Gore Vidal • Interview (Reagan/Nixon/Politics/Religion) •1981 [Reelin' In The Years Archive] 

It's not the end. The country is still here, growing and evolving. Don't, Sir, accustom yourself to use big words for little matters.

Dumb comment is telling.

Hi,.. Thornton Bradshaw, president of ARCO. There exists a funny anecdote Vidal told in some other interview about his experience on this particular show with Merv: when the time came for Merv to introduce Bradshaw, as soon as he sat down the cameras ignored Gore completely during their conversation,.. it wasn't until Gore stuck his arm in frame from his stage-left, that the studio personnel (I'm guessing the producer, floor manager or someone in the control room) had to change to another camera angle to explain this mysterious hand coming from one side,.. and so Merv had to be forced by Vidal to engage him in the conversation,.. he kinda grilled Mr Bradshaw on profits and taxes. During a commercial break, the CEO leaned on Vidal and said: "you know, I went to Exeter too!", implying that they were part of the same team and should not embarrass or attack each other,.. good luck with that Oil Baron! 🤣