Humor has always been appreciated in politics.  The sense and style of humor may change a bit, but a quick wit and tasteful banter has always had its place of some honor.

Whether it was John F. Kennedy noting that Press Secretary Pierre Salinger’s job was to make the President look good,  and having accomplished that quite well . . .

Or, any of the many Reagan quips that were genuinely funny as he tilted his head just a wee bit to the side . . .

Lately, though, the humor coming from the White House press secretary has had an edge to it, a little bit of a bite.  Even President Obama had something of an attitude yesterday as he quipped about being “choked up with anger” when discussing the AIG bonus baloney.  What’s happened to humor in politics today?

A couple of things might be at play here, and they have to do with the times.  First, though, remember how different it felt in 1961 after President Kennedy took office.  President Dwight Eisenhower had been more of a fatherly, or even grandfatherly president, with grown children, and he was surrounded by men of some age and gravitas, soldiers of America who had won the war.

And, yes, President Kennedy was of that war, too, but as a young man.  He entered the White House with a young and beautiful wife, two young children, and was surrounded by young men himself, including his younger brother as Attorney General.  There was a visible and clear generational change occurring for all to see and feel, and it was invigorating and  vibrant.  Politics changed.

President Obama is a young man, too, with a beautiful wife and two young children, true.  But today it is more.  We’ve seen young men in the White House, including Presidents Clinton and Bush the second, so no novelty there.

But, the times have changed, and with that, politics has, also.  Technology has made us a different people today.  The world is an instant and instantaneous place now, and technology fuels that speed.  The 24/7 go-getter, and the 24/7 news cycle, have been created by this technology, and nothing is ever less than a few keystrokes away on either a laptop or a Blackberry, whatever it is you’re seeking.

Those who are, or who are about to become, our industry leaders, are young.  They have grown up with the desktop, moved on to the notebook, and moved even further still to the hand-held device.  They have shunned newspapers (see how many have already folded in the last six months, and watch how many will fold in the next twelve), and turn to their online sources to keep up.

They socialize online now, whether it be MySpace, or FaceBook (the new MySpace), or Twitter (the new “new thing”), and their news comes from the “blogoshpere,” which may or may not be actual news.  If they watch television, it’s Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert, and they still sneak in the Simpsons.  Or, it’s one of the ubiquitous cable talking heads shows on the network of your political persuasion among MSNBC, Fox and CNN.

There’s an edge, what was previously called “hipness,” to all of this.  A new vocabulary has been developed to communicate on all of these “channels,” and the website www.urbandictionary.com will help all of you who are not up on the latest yet to get up on the latest now.

How many press releases were issued by email in the last campaign?  How many press releases are issued today from politicians?  Every one of them has their own web site, and electronic communications are a mainstay of politics today.  President Obama carries his Blackberry with him all the time, and by his own admission, he uses it regularly, albeit among a select few with the number.

That edge can not be avoided if you live and work in the “”virtual” world even for just a part of your day.  The cutting humor, the special “virtual world” vernacular, the attitude, is simply a part of what we have become or are in the process of becoming.

The toothpaste is already out of the tube, and it’s not going back in.  The next generation, my grandchildren, will know a “virtual” world before they know the real world.  It will not even know the world of the 1990s, and perhaps even the first decade of this millennium.  We have to assume the edge is here to stay, and will grow sharper over time.

This could explain, then, why White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was so cutting and dismissive of former Vice President Cheney and his remarks on CNN last Sunday, and why Gibbs has gone after entertainer Rush Limbaugh as he has (in form, not substance).

This is not to defend Mr. Cheney or Mr. Limbaugh, neither of whom are favorites here.  Nor is it to defend what past generations would have considered uncivil and ungentlemanly behavior.  Rather, it is to observe that even the White House podium has been affected, if not infected, by the “virtual” reality that technology has created and all that it means to the people we are today.

Even those of my generation, we ’60s radicals, and older, still see the office of the President of the United States with some awe, some reverence – - the commander in chief, the one who sets the tone for our country’s discourse, the leader of the free world.  However, he’s also the leader of the free “virtual” world, and therein is a difference.

Was Press Secretary Gibbs out of line with his recent remarks?  Those who say yes are likely of an older generation; those who say maybe are straddling a generational fence; the rest didn’t even notice, it seemed so normal to them.

We older folk will be gone, the straddlers will retire, the rest will take over, and my grandchildren – - well, who knows what their “virtual” world will be like?  Things have changed, and that includes politics.