Dead people are fantastic, sensational, powerful, reassuring and most of all...great at selling cars. Americans love dead people. Americans love to see dead people. Americans love to see people die.

It's no surprise that Americans were crawling all over each other to catch a glimpse at two very special dead people.

The networks and cable channels kept their shelves stocked with pictures of these dead people.

These dead people heralded the victory that George W. Bush needed in order to maintain legitimacy in the leadership of his bloodthirsty country.

Nothing pads approval ratings like dead people.

Just ask former president Bill Clinton about the janitor he killed in a Tomahawk missile attack on a "suspected" chemical weapons facility. The facility was in fact a legitimate pharmaceutical factory that supplied many of the drugs needed in the Sudan, and thousands more died after the attack for want of a cure to some of life's most simple ailments.

That's all right though, because for a split second America forgot about Mr. Clinton's sexual improprieties and gave him some solid numbers.

Qusai and Odai have delivered Bush out of the valley of political illegitimacy, a valley that was quickly becoming a gorge. He lied about a major reason we went to war. He was struggling to reel the big catch of the day home for the American people. The economy is no better than when he took office.

His only major foreign ally, Tony Blair, is in worse shape than him. And Ari Fleischer is back in Ohio having "family time."

Dead people to the rescue! It seems as though the entire presidency of Bush-squared has been centered around dead people.

That would only make sense. As much as the United States proclaims itself as the land of the brave, it is in fact the land of the scared.

Everything from the economy to foreign policy is built upon fear, and fear breeds propaganda. Anything to make the average citizen feel a bit more safe at the ball game.

Of course, Americans should know propaganda, as propaganda is a staple of war time, and America always seems to be at war.

The war on terror, the war in Afghanistan, the war in Iraq, the war on drugs, the war on poverty, the war on Communism, the war on simply living and breathing. Blow everything up and ask questions later.

We want dead people, dead people make us feel safe and assured, just don't kill our people, unless they are convicted of murder in Texas.

Surely Americans should have understood the Iraqi decision to showcase dead American soldiers and POW's on their television network at the beginning of this war.

It is almost as though they watched American television and decided that was the definite ticket to winning the hearts and minds of their people.

People like seeing other dead people. Instead there was an uproar in the U.S. as claims were made that Iraq was in violation of the laws of war.

What an ironic contradiction, laws for anarchy and mayhem.

Suddenly, these laws have dissipated like Saddam's mirage in the Iraqi desert. Suddenly, dead soldiers from the other team are allowed to be put on display.

Suddenly, networks can televise the pictures of these bloody dead people at 2:30 in the afternoon without prior warning while the cartoon channel is mere flicks away.

Suddenly, our hapless president looks like a hero again. Dead people.

Political pundits proudly proclaim that the scrutiny given to the president by those opposed to unabashed violence is awash.

"The president has wrapped himself in the American flag, how dare you try to burn him!" And Americans eat it like the fast food they crave all day.

The United States of America is quickly becoming the global haven for fear and hypocrisy.

Yet, very few people seem motivated to stand against the tidal wave of euphemism and disinformation to catch a few bits of truth. The gospel according to Wolf Blitzer, or the book of O'Reilly; that may very well be what archeologists dig from the rubble of this civilization in three thousand years and mistake as a religion that subjugated the dominate culture of the time. They are the mouthpieces that spread story after story without waiting for confirmation, because if you wait for confirmation thousands change the channel to find the unconfirmed story; seven different news channels competing for ratings.

Seven different news channels searching for dead people to put on TV. More thought seems to go into how to incorporate the American flag in the on-screen graphics than into researching any given story.

Journalism seems to be a dying art, ushering in the age of infotainment.

Nonetheless, there are dead people everywhere.

Americans are sitting on-edge waiting for the next Hollywood one-liner from their esteemed leader disguising his fears beneath a veneer of masculinity.

So how 'bout it George what'll be you next tough guy line to all those who oppose you, and especially Saddam?

Perhaps a suggestion, "How do you like them apples, Saddam?"