The art of the political zinger

Chris Lamb’s longish composition titled “best political zingers in history” (The Conversation, Sept. 5) made for entertaining perusal through a sweltering summer day.

As the heading hinted, the zingers were few and subjectively chosen, but nonetheless amusing and worth mentioning.

At a time when President Trump’s outspokenness could one day be proverbial (“He really gave the playwright a Trump of a review!”), it’s nice to be reminded that loutishness has been around ever since the Neanderthals grunted at each other.

And surely insults were exchanged before the Fall of Nineveh.

Sir Winston Churchill owned his lame excuse of high intoxication when he saw fit to call a lady ugly. (Donald presumably was sober when he did so, during the presidential campaign-and that gaffe was televised to the general population.)

President Obama got the better of Hilary, but in a smooth and suave fashion. (Unlike rough-and-ready Trump, he didn’t come on like gangbusters.)

And then there was Walter Mondale’s taking down by a peg or two of Dan Quayle in their vice presidential debate. (There was a pinch of finesse in that irritated but truthful observation that Quayle wasn’t of the stature of John F. Kennedy, their shared youthfulness notwithstanding.)

An implicit moral lesson here is that if one is inclined to resort to sarcasm, one should try to temper it with cleverness or satirical punch.

Avoid that clumsy Trump method of embarrassing others.

It’s like taking a sledgehammer to kill houseflies — or gadflies. William Dauenhauer Willowick