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Show Book review Washington D.C.: political case studies W W - " . . Hifficult to discern. There is vogue has cstablkl difficult to discern. There is corruption, dishonesty, inefficiency, distorted personalities with warped ambitions. Vidal's conclusions are predictable, especially if one reads his interview in Playboy. There is no hope, unless the species called man changes into something more divind. Peter Sanford is that divination, despite the coarse background. However, although the questions are raised, Vidal has no qualms about being esoteric about the answers. Other than the metaphysical speculation of sniritual evolution, which answers vogue has established , , towards the subject m,n ' th.C novclK " njft sales not because it Was S"' book, quite ,o the Cont ghastly, with out , ; redeeming factors, but bK 1 was written about t, subject at the right u1 . the right pcoplc-ihc illiterate V unfortunate trend bs bl0J tine front some mcdioc Gone -e the hm Cabell s f vogue, w1() w possessed sonic measure of W and who are avidly ;; collected by literary hawks tod--" BY JAMES M.SCHUTZ Special to the Chronicle It is difficult to reviewjust one of Gore Vidal's books without referring to some of his other works. For example, there is always the temptation to immediately associate the author with his most notorious work, "Stvra Breckinridge," which was probably more his fault than anyone else's. However,, the temptation will not be avoided, for the stock of Vidal's literary reputation lies with "Myra," and in the American world of literary vogue, all of Vidal's works place a poor second to "Myra. " and this is the unfortunate aspect of the American literary scene, for Vidal lias written other works, and lurther, they exccll "Myra" (without the sensationalism) in terms of plot, content, style, and social significance. One such book is " Washington, DD.C." It was published a year before "Myra," and has recently received a boost from "Myra" and the ABC debates with William F. Buckley, Jr. "Myra" dealt with a minor social point, Washington examines what Vidal depicts as the hopelessly corrupt condition of the American seat of government. The one outstanding achievement of "Washington" is the clarity of Vidal's style. His settings and circumstances are precise, his characters are naked under the magnifying lens. And this serves Vidal's purposes perfectly. For each major character has become a case study in the examination of the American political arena. Analytically, Vidal reveals the cancers of the Federal Government-both personal and institutional. Through four major characters, and within the space of about 10 to 15 years, Vidal follows the course of the four lives. The first is Seantor Burden Day, and honest man who eventually falls prey to the system. In his quest for power and the Presidency, he must compromise himself in a shady oil deal. The compromise comes back to haunt him as a man, and finally delivers the coup de grace to the politician. The second character is Blaise Sanford, owner of the influential Washington Tribune, who plays Vidal's power broker. This character represents the ways and means of using power. Especial pertinent here is to what ends the power is used. Sanford uses his influence not for the good of any cause except his own. It is here where Vidal's characterizations fell a trine short of the demand preferred by the challenge of the case study. There are, however strong suggestions of homosexuality. It seems a poor substitute, but then Gore Vidal is a novelist, not a psychologist. The next character is the typical American politician. Clay Overbury is a manufactured (by Sanford's paper) war hero who runs for office and becomes the leading young politician in Congress. Although Overbury is a conservative in the book, the whole grain of the characterization seems to point to the more or less dynamic leaders of congress today, where style is preferred over content. The only trouble is dynamic, young, vibrant faces in Congress are almost inevitably Democratic and liberal. The reversal of labels is understandable in lieu of Vidal's rather outspoken biases. The last character in Vidal's scheme is what may best be called the great radical hope. Peter Sanford, the son of the power broker, symbolizes first the break with the old and established, and second, the honesty and fortitude of the young-not to speak of the right political direction. The main themes are not nothing, his only answer is: I don't know, but somewhere there is a way. Vidal shows some insight when he places the blame not on certain men, but all mankind. Hence, the supreme despair, overwhelming in its dimensions. His characterizations continually dwell on the frailties of the human ego. It involves incest, adultery and common living, which have become standard Vidal material. For example, Clay Overbury has an insatiable appctitie for women, not because he likes the sport, but because he enjoys conquering the women and the men connected to them. This type of psuedo-Frcudian analysis detracts considerably from the credibility of Vidal's case studies. The book is a good one, but certainly not great. Vidal is a good writer, but most certainly not great. He is the product, and the reader the victim, of American literary vogue. Unfortunately, this |