If the good Doctor had stuck around for a few more years, he would have turned 70 years old today. Instead, he opted for an exit of his own choosing shortly after Bush’s reelection to a second term. I remember the events well and recall my own feelings of trepidation and defeat after the events. It was if an old era had disappeared entirely and I found myself in a strange, new American landscape, where what Thompson referred to as the “Death of the American Dream” had finally come to pass.

Looking back now, I realize that my feelings were most likely premature. Times change unexpectedly and the narrative is never fully written. Nevertheless, this age of Fear continues, its most recent formulation being the release of an unclassified version of the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE). Despite all signs that the Administration has in fact worsened the threat of terrorism, they have been quick to use this report as a promotion tool. Former White House counterterrorism official Richard Clarke has called it “pure pablum.” Scott Horton from Harper’s writes:

Ms. Townsend and her masters in the White House think the people of the United States are easily deluded fools. Their loyal supporters in the Senate have adopted obstruction and filibuster as their tools, blocking any vote on the issue. Against all of this, a harsh judgment on the part of the people is past due. It has been delivered once at the polls, and the second time is likely to be still more severe. But in the meantime the citizenry needs to take heart, steel its resolve, and see through Bush’s haze of fear.

This brings me to next year’s elections and the current state of American journalism. Whether it’s the media soundbites that the Administration uses to play us all for fools or “another vapid, petty, and inane ‘news story’” (as Glenn Greenwald phrases it) by the likes of The Politico, it ultimately shakes down to “pure pablum.” Journalism has become simply media, and the public is left to determine the best presidential candidate based on the price of their haircut.

In contrast, Thompson had a discerning eye for the underlying truth of a matter and conveyed it with a brutal honesty that was refreshing yet provoking. He pulled no punches and refused to take a position of expedience, in part because he knew the score. Thus, Thompson’s works are often infused with a prevailing sense of optimism and a constant frustration with the oceans of “swill” that passed as journalism.

I recently returned to reading my copy of Fear and Loathing in America, Thompson’s second volume of his “Gonzo Letters” series. Incidentally, my point of return was the year 1972, which chronicles his stint in DC as a Rolling Stone correspondent for the 1972 presidential election. It includes most of his letters, but if you want the full coverage, read Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail, arguably his best writing.

If such a thing as recurrence does indeed exist, then the 1972 election and the 2008 election would probably be a nice fit. It’s true that Nixon was an incumbent, but the issues remain much the same, and if nothing else, the historical perspective alone is worth the effort.

I’ll end with a few words from the Doctor:

Gonzo Journalism – like quadraphonic 4-dimensional sound – exists on many levels: It is not so much “written” as performed – and because of this, the end result must be experienced. Instead of merely “read.” (Nov. 1971, Washington, DC)

Happy Birthday HST!