well as a visit to an exhibition in his honour at the Nobel peace centre." The recipient is the president of the United States, after all, and not an unemployed politician (Al Gore, Jimmy Carter), as the last two American recipients have been. Rather than feeling snubbed by Obama not attending their parties, shouldn't the Norweirdos who awarded Obama the prize feel "buyer's remorse" in the wake of this man of peace's escalation of the Afghanistan war? War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.

Given that a good portion of the President's job is ceremonial I wouldn't feel that absolves him from attending those things were I Norse. That said, to be awarded a Nobel Prize which he has to be conscious of having done nothing to earn must seem a studied insult from Mr. Obama's view. So I hardly blame him for snubbing them in return.