Interesting opinion, Mike. A lot of people, not all lefties, are asking the same thing of the Trump phenomenon. It was no small feat for the US to elect a black to the presidency. Now we have Trump as a repeat of Palin, engaging entertaining people prime-time for reality TV but not likely to become president according to what I read from this mostly Republican board. Nor is the pope just a media creation. He represents 1.3 billion Catholics throughout the world. Not an entertainer, he's bringing Jesus's message back to its roots with authentic spiritual nourishment applauded through the world as just about time.

Obama did nothing to earn the Prize? An American majority preferred him to the alternative, and extended its confidence a second time to a black representing an abused minority that never struck back at its leaders' insistence. It was as pivotal as the American acknowledgement that a Catholic could become president without taking orders from the Vatican in the 1960 primaries, both cultural breakthroughs for America.