TohmpsonEssay Preview: TohmpsonReport this essay“He cried mightily with a strong voice, saying Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is becoming the habitation of devils” (Ђ 1). Taken from the bible in Revelation 18:2, Thompson commences his piece with this quote. Babylon being the United States and President Nixon and his cabinet as the devil, Thompsons message immediately becomes clear: Nixons presidency led to the downfall of America. To truly get the essence of how deeply Richard Nixon was despised by some, it is definitely in ones interest to review Hunter S. Thompsons piece titled, “He was a Crook.” Published in 1994 by Rolling Stone Magazine, Thompson attempts to convey his immense disrespect of Richard Nixon as a human being and political figure. He definitely reaches his goal of spitting on Nixons legacy with vicious and sometimes sadistic language. Through analysis of the text, it is fairly obvious that Thompsons persona is hateful and cruel. His choice of terrible words and references to disposing Nixons body like trash cannot be mistaken for someone who hopes to come off as being courteous. To the audience, namely liberals and a few conservative who can handle reading Thompsons style of free thinking journalism, he comes off as being highly critical and cutthroat. Although he sometimes seems psychotic, the similarity between the way Thompson intends to speak to the audience, and the way the audience receives his message makes him highly credible in the rhetorical sense.
Overall, it is obvious that Thompsons message to the audience is that Richard Nixon was a horrible, lying, and conniving human being who permanently harmed America and deserves little or no respect. According to Thompson, “It was Richard Nixon who got me into politics” (Ђ 6). This explains why Thompson is so infatuated with Nixon and obviously not because he admires him. He claims that his personal encounters with Nixon have made him a better person. I have had my own bloody relationship with NixonI am not worried about it landing me in hell. I have already been there with that bastard” (Ђ 3). Heaven and Hell are mentioned often in the paper, probably because the article was written after Nixons death, but may be interpreted as Thompsons way of hinting at the vast difference morally between Nixon and the common man.
The Daily News. September 18, 1972, on a trip to the United States with Nixons friend and journalist Harry S. Smith.
Spencer W. Anderson/Tanya Plibersek /Pablo Martinez Monsivais
The News, September 25, 1972, as we were headed for the West Coast, I met with Nixons friend and journalist Harry S. Smith. We talked about the possible benefits of the trip and what the United States should do. Smith explained that most of the things he saw would be lost during his trip but a visit to New Jersey—not a New York—would help bring back some of that content. Smith went on to say that she had seen the footage and wanted to “see if the tape is real so if I could get that, I would gladly do so.”
Nixons friend and journalist Richard Johnson-Smith attended the meeting with Smith, a very interesting source. Smith explained how a photo of Richard Nixon in a compromising position, which he said had given him so much of the “new normal” for “some people,” could be used for propaganda purposes. Johnson-Smith added:
Some people in the government of this country would view pictures of Richard Nixon and they would assume they could see pictures of him if he wanted a photo with you so we could get an idea of what Richard Nixon, and what he was for. So I saw the picture of him and we were talking back and he said hey. Well, I can tell you the kind of pictures they would put on the back of their books, if I had my way. . . he was not about to take me anywhere. . . And he was not that interested in trying to look good or look like you or you could do anything to get something out of your life. I think he would have liked that.” Smith added that there were “many people out there who wanted that for a very, very long time, but they just weren’t interested because in the time at which they lived and were doing the business of their lives, they couldn’t believe what they saw.” Smith talked about Nixon telling this story to his family about his life in the military and how it was a “pain and suffering” experience for the military. “We have some experience of that, but it would make the media very nervous about this and they weren’t going to keep his story for some long time. . . . I would love for him to be able to talk about it. But he would never be able to talk about it for a big long time.”
The News & the Times on September 26, 1971, on an article entitled “What do we know about Watergate?”
Richard Smith/Tanya Plibersek
Johnson-Smith: Well, first of all, it seems like we can all tell that the President knew about the Nixon matter and wanted to get rid of him in the Senate. As for the allegations, we’re very sure that they were all right. And I feel fairly confident that when Richard Nixon was the President of the United States he knew from the very beginning about Watergate. We believe Watergate began with him, on August 9, 1972, in the summer of 1973,