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He tried screenwriting and proved adept at that as well. A suave addition to Hollywood society, he was briefly engaged to Actress Joanne Woodward; she and Husband Paul Newman are now among his closest friends. His backstage knowledge was only exceeded by his familiarity with backstairs politics. The Best Man, his well-made melodrama about infighting at a political nominating convention, opened on Broadway in 1960 and ran for 520 performances.
By that time Vidal was running too. Writing The Best Man had inspired him to become the Democratic candidate for Congress in New York State's bedrock Republican 29th District. It was a kamikaze assignment. Vidal advocated such positions as federal aid to education and diplomatic recognition of Communist China. With the help of Eleanor Roosevelt, a Hudson Valley neighbor and friend, and such show-business celebrities as Woodward and Newman, Vidal staged a surprisingly effective campaign. He lost by 25,000 votes (out of a total 183,000 cast) but outpolled every Democratic House candidate in the district since 1910. He also ran ahead of Presidential Candidate John F. Kennedy.
With Stepsister Jacqueline in the White House, Vidal regained entree to the center of power. He enjoyed an easy, bantering relationship with J.F.K. Once, sitting next to Kennedy at a horse show, the author remarked on how easy it would be for a marksman to assassinate the President. Vidal then added that he would probably be hit instead. "No great loss," Kennedy joked. But Vidal's snappish wit and lofty mien were not the virtues of a loyal flatterer. Robert Kennedy distrusted and disliked him. During a White House party, Bobby flared when Vidal laid a brotherly hand on Jackie. Insults were exchanged, and Gore was banished from the court. He later struck back in print with fulminations like "The Holy Family," a notorious Esquire essay that warned of the day when "a vain and greedy intellectual establishment will most certainly restore to power the illusion-making Kennedys." The breach with Jackie has not been healed.
A gradual withdrawal from the U.S. was under way. In 1963 he began spending much of his time in Rome, soaking up local color for his first novel in ten years. Julian (1964), a vivid study of the 4th century Roman Emperor who vainly tried to stem the spread of Christianity, was a surprise bestseller. A string of successful novels followed, including the memoirs of Myra Breckinridge (1968), Vidal's funniest word on fuddled sexual identity.
In fact, Julian and Myra Breckinridge suggest Vidal's startling range as a literary mime. He can pull off convincing impersonations of both an ascetic, driven emperor and a movie-mad transsexual—and impress history buffs with his faithful reproduction of Aaron Burr. He exhibits this talent in private as well. The distinctive, stentorian voice can shift eerily into that of J.F.K. or Richard Nixon. When telling an anecdote, Vidal regularly falls into the tones and mannerisms of its subject. He can do a wry impression of Tennessee Williams, explaining what happened to Blanche DuBois at the end of A Streetcar Named Desire: "Well, ah assyume she spent the next three ye-ahs seducin' th' young doctuhs at the insane asylum, then was let out and opened a smawul shop in the French Quahtuh."