Bugs vs. Mickey — Of course you know this means war

Over at Andrew Sullivan's blog, The Dish — amid the expected discussions about Libya and Congressional budget politicking and who on the right is already stepping out of the clown car for the 2012 presidential primary — an unexpected topic thread has really taken off. It started here, with an observational question posed by Rob Long in Commentary:

For decades, comedy writers have puzzled over a mystery: Why is Mickey Mouse more famous than Bugs Bunny? Mickey isn’t funny or interesting. He cannot produce an anvil or a Carmen Miranda hat out of the air. All in all, his “good mouse” act is a toothless, nice-guy bore. ... And yet Mickey is the superstar, while Bugs is the comic character actor. Mickey is nice. Bugs is funny. You cannot, obviously, be both. ... A truly great parody — in the grand Bugs Bunny tradition — is an arrow aimed straight at the puffed-up and smug, gently but firmly mean-spirited.

Input and insight from readers on the issue continue the discussion here, here, here, and currently here. (The thread survived the Dish's migration from The Atlantic to the Daily Beast.)

My own position on this matter has already been stated for the record.