Dear Yahoo!:

Dear Yahoo!:
Is the postmaster general really a general?
FrankNew Orleans, Louisiana

Dear Frank:
The postmaster general (PMG) has one of the coolest job titles in the United States government. But the position, while important, has little to do with the military.
User-edited Wikipedia states that until 1971, the PMG served on the president's cabinet and was part of the presidential line of succession. Not anymore. Nowadays, the PMG is considered more of a high-level business executive. After all, you need a shrewd business sense to compete with UPS, FedEx, and, of course, that darn Internet.
The current postmaster general is a fella named Jack Potter. According to the postal service's official site, Mr. Potter has a degree in economics and earned his master's degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He doesn't have the authority to send postal workers off to war, but as far as we can tell, he does have final say when it comes to postage-rate increases. That's a lot of power.