Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Requiescat in Pace, William F Buckley

William F. Buckley, the conservative giant died today at age 82. Giant is the only word that applies because he was so many things that one word will not fully describe the influential speaker, writer, novelist, pundit, sailor, harpsichord player, and devout Catholic. He was always eloquent, polite, and humorous. He will be missed.

I think his intellectual heir is Mark Steyn.


Noteworthy:

Firing Line Episodes

AP Video Obituary.

Buckley vs. Chomsky in 1969. It's like Ali vs Frasier of the political world.

Panama Canal Debate . He wasn't one to also take the obvious side. Here on a Firing Line debate, he supported the Treaty. It read like a who's who of debate. For the Affirmative, Buckley, George Will, Adm. Elmo Zumwalt. For the negative Ronald Reagan, Pat Buchanan, and Adm. John McCain, Sr.

Debate in which Buckley famously calling Gore Vidal a queer because Vidal called him a crypto-Nazi.

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