The city of Duluth referred to in Vidal's novel of the same name is NOT this one. I think it's in Texas or some where down south- I'm not sure as I read it years ago. As a writer, I think he's pretty good at turning a phrase and building an image. As a political maven, he's pretty sharp- really sharp, actually. In the department of "those deserving respect for having an observational opinion that makes sense," I'd put him up there with Chomsky and Zinn.

According to Wikipedia, the Duluth in the novel is bordered "on one side by Mexico and on the other by Michigan," and "bears scant resemblance to the real city."

Duluth in the book is a sort of psychedelic, alternate reality city. This is probably Vidal's craziest book, maybe almost Vonnegut-like.

Another crazy Vidal book is Live from Golgatha, about a television station that time-travels a film crew back to the crucifixion to broadcast it.

Also, that is my cat and book.

I've only read about 40 books in my life, and this is one of them. Very trippy book. I would recommend it.

Gore Vidal gained some fame by debating William Buckley during the 1968 election. Called Buckley a "crypto-nazi" on national television. http://youtube.com/watch?v=nYymnxoQnf8

From time to time, in a fit of self-improvement, I start to read a Gore Vidal book. I never finish it. All I remember about his book Duluth is that it was strange, had nothing to do with Duluth, and didn't hold my interest.

Vidal appears fairly regularly on C-SPAN's Book TV, and he's pretty good to watch in a debate. His presentation is helped by the waves of approving laughter and applause with which audiences typically greet his every word, no matter how innocuous.

He's a sharp man. One of the first to pointedly elucidate: "If they vote for an idiot, they deserve it."

This interview on Democracy Now is extra crusty and good.

"Well, there are many odious traits that Americans have that the rest of the world doesn’t like. Constant boasting with not much to boast about, that gets on other people’s nerves. The idea that, somehow or other, the whole world belongs to us and everybody should do what we tell them to do, they don’t really like that. Weird, but they don’t. There has never been a people less suited for world dominion than the Americans of the twentieth century and twenty-first century."

Two more:

"When Americans don’t know stupid people, the country is out of business."

AMY GOODMAN: How do you want to be remembered?
GORE VIDAL: I don’t give a goddamn.

When Jeno Paulucci was asked the same question in 1991, he replied, "I don't give a shit." Maybe Jeno and Gore would get along, what with all their similarities.

I think H.L. Mencken and Ambrose Bierce have Vidal beat by a few decades in the cynicism-about-American-democracy race.

Another Vidal quote that I like:

"Never pass up a chance to have sex or be on television"

kind of stands in contrast to the end of the that Democracy Now interview.

Consistency is overrated anyhow.