As far as I know it was Hunter S. Thompson who coined the term ‘shithammer.’ I can’t really imagine anyone else coming up with it. What does it mean? I guess it’s a little like pornography. You know it when you see it. In any case, the shithammer is a key word or concept in political discourse, and I have to praise John Heilemann for using it correctly.

And what of Gingrich’s pledge to carry on his crusade all the way to Tampa? That’s takeaway number three. Pledges to continue the fight unabated in the face of harsh and/or humiliating outcomes are staples of presidential campaigns. And they are also patently meaningless. (Please recall Jon Huntsman’s feigned brio on the night of the New Hampshire primary — and his departure from the race a few days later.) But in Gingrich’s case, he might be serious, so much has he come to despise Romney and the Republican Establishment that has brought down on him a twenty-ton shithammer in Florida, and so convinced is he of his own Churchillian greatness and world-historical destiny. The same antic, manic, lunatic bloody-mindedness that has made him such a rotten candidate in the Sunshine State may be enough to keep him the race a good long time.

The original shithammer was a million pounds. Twenty-tons doesn’t seem so bad. Seriously, though, Heilemann is doing a fairly decent homage to Thompson in his analysis of that state of play in Florida. It should be remembered, however, that our politics got so depressing that Thompson opted to kill himself.