There's The Hitch

Christopher Hitchens just announced he's got esophageal cancer and will be undergoing chemotherapy. I wish him the best of luck.

I think the first time I saw him was on CNN's Crossfire. I probably disagreed with him but I know I was impressed by the power and clarity with which he expressed himself. I also remember his debating Charlton Heston about the Middle East on Nightline, rolling his eyes at having to face an actor who didn't even know which countries were where. I also remember his columns in The Nation. I was surprised to see his harsh criticism of Bill Clinton in such a magazine. But that was always his MO--not being a contrarian, but being his own man. He's often outraged, and often outrageous, but always worth reading.

He may be best known now for his debates on religion (he doesn't think much of it). But I think what really set him apart as a modern leftist (yes, he's of the left, when you add it up) was his realization that we're in a fight over what civilization means, and what being a liberal means; it's one thing to be against George Bush--it's quite another to think he's a greater threat than Osama Bin Laden. This may seem obvious, but it's the apercu that drove him from The Nation.

For some years now he's been ubiquitous, contributing to magazines, putting out books and appearing on TV everywhere. His opinions on everything, from Iraq to Clinton to literature to religion to torture to Jefferson to censorship to Ireland to drugs, are well known. He's probably inserted himself into the middle of more controversies than any other journalist of the day.

It sounds like I'm writing an obit, but that's at the very least premature. I'm sure he'll face his illness with the same fearlessness he faces everything else. I hope he beats his problem--there are precious few truly independent voices out there.