Why Mickey?

Ok I have to ask what is the appeal of Mickey Mouse? Why do people like him?

Now I don’t hate Disney or anything. Although, I do have a more or less evil aunt that collects Mickey memorabilia to excess and loves to got to Disney World for vacation. She would always give my grandfather (her father-in-law) tacky Mickey-related golf gifts that he would just toss in a box in the garage. Not surprisingly she ended up with that crap when he died a few years back. I’ll leave it at that before this becomes a rant.

I can pretty much understand the appeal of every other heavily merchandised cartoon character. Donald Duck is our ill tempered side. Bugs Bunny has snappy comebacks. Snoopy is a dreamer. Daffy Duck is vanity personified. Goofy is well…goofy. But Mickey? Even in his early incarnation he is lame. Completely personality-less. Which probably says something about Mickey. Is there any reason to like Mickey other than maybe you think he’s cute? Any?