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Gore Vidal: Hillary Would've Been the Better Prez

Onetime supporter bashes Obama, who needs more of Lincoln's 'chill'

By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff

Posted Sep 30, 2009 8:51 AM CDT
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(Newser) – Gore Vidal is 83 and uses a wheelchair now, but the legendary American writer hasn't lost any of his strong opinions—not least on Barack Obama, who is doing "dreadfully" and has "fucked up" health reform. Vidal supported Obama after originally backing Hillary Clinton, but now thinks she'd be the better president: "Hillary knows more about the world and what to do with the generals." Vidal foresees a GOP victory in 2012, but that's nothing compared to the "military dictatorship we'll have fairly soon."

In an interview with the Times of London, Vidal also offers a campy impression of Katharine Hepburn—who he insists had Parkinson's disease and "shook like a leper in the wind." Yet the man who once said he'd slept with 1,000 men by age 25 also says he doesn't believe in homosexuality at all, and as for gay marriage, he "couldn't care less." What is Vidal proudest of? Not his novels: "Really I am most proud that, despite enormous temptation, I have never killed anybody."

Author and essayist Gore Vidal delivers the keynote presentation Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009, during the first session of the 27th annual Key West Literary Seminar in Key West, Fla.
Author and essayist Gore Vidal delivers the keynote presentation Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009, during the first session of the 27th annual Key West Literary Seminar in Key West, Fla.   (AP Photo/Florida Keys News Bureau, Carol Tedesco)
In this May 5, 2003 file photo, author Gore Vidal arrives for the Film Society of Lincoln Center's gala tribute for actress Susan Sarandon held in New York.
In this May 5, 2003 file photo, author Gore Vidal arrives for the Film Society of Lincoln Center's gala tribute for actress Susan Sarandon held in New York.   (AP Photo/Stuart Ramson-File)
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Obama would have been better off focusing on educating the American people. His problem is being over-educated. He doesn’t realize how dim-witted and ignorant his audience is. - Gore Vidal

I looked at his writing and all he writes about is being a fag and how it’s the greatest thing on Earth. He thinks I’m another queen and I’m not. It was vulgar fag-ism. - Gore Vidal on Edmund White, who wrote a play based on Vidal's correspondence with Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh

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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 23 comments
Berzelius
Oct 1, 2009 12:28 PM CDT
lol @ shonorgreg; it does appear the only person he amuses more than his listener is himself.
DontLikeYou___
Sep 30, 2009 9:42 AM CDT
The left is breaking apart at the seams. Like shooting fish in a barrel.
Berzelius
Sep 30, 2009 4:38 AM CDT
Actually if you read Vidal's stuff, and I may be wrong, but he is probably not insinuating we will have a military dictatorship under Obama. He is probably referring to after the republicans win in 2012, as he sees the republican party as the Military party.

 
Barack Obama • Hillary Clinton • gay marriage • homosexuality • novelist • author • Gore Vidal • Katharine Hepburn

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