SMART AMERICANS - AT 10:15 A.M. ET: Who said Americans aren't savvy?  Rasmussen reports that they've caught on to the racket known as the Nobel Peace Prize:

Americans are much more skeptical of the motivation behind the awarding of the prestigious international Nobel Prizes following President Obama's win Friday of the Nobel Peace Prize.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 58% of American adults now believe that politics plays a role in the awarding of the Nobel Prize. That's an 18-point jump from 40% a year ago.

Just 21% of Americans say politics does not play a role in the awarding of the Nobel Prize. Twenty-one percent (21%) are not sure.

COMMENT:  The 21% who say politics plays no role corresponds to the number of Americans who describe themselves as liberals.  Figures.

October 11,  2009