Prize for Vocal Critics of Republicans

If the Nobel Committee keeps cheerleading for Vocal Critics of Republicans (VCRs), would it be a shocker if the folks who gave Mahatma Gandhi thumbs down fell over each other to redefine peace for a propaganda filmmaker?

One person who should be thrilled at the prospect of Al Gore accepting a Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of Mother Earth is the 2002 winner, Jimmy Carter. On a desperate quest to be have someone – anyone – be remembered as the worst President ever, Carter would seem to benefit from another voice trashing the Bush presidency.

It is odd then that Carter launched an embarrassing (even for him) rant against a sitting President just as Gore ducks out of a fundraising commitment for some double-secret climate-saving meeting. By popping up to rant about Cheney, Obama, Bush, Hillary Clinton, and all the Republican candidates (apologies if I left anyone out), Carter reminds the Nobel folks the prize has enough political baggage already.

I think Carter is playing a long game and understands one thing the Nobel geniuses do not: One too many blood-caked terrorists or partisan hacks and the Nobel Peace Prize stops being the punch line to a joke, and becomes a joke itself. And when Vegas starts offering odds on future Nobel Peace Prize Nominees such as Nancy Pelosi, Dick Durbin, and that guy with the cash in his freezer, how much will Carter’s prize count toward his legacy?