Gore Vidal, RIP, Or, Maybe the Weirdest Episode of "Uncommon Knowledge" Ever Recorded
Peter Robinson ·
August 1, 2012 at 10:54pm
The New York Times headlines its obit on Gore Vidal "Prolific, Elegant, Acerbic Man of Letters," but Ricochet's own Steven Manacek will have none of it. "He was an execrable human being in so many ways....So much bile, so much contempt."
Who has it right? This episode of Uncommon Knowledge, taped an even decade ago, will put you in a position to decide for yourself. The guests: Dinesh D'Souza, the libertarian scholar and historian Robert Higgs, and--yes--Gore Vidal. My question: Why is the United States so hated? Gore Vidal rang many changes on a single theme: because, of course, the United States is so hateful.
But as I say, see for yourself. (Vidal makes his first appearance at about 2:32.)
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Jan '11
Re: Gore Vidal, RIP, Or, Maybe the Weirdest Episode of "Uncommon Knowledge" Ever Recorded
Peter,
Since when is Dinesh D'Souza a libertarian? He's like Senator Santorum: he doesn't much care for them and they don't much care for him.
Edited on August 1, 2012 at 11:22pmApr '11
Re: Gore Vidal, RIP, Or, Maybe the Weirdest Episode of "Uncommon Knowledge" Ever Recorded
Tom Meyer: Peter,
Since when is Dinesh D'Souza a libertarian? He's like Senator Santorum: he doesn't much care for libertarians and they don't much care for him. · 0 minutes ago
Edited 0 minutes ago
Grammatically, I think Peter is refering to "the libertarian scholar and historian Robert Higgs"
Mar '11
Re: Gore Vidal, RIP, Or, Maybe the Weirdest Episode of "Uncommon Knowledge" Ever Recorded
I wish Buckley would have carried out his threat and punched the guy. He was well and truly deserving of it.
Jan '11
Re: Gore Vidal, RIP, Or, Maybe the Weirdest Episode of "Uncommon Knowledge" Ever Recorded
Good catch, Keith, and my mistake. Apologies, Peter!
Keith Doherty
Tom Meyer: Peter,
Since when is Dinesh D'Souza a libertarian? He's like Senator Santorum: he doesn't much care for libertarians and they don't much care for him. · 0 minutes ago
Edited 0 minutes ago
Grammatically, I think Peter is refering to "the libertarian scholar and historian Robert Higgs" · 1 minute ago
May '10
Re: Gore Vidal, RIP, Or, Maybe the Weirdest Episode of "Uncommon Knowledge" Ever Recorded
I'll agree with execrable. And bilious.
Dec '10
Re: Gore Vidal, RIP, Or, Maybe the Weirdest Episode of "Uncommon Knowledge" Ever Recorded
Speaking of odious... what a terrible waste of human intelligence. Such a deeply foolish man. Let that be the last 25 minutes I ever spend listening to Gore Vidal.
Jun '10
Re: Gore Vidal, RIP, Or, Maybe the Weirdest Episode of "Uncommon Knowledge" Ever Recorded
I remember the episode well. The Vidal episodes were the only ones where I saw Peter Robinson truly exasperated -- quite understandably!
Jul '12
Re: Gore Vidal, RIP, Or, Maybe the Weirdest Episode of "Uncommon Knowledge" Ever Recorded
If we entered Afghanistan for the oil, I guess we missed the tip that Iraq has oil too.
Apr '11
Re: Gore Vidal, RIP, Or, Maybe the Weirdest Episode of "Uncommon Knowledge" Ever Recorded
Vidal always reminded me of the living definition of a pompous (expletive deleted). I also found his books to be much the same as his personality.
Contrast this to the late Christopher Hitchins, who I also vehemently disagree with, whom I found to be a thoughtful, intelligent, personable man.
Edited on August 2, 2012 at 12:06amJun '10
Re: Gore Vidal, RIP, Or, Maybe the Weirdest Episode of "Uncommon Knowledge" Ever Recorded
I only lasted 6 minutes into the interview, but it's clear that Vidal was nothing more than a merchant of smear. His comment about Norwegians applying for citizenship is one of those "facts" that was just pulled out his pocket (the back one) without any statistical evidence. When he referred to the American "ruling junta" I turned it off. Junta meaning fascist, of course. For all his alleged erudition I found him banal and unimaginative.
R.I.P.
