Obama Denied Nobel Prize in Economics

In a decision as shocking as Friday's surprise peace prize win, President Obama failed to win the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences Monday. _Marketwatch

US President Barack Obama had hoped to win two more Nobel prizes this year -- in economics and in literature.The prize for literature, alas, went to German Herta Muller ("I never heard of her", said Obama). The economics prize went to Americans Elinor Ostrom and Oliver E. Williamson.

Ostrom, a political-science professor at Indiana University in Bloomington, is the first woman to win the prize in economics, which was established in 1968.

Her work "has challenged the conventional wisdom that common property is poorly managed and should be completely privatized or regulated by central authorities," the academy said.

Williamson, professor emeritus at the University of California Berkeley, has developed a theory where business firms serve as structures for conflict resolution.

Their work over the last three decades has "advanced economic governance research from the fringe to the forefront of scientific attention," the academy said. _Marketwatch

So far, the Nobel Prize Committee has refused to explain itself. Of course Obama and most of his close followers (O.Z. s) believe that a single Nobel Prize does not adequately represent Obama's achievements -- let alone his potential.

It is possible that this apparent misstep by the committee was actually intentional. Perhaps the committee intends to award Mr. Obama a single Nobel prize for each year he is in the White House. This approach would make more sense politically, since every active US President needs extra support this time of year -- just before elections. Such a more conservative year by year parceling of prizes to Obama may actually work in his political favour.

You may wonder what other prizes Obama might qualify for besides Peace, Literature, and Economics? Relax. It's not exactly clear that Mr. Obama qualifies for those three, let alone any of the others. When it comes to politics, qualifications simply do not signify.