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Update: 5:09 PM PT The only thing missing from this contretemps is Stephen Colbert coming to the rescue. On second thought, scratch that. Bad idea.

But mark this one down as the latest episode in the annals of humorless politicians who wouldn't know a funny punchline if their lives depended on it. Turns out that the the office of Egyptian President Muhammad Morsi did not at all care when the U.S. Egyptian Embassy retweeted a link to an episode of "The Daily Show" in which host Jon Stewart skewered the government for ordering the arrest of Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef, a guest on the "Daily Show" who has sometimes been described as his nation's Jon Stewart. The president's office tweeted: "It's inappropriate for a diplomatic mission to engage in such negative political propaganda."

Asked for comment, the United States State Department issued the following statement in an email sent to CNET News.com: "Social media is an important tool in the Department's efforts to inform and engage people around the world about U.S. foreign policy. In general the management of Department-affiliated social media accounts at our missions around the world is handled by those missions."

Hat tip to Nextgov.