Mort Sahl was once, I am told, a famous comedian. This, I assume, can be the only explanation for the answers he gave to a questionnaire in the latest Vanity Fair.

“Q: Which historical figure do you most identify with?“

“A: Che Guevara.”

Che Guevara was, of course, a murderer, a terrorist, an avatar of totalitarian rule.

“Q: Which living person do you most admire?”

“A: Fidel Castro.”

Fidel Castro is, of course, a tyrant, a torturer and a killer.

Please, please tell me that Mr. Sahl is being ironic. If not, he is, quite simply, beneath contempt.