More on the Unearned Accolade

Ross Douthat elegantly explains why President Obama should have turned down Nobel Peace Prize.  In some ways the most perplexing thing about all this is that there was no one in the White House who could see this exactly ten minutes after they learned of the announcement and then be able to persuade Obama. But Peggy Noonan has an idea on how to redeem this "wicked and ignorant award":

"How to redeem this? That is a hard question, but here is one idea. The president will deliver a big speech in Oslo Dec. 10: white tie and tails, a formal, bound statement. The world, as they say, will be watching. He should deflect the limelight. (Can he?) He should make his subject bigger than himself. (Is there a subject bigger than himself?) He has been accused of traveling through the world on an extended apology tour. That isn't fair, but the tag is there. How about an unapologetic address, a speech, with the world's elites leaning forward and listening, about the meaning of America? A speech that shows a grounded and sophisticated love for his country and its great traditions and history. Not a nationalistic speech, not a prideful one, but a loving one."