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There is something about a bureaucrat that does not like a poem.

Gore Vidal

Until very recently, the artist was a magician who did his magic in public view but kept himself and his effects a matter of mystery.
GORE VIDAL

Artist Himself Magic Mystery Public View
It is essential to naturalist doctrine that literature, to be good, must, finally, be the author’s experience worked out literally.
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Essential Experience Literature Natural Work
Think of the earth as a living organism that is being attacked by billions of bacteria whose numbers double every forty years. Either the host dies, or the virus dies, or both die.
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Attack Death Earth Ourselves Thinking
It’s odd to meet a rather elderly man who says, ‘I’ve been reading you all my life.’ It makes you feel a slight chill.
GORE VIDAL

Feeling Life Man Yourself
Does one ever read a politician’s books?
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Book Oneself Politics Reading
As the age of television progresses the Reagans will be the rule, not the exception. To be perfect for television is all a President has to be these days.
GORE VIDAL

Age Perfection Progression Rule Television
Half of the American people have never read a newspaper. Half never voted for President. One hopes it is the same half.
GORE VIDAL

Hope Newspaper Oneself People Reading
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.
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Build Meaning Novel Sex
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.
GORE VIDAL

Election Illumination Language Liberal Society Vote
Obama just came swiftly out of nowhere, which was a relief to those of us who care about the Republic, and at first he seemed a very good thing.
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Goodness Government Himself Politics President Public relief
In the writing of novels, there is the problem of how to shape a narrative.
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Novel Problem Shape Writing
I never miss a chance to have sex or appear on television.
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Appearance Chance Missing Television
Our form of democracy is bribery, on the highest scale.
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Democracy Form High Ourselves Scale
I’m always an optimist!
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Myself Optimism
The genius of our ruling class is that it has kept a majority of the people from ever questioning the inequity of a system where most people drudge along, paying heavy taxes for which they get nothing in return.
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Class Genius heavy Ourselves Rule System
I’m not a conspiracy theorist – I’m a conspiracy analyst.
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Conspiracy Myself Theory
Europe began as the relatively empty, uncivilized Wild West of Asia; then the Western Hemisphere became the Wild West of Europe. Now the sun has set in our West and risen once more in the East.
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Beginning Europe Ourselves Sun
There is only one party in the United States: the Property party… and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat.
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Democracy Party Politics Republic
It is true, as Sartre once wrote, referring to French Army atrocities in Algeria, that the real tragedy in our time is that any of us can be, interchangeably, victim or torturer.
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Change Reality Time Torture Victim
The only thing that I react really violently to is being misquoted.
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Misunderstanding Quote Reaction Violence
Baseball is the favorite American sport because it’s so slow. Any idiot can follow it. And just about any idiot can play it.
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Baseball Play Slow Sports
Every country should have at least one King Farouk.
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Country Oneself
American history has fallen more and more into the hands of academics.
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Academics Fall Hands History
Washington turned a blind eye to Al-Qaeda.
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Blind Eyes Ignore
The behaviour of President Bush on 11 September certainly gives rise to not unnatural suspicions.
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Natural President Rise Suspicion
TV news is not very instructive.
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Instruction One Liner
Temperamentally, I am suspicious of belonging to anything. When I ran for office, I debated seriously whether or not to run as an independent because I was not eager to be saddled with the Democratic Party, because any party label is committing.
GORE VIDAL

Commitment Democracy Government Independent Party Politics Serious

There is something about a bureaucrat that does not like a poem.

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There is something about a bureaucrat that does not like a poem.

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