Mullen, CBS' Couric Share a Barber?

Well, if not the same barber, definitely the same haircut. Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chefs of Staff, joked during a speech last night at the annual Alfred E. Smith Foundation dinner in New York, where CBS News anchor Katie Couric was one of the guests.

In other topics, Mullen tried to explain to the mostly civilian audience exactly what he did to earn his pay because, as he pointed out, while he definitely has a lot of rank, "I do not command any troops . . . and I am not responsible for any particular region of the world."

Mullen said he views his job to provide advice to the country's civilian leadership, and used a TV analogy to explain how he did that. "I make suggestions. I prod, and I poke. I advocate. I'm like a Fox News analyst," he said.

Ouch.

DoD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley