By REG HENRY, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Today's column is narrowly focused for the benefit of America's public-relations professionals. The rest of you can just rest easy and amuse yourselves for the next 20 inches or so.

As the presidential primaries continue to grab all the attention, a parallel but less publicized contest has been taking place among familiar characters.

The other day an unpaid foreign policy adviser for Barack Obama called Hillary Clinton a "monster." In a political age when every word is automatically taken literally, this caused a monstrous stir. It has calmed down a bit since the pants fell off New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's dignity, but I think this bears more examination.

Have you ever noticed in the newspaper death notices that the dead people pictured are always smiling? I find this encouraging. It suggests that they know something the rest of us do not.

Because you can't keep a good democracy down -- and it hasn't been for want of official effort the past seven years -- the presidential election campaign has generated extraordinary excitement. But some Americans feel slighted as they sit in the heartland with steam issuing from their ears while listening to their favorite cranks on TV and radio.

Sometimes in these United States, the curtain seems to be pulled back to reveal the wizard and all his phony manipulations. Such a thing has occurred with the bill known as the Protect America Act.

I take as my text today the phrase "no country for old men," which lurks in the public imagination thanks to the Cormac McCarthy novel that has been made into an Oscars-nominated film.

The Super Bowl has once again worked its magic. I have no doubt that somewhere in the American heartland, a youngster saw the action and was inspired to believe that one day his talent will be the focus of the nation.

One of the more curious habits of humankind -- one taken for granted and seldom commented upon -- is the giving of a round of applause as a sign of enthusiasm. We the people can't just sit still and glow when we hear something we like: We have to bang our paws together and make a clapping sound.

So it begins. Earlier this month, our emperor -- a man so upbeat that he could fall down a manhole and be glad in the gloom that he didn't wear his sunglasses -- admitted that the economic situation has developed not necessarily to our advantage, or words to that effect.