Obama and the Nobel Prize

I can imagine that many of you were as surprised as I was to wake up this morning to find that President Obama had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. I have no insight into the prize committee's decision-making process, the merits of their conclusion, or the wisdom of President Obama accepting or rejecting the award.

Can I suggest, though, a couple of potential uses for the prize money, should Obama choose to accept it? He could donate the money to paying down the federal debt. He could put it towards funding for the food stamps. Or he could put it towards paid internships for federal service. But there's no question that Obama should donate the money if he accepts it rather than keeping it for himself. And while almost any charity is bound to be controversial and become the subject of partisan debate, putting the money towards good government would be both productive and hard to argue with, and would suggest that Obama has a personal investment in the issues he's pushing.