Rich,

  I think you're right.
   Everything they do is cold and calculating. Politics is show business,  PR, war propaganda, military hegemony, and above all, infotainment rigged for global economy corporatist billionaire oligarchy profitability.
  You should have seen CNN right after the speech. Van Jones was beside himself. I thought he would burst into tears praising Trump. Gloria Borger and Cuomo also were unbelievable
in their emotional praise for Trump. It was a "Cinderella" moment, the moment when Trump supposedly became presidential. It looked like the powerful Democratic "resistance" was about to break down and be washed away in a river of tears.
  Maybe they played up the moment as a time of "unity". All Americans are nuts about their love for their military guys, especially heroes killed in action. If it helped to bridge the huge divide, OK it was a good thing. But I doubt about the veracity of the story and motivations behind it.
  And what are they doing in Yemen?