Bryan ...

... On Satire. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

It seems to me that if Machiavelli was right and relations among nations are governed by the law of the jungle, then it becomes both easy to pass moral judgment on the behavior of government operatives in their dealings with other countries and also largely beside the point. The nature of the problem would seem to mandate a kind of immoralism. The satirist, I suspect -- and the journalist as well -- if charged with the duties of the government operatives would likely behave in much the same manner that they so worthy of ridicule.

Glenn poses a relevant question.