On the day America mourns the loss of its greatest man of letters, the brilliant Gore Vidal, I think it’s only fitting that we contrast the level of political discourse he exemplified with the incoherence of our current crop of cretins … er, candidates:
Gore Vidal: “Any American who is prepared to run for president should automatically, by definition, be disqualified from ever doing so.”
Mitt Romney: “I believe in an America where millions of Americans believe in an America that’s the America millions of Americans believe in. That’s the America I love.”
Gore Vidal: “Half of the American people have never read a newspaper. Half never voted for president. One hopes it is the same half.”
Sarah Palin: “I’ve read most of them — again, with a great appreciation for the press, for the media … all of ’em, any of ’em that, um, have, have been in front of me over all these years. Um, I have a vast variety of sources where we get our news too.”
Gore Vidal: “As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent too. Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate, action: you liberate a city by destroying it. Words are to confuse so that at election time people will solemnly vote against their own interests.”
George W. Bush: “Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.”
Gore Vidal: “I never miss a chance to have sex or appear on television.”
Stephanie Miller: “I remember sex. I saw it once on television.”
(Photo: Getty Images)
