Team Obama Pushes Back

Post Editorial Page Editor Fred Hiatt tells me: "Actually, I did question it. The senator's staff responded that the 32 number was based on research they had done at the Commerce Committee, and they backed it up with various media reports (they cited a Politico report of 29, but said there were three unfilled), some of which we also found.

"We also ran a piece shortly after this one, by David Rivkin, challenging the criticism and saying there is nothing unconstitutional about having 'czars.' "

Mediaite suggests that "basically the White House is attempting to step into the deep-end of the blogosphere. Perhaps it's inevitable -- this is the Internet Presidency after all, and Obama does carry a Blackberry. But still. Is it really a good thing? Doesn't deciding to respond to Glenn Beck et al. in kind merely elevate much of the nonsense Beck spews and simultaneously lower the White House a few rungs down the credibility ladder?

"Wouldn't the more prudent approach be to figure out how Glenn Beck has out-Obama'd Obama, pinpoint what it is exactly that is so appealing about Beck and than address that fear instead (preferably with a chalk board!)? One more voice in the politico online din, even if it's the White House's, is going to end up being just that: one more voice."

Maybe, but the White House does have a way of getting its share of attention.

Obama Wins Nobel

It was a stunner to see the news this morning:

"President Obama won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize today for 'his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples,' the Norwegian Nobel Committee said, citing his outreach to the Muslim world and attempts to curb nuclear proliferation.

"The stunning choice made Obama the third sitting U.S. president to win the Nobel Peace Prize and shocked Nobel observers because Obama took office less than two weeks before the Feb. 1 nomination deadline. Obama's name had been mentioned in speculation before the award but many Nobel watchers believed it was too early to award the president."

Take that, Fred Armisen, huh? But there will undoubtedly be complaints that this was an utterly political choice and not based on his brief record.

My question is this: How come many pundits were sure that Obama would win the Olympics for Chicago, but nobody saw this coming?

More Dave Details

This New York Post story would certainly fit the definition of what Letterman called "creepy" conduct:

"And the No. 1 reason David Letterman is a cad: The 'Late Show' host brought the assistant he was sleeping with on Caribbean vacations with his wife and their young son, sources told The Post.