Christopher Hitchens on TDS

[Plaid Adder]

What a strange piece of patheticness that was.

I remember back when the war drums were just starting up and Hitchens was as gung-ho as Friedman and the rest of the so-called "liberal" commentators, and being infuriated by his BS. I also remember someone answering the question "what the hell HAPPENED to him?" by explaining that he was just drinking way too heavily these days.

Having seen him do that interview, I now understand what they were talking about. Am I right in thinking that the slowness of everything from his gait to his speech, and the strangely defeated and befogged expression on his face, indicate that he did that interview pretty drunk?

I don't drink myself, so I'm just asking. Either way, it was sad. Very funny at times, but sad.

C ya,

The Plaid Adder

[mikeytherat]

1. He's so sodden with booze, who knows if he was currently drunk or hungover.

Either way, his brain is awfully wet by now.

mikey_the_rat

[gratuitous]

2. You watched an interview with Christopher Hitchens?

You are brave, Princess Leia.

I'll try to catch the rerun tonight, but I wouldn't be surprised if Hitchens was stoned to the gills at the prospect of having to face Jon Stewart before cameras and a hostile audience. Stewart's smart enough to know when to go on the offensive, and when to handle someone gingerly, and I'd bet that Stewarts eased Hitchens nice and tenderly into the noose he deserves to have wrapped around his neck.

[Ganja Ninja]

3. That was the impression I got when I saw him.

He was blitzed.

[Doctor_J]

4. The scuttlebutt is that his blood is about 20-proof

He's sort of a throwback to the days of the scotch-soaked globe-trotting reporter. The Nation pink-slipped him when he started cheering for the invasion.

[Donnachaidh]

5. He actually looked sober to me

He's a CLASSIC drunk -- only gets brave and blustery when he's fueled with liquid courage. I've seen him at his snarling worst on taped interviews, and I knew he was in his cups then.

He must have decided he needed to be sober when he set foot on TDS set. It must be a setback for this raving RW nutbag to have to actually shill his blatherings on a liberal show.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

6. There is an account on the web...

A blog post, if I recall, that recounts the experiences of someone who was invited to dinner with Ol' Scotch Filter. In one respect, this account is pretty funny, as encounters with raving drunks can be, but in another, it is scary and pathetic. It seems Filter Boy proceeded to ingest mass quantities of Scotch, and soon slipped into a state of raving about people in Washington, using rhetoric that the writer described as some of the worst stuff he ever heard. Ultimately, Filter Boy toddled out, hanging the dinner and prodigious bar tab on the guest.

Consider, for a moment, if you or I indulged in such public displays, with such apparent frequency. We would soon find ourselves shunned, out of work and most likely, unable to afford our single-malt muse, ultimately running the risk of living in a box, under a train trestle down by the river.

Yes, the inside-the-beltway crowd does take care of its own. Once you are in, it must be really hard to fuck up enough to be ejected.

[Bandit]

7. I loved it when Jon said "that isn't the only reason I think you're an asshole"

Or something very much like that anyway.....Hitchins said it was below the belt but the audience didn't think so...

[Warpy]

8. His eyes were clear

so I don't think he was drunk. I just think he's done enough damage to himself that all body systems are now affected.

[plcdude]

9. I thought he was

sober for the program. He was very wary of JS's ability to interview and find the weaknesses of the interviewee's points so I suspect he got drunk after the show. It was a non-interview because Hitchens was not really going to discuss anything in a serious matter. Generally it did not rise to any level of debate or interchange.