The subscribers and single-day consumers of Tuesday's Washington Post were denied a Tank McNamara cartoon when a subplot in the long-running strip was deemed "inappropriate" by editors.
The three-box offering featured former Vice President Dick Cheney and NFL commisioner Roger Goddell discussing a hit on recently freed quarterback Michael Vick. Here's the hand-drawn prose that caused the trouble.
Goodell: "I have to make a move on Mike Vick."
Cheney: "Kill him."
Goodell: "Kill him?!?"
Cheney: "Well, not you personally."
The syndicator of the script, Universal Press Syndicate, said they knew of no other cancellations other than the Post's.
What do we think? Was this over the line? Are you surprised only one outlet balked at running it?
I think it's hysterical.
The Washington Post isn't the only paper that spiked this strip. The San Diego Union Tribune ran Monday's strip but has pulled Tuesday's and Wednesday's and plans to keep it out of the paper for the rest of the week. The UT did not disclose to its readers why it had pulled the strip. It just ran a single misleading statement in ultra small font on an inside page of the sports section saying "Tank McNamara is on hiatus this week."