Godspeed, William Buckley.

[Guest Michael Myers Resplendent]

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

The fact that he wasn't liked by these nutters tells me that he was a voice of of reason in a sea of batshit craziness:

 

"Aren't you embarrassed by the absence of these weapons?" Buckley snaps at Podhoretz. He has just explained that he supported the war reluctantly, because Dick Cheney convinced him that Saddam Hussein had WMD primed to be fired. "No," Podhoretz replies. "As I say, they were shipped to Syria. During Gulf War One, the entire Iraqi air force was hidden in the deserts in Iran." He says he is "heartbroken" by this "rise of defeatism on the right." He adds, apropos of nothing, "There was nobody better than Don Rumsfeld. This defeatist talk only contributes to the impression we are losing, when I think we are winning."

 

The audience cheers Podhoretz. The nuanced doubts of Bill Buckley leave them confused. Doesn't he sound like the liberal media? Later, over dinner, a tablemate from Denver calls Buckley "a coward." His wife nods and says, "Buckley's an old man," tapping her head with her finger to suggest dementia.

 

This was on a National Review cruise, I think.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Smitty, the pronoun usage in that quote leaves me entirely confused. Who does "he" refer to in the first paragraph, Podhoretz or Buckley? And whose wife in the second paragraph, Buckley's or the tablemate's?

[snuffbox 0]

Quite a guy, Buckley.

 

 

[SuperJerk 0]

I miss "Firing Line." I would actually LEARN SOMETHING about each side's views instead of just listening to two sides rip on each other at loud volumes.

[cbacon 0]

 

Classic Buckley vs. Classic Chomsky

[snuffbox 0]

http://www.amazon.com/Flying-High-William-...2507&sr=1-1

 

I'm really looking forward to this book.