'72

Over the past two weeks, my Journalism class has been covering “Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail ’72”. The coverage has jumped around, surveying the months that were closest to the point of the semester. See, the chapters are divided up into the twelve months of 1972, with a concentration on the presidential campaign. Thompson goes through the events of each month, some (chapters) lasting longer than others. We most recently covered the months of November and December. Let’s just say this: the descriptions and testimonies of these two chapters are incredible, incredibly un- believable.
Pg. 397, In the November chapter of the Thompson novel, the mood changes to a serious, slightly saddening tone. The “Editors Note” explained how Thompson went through a series of nervous seizures after a flash back. Now, the editor had resorted to Thompson composing his book vocally, into a microphone on an eight foot chord connected to a tape recorder. The chapter was actually typed out in an interview format with a question and answer outline. Hunter...The poor man...Rambled on and on about the Eagleton incident and the crash of the McGovern campaign. Eagleton refused to cough up his medical records, which still sit in St. Louis. The records prove the information given to the McGovern campaign about “electric shock treatment” Eagleton received, and never notified a soul. McGovern couldn’t follow through with his pledge to back him; but his staff could not provide the records. The whole thing made McGovern sink, in an odd melt of sadness and rage.
The interview is so raw and literal, you can almost see Thompson, pacing around the room...Babbling off answers to the poor editors questions. Imagine the task of deciphering the words when composing the chapter. At one point, Thompson is by a window looking onto the street, the text reads: “HST: Excuse me, but I think I see a mescaline dealer down there in the street; proof of his madness.