Robert S. McNamara died yesterday at the age of 93. I'm struck by the disproportion between the 24/7 media frenzy surrounding Michael Jackson's death and the relative ho hum over McNamara's passing. In any rational assessment of the significance of their two lives, McNamara -- love him or hate him -- was a giant compared to MJ. It's a screwy world we live in.

Seems kinda sad to say so, but the answer is pretty evident, I think. Were we to ask a roomful of young adults in America, right now, "who is the current Secretary of Defense?" .... I'm sure that a few hands would pop up, but a startling amount of hands would not. Were we to ask that SAME group "Who is Justin Timberlake?" I dare to predict not a hand would stay down. It's all about 'visibility', I think ... not so terribly much about 'importance'.

But, I will offer this, too: comparing Robert McNamara to Michael Jackson is about as apples vs. oranges as I can think of .

I'll confess - even I missed Robert McNamara's death. This has been an incredible year for obituaries. So many people gone.

My cousin was McNamara's Personal Assistant at the Pentagon. I met him in 1967, when I was 18. He was already unhappy, going to the World Bank must have been a relief. Who's Michael Jackson?