Stud poker players are familiar with the tactic known as "betting on the come" — holding three or four cards with good potential, but only if cards to come turn the hand into a winner.

Betting on the come is precisely what the Nobel Peace Prize committee did in naming President Barack Obama as this year's Peace Prize laureate. Mr. Obama is a world leader of great potential, but there are a lot of cards yet to be played.

Mr. Obama, 11 days short of nine months into his presidency, now has been named to a pantheon that includes the likes of Mother Teresa, Norman Borlaug, George C. Marshall and Andrei Sakharov.

To be sure, the Nobel Peace Prize is not always a lifetime achievement award. Martin Luther King Jr. was only 35 when he was awarded 1964 prize, but he already had ignited a movement. West Germany's normalization of relations with the Soviet bloc had only begun when Chancellor Willy Brandt was awarded the 1971 prize.

Former Norwegian Prime Minister Thorbjorn Jagland, chair of the five-member committee that considered nominations that closed 11 days after Mr. Obama's inauguration, explained that the prize sometimes is awarded as a kind of carrot.

"The committee wants to not only endorse but contribute to enhancing that kind of international policy and attitude which [Obama] stands for," said Mr. Jagland said at a Friday news conference.

By that measure, the committee's decision is entirely appropriate. Mr. Obama, in speeches in Germany during the campaign and in Prague and Cairo as president, has worked hard to change the face America shows the world.

He may have clinched the Nobel in Prague in April when he said the challenges facing the world "demand that we listen to one another and work together; that we focus on our common interests, not on occasional differences; and that we reaffirm our shared values, which are stronger than any force that could drive us apart. That is the work that we must carry on."

The Prague speech focused on controlling nuclear proliferation. His speech in Cairo focused on repairing U.S. relations with the Islamic world. He has sought to make the United States a leader in addressing global climate change.

Sadly, there is far more consensus in Europe on these critical global issues than there is in the United States. Among European nations, Norway's politics are the most consensus-driven; it is no surprise that the five Norwegian politicians on the Peace Prize committee rewarded Mr. Obama's repudiation of the unilateralist policies of his predecessor.

That an American president — any American president — would win the Nobel Peace Prize should be cause for celebration at home. Tragically, our nation is now so polarized that many Americans — including some who should know better — are whining about it. Republican National Chairman Michael Steele said, "It is unfortunate that the president's star power has outshined tireless advocates who have made real achievements working towards peace and human rights."

But on CNN, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Mr. Obama's rival in last year's presidential election, had a better perspective: "I think Americans are always pleased when their president is recognized by something on this order," adding, "I think part of [the committee's] decision-making was expectations. And I'm sure the president understands that he now has even more to live up to."