Thursday, February 02, 2006

Humor, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff

The Joint Chiefs of Staff recently sent a letter to the Washington Post protesting the tastefulness of a political cartoon by Tom Toles lampooning Donald Rumsfeld's recent denials that the Iraq war has damaged military readiness.

I think the cartoon is ironic and funny, and not distasteful. Indeed, I wondered about the sense of humor of the Joint Chiefs (the target is Rumsfeld, after all, not the veteran soldier).

Military commanders have often been known for their rather dour demeanor. Some commanders who did have a dark and savage sense of humor (e.g., William Tecumseh Sherman; Curtis LeMay) found themselves roundly (and justifiably) condemned for it. There are a few commanders (Tommy Franks seems to be one) who are genuinely funny. Maybe the cartoon cuts too 'close to the bone,' so to speak.

Or is the cartoon some kind of ideological Rorschach test: liberals laugh, but conservatives frown?

So, how do you feel? Funny, or not funny?

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