Far less deserving people have been nominated (George W. Bush and Henry Kissinger come to mind), so I did a little Googling, to find out the whys and wherefores.

It's structured to prevent just anybody from flooding the Nobel Committee with off-the-wall suggestions (a sensible precaution), but seems to be pretty accessible for people willing to scout around for a qualified nominator.

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In Which Mnemosyne Discovers That the Ultimate Answer Is Both Simple and Complex and That the Final Answer Is Not, Alas, 42, But 43.

After beating my virtual head against several walls last week, having a nice chat with a pleasant PR person at the Secret Service, and getting stonewalled by the White House press office, I tended to real-world life for a few days. Then I dusted off the old school tie from Ink-Stained Wretches U., got out my battered Rolodex, and started making calls again.

Most people who write news stories are so focused on their immediate work that it's never occurred to them how and from where their access comes. I suspect that once a large news organization, say the New York Times or AP, has the access, changing White House press credentials is just a matter of substituting a new name for the old, and then letting the Secret Service check 'em out.

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One of the questions that's come up frequently in connection with GannonGate is, How did this guy get White House press credentials? He gets to sit a few feet away from the president and ask questions, yet has no real journalistic experience. Or existence, as he seems to have sprung full grown from the waves, like Botticelli's Venus on the Half Shell.

So I started asking people: How would I go about getting WH press credentials -- not that I want them, mind you, but hypothetically. The hypothetical part is important to remember.

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Bush . . .  is in "great health" and got the green light for the decision from his doctors, spokesman Scott McClellan told AFP.

Isn't skipping a medical exam what caused Bush the Lesser to be grounded from flight status in the TANG? And aren't there still questions outstanding as to exactly why?

This suggests to me that Bush has something to hide about his medical status, or that his managers don't want him subjected to a physical that would examine medications.

I can't find any press coverage on this at all, except for the one AFP story. Should we make the networks and cable shows aware?

HarperCollins doesn't mention Seymour Hersh's book on its homepage listings of hot new books, as of Monday morning, Sept. 13, Eastern time. The most recent information on the company's hard-to-find-things page is the catalog copy.

Nor is Hersh included in the alphabetical listing of Author Interviews. Nor is he included under 2004 Press Releases.

Ask HarperCollins why they aren't pushing sales of this book. Contact them at their e-mail.

Order it from your local, independent bookseller. Or, if you have no other choice, from one of the chains. The Bush White House has already attacked the book, and it's possible that Murdock's minions will try to deep-six it. Hersh's information needs to be widely read, especially in light of recent news stories that as many as 100, perhaps more, Iraqis have been disappeared into the U.S. gulag archipelago.