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I’m always an optimist!

Gore Vidal

On 16 September 1985, when the Commerce Department announced that the United States had become a debtor nation, the American Empire died.
GORE VIDAL

Death Department Nation State
What other culture could have produced someone like Hemingway and not seen the joke?
GORE VIDAL

Culture Joke Production See
By the end of World War II, we were the most powerful and least damaged of the great nations. We also had most of the money. America’s hegemony lasted exactly five years.
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Damage End Greatness Nation Powerful War
The four most beautiful words in our common language: I told you so.
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Beautiful Language Ourselves Word
Americans, in general, are ignorant, bigoted, and deeply unhappy with their declining incomes.
GORE VIDAL

Decline Ignorance Income Sadness
In writing and politicking, it’s best not to think about it, just do it.
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Best Thinking Writing
Television is now so desperately hungry for material that they’re scraping the top of the barrel.
GORE VIDAL

Material Media Television Top
History is nothing but gossip about the past, with the hope that it might be true.
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Gossip History Hope Past True
On September 5, 1774, forty-five of the weightiest colonial men formed the First Continental Congress at Philadelphia.
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Congress Form Man Weight
Sex is. There is nothing more to be done about it. Sex builds no roads, writes no novels and sex certainly gives no meaning to anything in life but itself.
GORE VIDAL

Build Meaning Novel Sex
The Pentagon talks about our power to ‘overkill’ Russia ten times, twenty times, perhaps forty-eight times. For my tax money, it is sufficient to overkill them once.
GORE VIDAL

Money Talk Tax Time
World War II made prosperous the United States, which had been undergoing a depression for a dozen years, and made very rich those magnates and their managers who govern the republic – with many a wink – in the people’s name.
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Depression Government Manager Name People Public Rich War
When I say ‘president,’ I still mean Roosevelt – wisely, I think.
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Myself President Thinking
Litigation takes the place of sex at middle age.
GORE VIDAL

Age One Liner Place Sex
We’re not a democracy.
GORE VIDAL

Democracy One Liner
A narcissist is someone better looking than you are.
GORE VIDAL

Better Narcissism Yourself

I’m always an optimist!

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I’m always an optimist!

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