February 29, 2008
William F. Buckley Jr. Is Not Dead
Technically, that’s untrue. The founder of The National Review, author of dozens of books, and professional eyebrow-raiser did pass away this week. But thanks to the magic of YouTube, he lives on.
What’s remarkable about this clip, a debate with Noam Chomsky from 1969, is how long the two men talk – more than 10 minutes without interruption. Where is the pugnacious host who jumps in with silly, simplistic questions? Why is there no crawl at the bottom of the screen to divert our ever-wandering attention? Did TV really used to be this good?
Also check out the Charlie Rose retrospective for more from the courtly king of conservatism.
Thomas Bartlett | Posted on Friday February 29, 2008 | PermalinkComments
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For a second there I thought there’d been a Bill Buckley sighting. Alas, it was only a cliche.
— marci Feb 29, 03:57 PM #
Alas is right. If only smart people could stay alive for say, two hundred years, we might be able to make some headway solving some of our longlived problems.
— MUAP Feb 29, 09:57 PM #
I had read some of Buckley’s books and seen him close-up. He was an utterly honest man—he dressed simply and ate simply, despite his wealth, family pedigree and multisyllable diction. He will be missed.
— Sidney Mar 1, 12:49 PM #
Actually there was a Buckley sighting this weekend at a Wienerschnitzel in Boca Raton. He lives!
— The Gawker Mar 3, 01:23 PM #
Buckley sighted in Las Vegas limousine in the company of Siegfried and Roy.
— Linda Lupinet Mar 3, 06:35 PM #
Ay, me maties, Old Bill walks among us still. Betwixt the splintered rafters in the wee morning his heavy bootsteps and the smell of his sweet tobacco.
— marci Mar 4, 04:42 PM #