When a reporter responded to major American military action last week by asking Defense Secretary William S. Cohen if he had seen the movie "Wag the Dog," the holes in President Clinton's credibility were exposed like the underwear of a clown who had just split his pants.

That was the movie in which a presidential spin doctor, played by Robert De Niro, and a movie producer, played by Dustin Hoffman, create a phony war to divert public attention from a sex scandal in the Oval Office. Eerily it came out just before the (Monica) Lewinsky scandal broke.

Still there were skeptics. One was Larry Beinhart, a mystery writer who gives slide lectures on the history of war propaganda. He can hear cash registers ring every time a newscaster mentions "Wag the Dog." The movie was based on Beinhart's satirical 1993 novel, "American Hero."