In the wake of the Nobel

Maybe it's the professorial side of him, but President Obama has a gift for stirring debate. In Norway, for example, a lot of people took it hard that he turned down the traditional luncheon invitation given by King Harald to the annual winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and cut short the traditional three-day visit by honorees, pleading a busy schedule.

'Of all the things he is cancelling, I think the worst is cancelling the lunch with the King,' said Siv Jenson, leader of Norway's main opposition political party.

Poor Mr. Obama. He is criticized for being too deferential to Japan's emperor and not deferential enough to Norway's king. Maybe he needs a new protocol adviser.

In the same vein, the Dalai Lama appeared to get even with President Obama for cancelling their October meeting to avoid offending China.

He told Sky News Thursday he thought President Obama's prize came 'a little early' but if his policies work out well 'it doesn't matter.'

The Dalai Lama, who won the Nobel Peace Prize himself, went on to say of Mr. Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, that even if 'some of his policies have been a disaster,' as 'a human being I really love him, really wonderful person, very honest, very truthful.'

Then there's the debate about the prize money. Mr. Obama gets $1.4 million from the Nobel Committee. He plans to treat it as personal income and give it to charities, which will give him a big write-off on his personal income tax.

But the prize was given because Mr. Obama is president, chosen by the American people.

The normal rule for gifts to presidents is that they are gifts to the nation, not the person.

In light of this rule, shouldn't the president give the money to the U.S. Treasury? The federal government sure could use it.