The New York Times has an entertaining interview up with Gore Vidal which is goofball and witty in turns. Excerpts:
NYT: And what about Mr. McCain?
Vidal: Disaster. Who started this rumor that he was a war hero? Where does that come from, aside from himself? About his suffering in the prison war camp?
NYT: Everyone knows he was a prisoner of war in North Vietnam.
Vidal: That’s what he tells us.
NYT: Why would you doubt him?
Vidal: He’s a graduate of Annapolis. I know a lot of the Annapolis breed. Remember, I’m West Point, where I was born. My father went there.
* * *
NYT: You live in California , where last month the State Supreme Court overturned the ban on same-sex marriage . As someone who lived with a male companion for 50-plus years, do you see this as a victory for equality?
Vidal: People would ask, How could you live with someone for so long without any problems of any kind? I said, There was no sex.
NYT: Were you chaste during those years?
Vidal: Chased by whom?
* * *
NYT: Do you read a lot of contemporary fiction these days?
Vidal: Like everyone else, no, I don’t.
Superb barb, that last one. Even if it’s hard to take some of Vidal’s positions seriously, he’s always good for a laugh.