Dilbert is clearly getting into the Zen of Wally - Ted is going into the lion's den - he should just keep on walking and the PHB will forget about the meeting he was supposed to have with Ted. The Zen of Wally also makes your boss believe that you are there when you are not. Ted has not learned to do this yet. Go Ted.....
OMG, I have a boss that behaves like this! Financial reports are submitted to this guy, and they just "feel wrong" to him. As if the financial transactions under discussion, having actually occurred in fact, have somehow provoked an emotional response in him. I've never understood it.