All but the most ardent supporters of President Barack Obama had to be scratching their heads Friday morning when it was announced that Obama had been awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.

Among the most common first reactions had to be, "For what?"

Obama has been in office less than nine months and had been president for only 12 days prior to the Nobel's February deadline for nominations.

While Obama has expressed great aspirations for a world free of nuclear weapons and one in which man's impact on the environment is reduced, his accomplishments in these, and other areas, remain for the future.

Speculation on why the Nobel committee selected Obama includes the idea that it was intended to be a slap in the face to former President George W. Bush for his unilateral approach to global issues.

From the Nobel committee, the explanation is that this year's award is intended to encourage Obama to continue his quest for world peace, global cooperation and environmental repair.

But surely among the 204 other nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize, there was someone who has labored for years, if not decades, to help desperate people in Africa or some other worthy cause. Is there not one person across the world who has accomplished some great humanitarian effort or been part of an inspiring environmental effort who is more deserving than Obama?

Obama's selection, as well as some earlier controversial choices, suggests a politicization of the Nobel Peace Prize that diminishes the award in the eyes of many.

The Nobel committee should have waited a year, or two, or even 10, so that Obama's accomplishments could be judged, not just his eloquent speeches or good intentions.

Many Pennsylvania residents have gotten the wrong message that state lawmakers know what the annual income will be from table games at commonwealth casinos.That's because lawmakers haven't admitted that, really, they don't have a clue at this time. And, that failure to admit that is wrong.First, legislators have no way of knowing if all of the casinos will opt to provide table games; that decision by the casinos will be based on their opinion of the table games license fee and the tax rate on those games.Meanwhile, unlike with slot machines, the payouts of which can be manipulated, there can be no guarantee of what the profits will be from table games.So, any income figure in the 2009-10 state budget will be just an estimate — an estimate that could be right on target, very high, very low or anywhere in between.What's a matter of deep concern is if table games revenue ends up being very flat amid high estimates — and how seriously that will impact the 2010-11 budget-preparation process.Lawmakers should be upfront about the table games uncertainties, but up to now they've failed to acknowledge the uncertain "roll of the dice" with which they have been — and will be — dealing.

Driving while distracted, whether by talking on a cell phone, or by having rowdy passengers in the car, or by texting, is dangerous. Various studies — and common sense — suggest anything less than full attention on the road ahead and other vehicles on the road greatly increases the risk of having an accident.Talking about the dangers of distracted driving, especially to younger drivers, doesn't seem to be getting the message across. But showing younger drivers the dangers of distracted driving is another story.Last month, Allstate driving instructors, working with the Allstate Action Against Distraction teen driving challenge, set up something of an obstacle course on a parking lot at Seneca Valley High School and put a small group of students on the course marked by traffic cones.While driving the course, the students were asked do things many of us do, to eat a sandwich, reach for something in the back seat, make a cell phone call or even tap out and send a text message. Allstate's instructors even sat in the passenger seat of some cars, yelling at or otherwise distracting the driver. These are the kinds of things that routinely happen in cars, particularly cars driven by teenage drivers.Each teen driver quickly learned how distractions impair driving skills. One student, after completing the exercise, said "I'm going to tell my friends they really ought to pay a lot more attention when they're driving." He also admitted that texting while driving is a bad idea.Chris Linville, a township police officer and high school resource officer, said the Allstate program was a valuable complement to what is learned in the classroom about distracted driving.After observing the parking lot exercise, Linville said, "I wish we could do this for more students."That's a good point. A distracted- driving exercise, like the one held at Seneca Valley, should be a part of all driver's education programs.