WAR GAME.(playing card decks of Iraq's most wanted and Bush administration)

With the recent deaths of the Baath Party's prodigal sons, Uday and Qusay Hussein, the number of active cards in the centcom-issued Iraqi "most wanted" decks has dwindled to sixteen; those with familiar names on them number just two--Saddam and Ali Hassan al-Majid, a.k.a. Chemical Ali. Not a four-of-a-kind remains intact, nor is there a single queen. So, as the search in Iraq narrows for the ace of spades himself, it seems only natural that a rival set of cards should emerge.

Last week, a complementary geopolitical deck of Bush Cards began circulating in these parts. Instead of the camouflage design recognizable from the backs of the Iraqi edition, the new cards feature a blue-on-white likeness of President Bush, set against a backdrop of small "W"s, missiles, pretzels, and oil rigs. On the flip side, in place of the various mustachioed Revolutionary Command Council ministers, are photos of fifty-two members and friends of the Bush Administration, from George (ace of spades, of course) to Jeb (six of clubs) and on down to Medicare administrator Tom Scully (two of clubs).

Selecting the proper roster took some care, it turns out, and many popular candidates, including Laura Bush and the twins, were ultimately nixed, as Zach Levy, the man behind the Bush Cards, explained the other day. "Barbara and Jenna, as silly and ridiculous as they are, haven't killed as many people as the Hussein kids have," he said. "We didn't want to leave ourselves open to mudslinging." Levy, a native New Yorker with a background in independent media, conceived the idea with his friends Ben Dailey and Ryan Deussing back in May, after President Bush had declared the war in Iraq over. "We spent the previous six months trying to get embedded, but no one would call us back," Levy said. "So this project is the result of that."

The deck, which is now available on the Web for five dollars, was arranged especially with poker in mind, such that it is possible to score big, for instance, with a unique "Enron pair" (Ken Lay, three of clubs, and Thomas White, three of hearts), or with an "environmental flush" (all spades): Christie Todd Whitman, the resigned E.P.A. chief; Gale Norton and J. Steven Griles, of the Department of the Interior; Energy Secretary Spencer (S.U.V.) Abraham; and John D. Graham, the so-called ...