Gore Vidal says Obama will lose next vote

Renowned American historian Gore Vidal says that President Barack Obama would lose 2012 presidential elections, calling the first black US president "incompetent."

In an interview with the Independent, Vidal sharply criticized Obama who took power when the United States was involved in two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

About the election of Obama, Vidal said that he was initially optimistic, but after witnessing the administration, he has relegated himself to despair.

"He's incompetent. He will be defeated for re-election. It's a pity because he's the first intellectual president we've had in many years, but he can't hack it. He's not up to it. He's overwhelmed," said the 84-year-old Vidal.

"[Obama] wants to be liked by everybody, and he thought all he had to do was talk reason," the novelist continued.

"But remember - the Republican Party is not a political party. It's a mindset, like Hitler Youth. It's full of hatred. You're not going to get them aboard. Don't even try. The only way to handle them is to terrify them. He's too delicate for that."

Vidal also predicted that "Afghanistan will be terminal for the American empire," which he sees as a positive development.

"This kid [Obama] has never heard a gun fired in anger. He's absolutely bowled over by generals, who tell him lies and he believes them. He hasn't done anything."

"He's not ready for prime time and he's getting a lot of prime time on his plate at once."

The intellectual once again called the 2000 election "stolen" by the Bush administration then added they were "probably" involved in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York City and the Pentagon.

This is not the first time he has assailed the government's public theory of the attacks. In 2008, Vidal said that 9/11 was "a coup d'etat" to overthrow the government, allowing the Bush administration "[to] make legal each and every breach of the constitution that [they] had in mind."