Here we go again

Yet another tragedy gets chalked up to conservatives. From the Washington Times:

"Outlaw, druggie, Dunhill-smoking, Chivas Regal-drinking, anti-establishment literary icon Hunter S. Thompson committed suicide after becoming depressed about the United States' shift toward conservatism, said one longtime friend who spent the weekend at the Aspen, Colo., home of the late 'gonzo' journalist.
    "'He was depressed about the state of society,' said Loren Jenkins, foreign editor for National Public Radio in Washington.
    "A vehement opponent of President Bush, Mr. Thompson, 67, 'was feeling maudlin about the current conservatism sweeping the country,' Mr. Jenkins said. 'He felt he'd had a long run, trying to create a freer society in the '60s and '70s and he felt it had all been closed down.'"

Oh, BROTHER.

Look, I'm sorry for the guy. God rest his soul. But here you have someone who spent his life in a haze of drugs and alcohol -- who went around shooting at golf balls with a 12-gauge, for crying out loud. Could it possibly be that he had more problems than just his favorite candidate not winning an election?

(And could it also be, perhaps, that a man for whom "truth never seemed to get in the way of a good story" created his own "disenchantment" with life, rather than having life force it upon him?

Just a suggestion.)