May '10
Re: Gore Vidal, RIP, Or, Maybe the Weirdest Episode of "Uncommon Knowledge" Ever Recorded
Not planning on p*ss*ng on Mr. Vidal's grave (I hate standing in line).
Suffice it to say that if there were no Gore Vidal, it would have been totally unnecessary to invent one.
Apr '12
Re: Gore Vidal, RIP, Or, Maybe the Weirdest Episode of "Uncommon Knowledge" Ever Recorded
Vidal visited Toronto recently and gave a talk. When George Jonas of The National Post, gave a good summary of Vidal's points, I did not know much about him but was shocked that he thought Bush knew about 9/11. The very gracious Jonas then went on to say how vile Gore's views of America were and explained why in a factual style. At the end, Jonas let in a personal comment about how sour a person Gore was, even in his old age.
Mar '11
Re: Gore Vidal, RIP, Or, Maybe the Weirdest Episode of "Uncommon Knowledge" Ever Recorded
"My underlying motif is 'don't indulge in so much self-love.'"
Back atcha, Mr. Vidal.
Other than that, de mortuis nil nisi bonum.
Jun '10
Re: Gore Vidal, RIP, Or, Maybe the Weirdest Episode of "Uncommon Knowledge" Ever Recorded
Come on, nobody's going to mention Vidal's discussion of the conspiracy theory about the US using Afghanistan as a staging area for a secret invasion of five oil-rich former Soviet republics (even though he only mentions two and comes nowhere remotely close to saying their names accurately)? Gee, you'd think someone would have mentioned that at the time. Or in the decade since. Is it possible it never happened?! [sarcasm alarm]
It would be hilarious if he weren't obviously attempting to be ominously serious. It just results in him sounding like a doddering old fool. The various you've-got-to-be-kidding-me-looks Mr. Robinson gets on his face are classic. I can only imagine what the edited-out parts were like!
"The people who most dislike conspiracy theories are the conspirators." -- Gore Vidal
Apr '12
Re: Gore Vidal, RIP, Or, Maybe the Weirdest Episode of "Uncommon Knowledge" Ever Recorded
Gore Vidal is meant to be highly intelligent? What produces a mind so full of such hatred of his own country?
Here, he has freedom to spew his venom, elsewhere he would be considered a traitor.Why doesn't he go and live in one of the other countries he considers so much better than America?
Dec '10
Re: Gore Vidal, RIP, Or, Maybe the Weirdest Episode of "Uncommon Knowledge" Ever Recorded
Vidal was always pompous and sneering, and that was on a good day. It is frightening that somebody like that accords to himself, by some distant family connection, the "creation" of Oklahoma.
My Beloved has been under the weather since Sunday, and I have fed her videos, when she has been up to the couch. Amongst those is an old favorite of mine, With Honors, that I thought she might enjoy. For me, the fun part of that is that she is a liberal and that Vidal played an irascible and domineering conservative. That movie has the benefit of having a young Moira Kennedy as the love interest, (drool), and Vidal as the blustering right-winger that is shown what for!
Vidal was our better, as he often explained. Given a chance, I am sure he could have explained why we had secret troops in energy-rich, foreign lands, while refusing to access energy resources at home.
Some people are self-deprecating. Vidal was always gently other-deprecating, except when he was bittelry so.
Jun '11
Re: Gore Vidal, RIP, Or, Maybe the Weirdest Episode of "Uncommon Knowledge" Ever Recorded
Not sure Robert Higgs is any better
Jul '11
Re: Gore Vidal, RIP, Or, Maybe the Weirdest Episode of "Uncommon Knowledge" Ever Recorded
Intellectually, Dinesh just torpedoes that whale out of the water. Vidal can't keep up, and the historian is just a sideshow.
Fun to watch a guy with actual facts and world experience slap a portentous no-nothing around. Dinesh, if you ever read this, come to Tallinn for a free dinner.
Edited on August 2, 2012 at 2:01amAug '10
Re: Gore Vidal, RIP, Or, Maybe the Weirdest Episode of "Uncommon Knowledge" Ever Recorded
What is the FAQ on whether one should view this pre or post-prandial ?Of course, that depends on how long it takes to get served tonight at the Chick Fil A !
Nov '11
Re: Gore Vidal, RIP, Or, Maybe the Weirdest Episode of "Uncommon Knowledge" Ever Recorded
Is the audio of this available anywhere? Can it go into the UK audio feed or the Ricochet feed?