Dear Roger. This obit brings back memories of the polemic that Mencken wrote about another blowhard while the corpse was still warm: William Jennings Bryan. Mailer was important for reasons beyond himself. He epitomized effete liberalism’s defining characteristic: self absorption, narcissism, and the denial of moral absolutes. Think “radical chic.” In fact, Mailer could be compared to Tom Wolfe, without the talent.