“The whole framework of the presidency is getting out of hand. It’s come to the point where you almost can’t run unless you can cause people to salivate and whip on each other with big sticks. You almost have to be a rock star to get the kind of fever you need to survive in American politics.” — Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail (1972)
Probably our only real chance to understand today’s bizarre quest for the White House died with Hunter Thompson. Booze and acid fueled his writing, but piercing insight made his work timeless. A good bit of what he penned applies to the 2016 contest shaping up between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. …
As we watch with dismay the bitter, riot-inducing, slash-and-burn politics of 2016, fear and loathing is returning with a vengeance. CONT.
Larry J. Sabato, Sabato’s Crystal Ball