William F. Buckley

[Kathleen Collins]

This is a small section from a William F. Buckley Jr article "Worshipping JFK." I think he wrote this around the time he wrote his novel on the Kennedy years, Getting It Right, a Novel. I always wondered if Buckley played a part in the Assassination of Kennedy. He says some miserable things. And I have to remember he's a staunch Catholic. ---

uexpress.com: On the Right with William F. Buckley Jr 11-21-03 Worshipping Kennedy

"Curiosity just goes on and on about Mr. Kennedy, and I subscribe to it, having recorded (but not yet seen) the two-hour show presided over by Peter Jennings at which we shall have one more chapter of the Grassy Knoll. The advertisements promise a computer re-creation of the assassination. I think it's about as clearly established that Lee Harvey Oswald killed Kennedy as that John Wilkes Booth killed Lincoln, but seeing it all again, you can use up a little agnostic curiosity on that morbid episode, draining it for a year or two. It is always exciting to read about the assassination of Julius Caesar, particularly when the tale is told by the greatest tale-teller in dramatic literature, never mind that we know that Brutus did it. It goes that way, also, for JFK.

But the question I was asked didn't have to do with who killed JFK, but with what was his legacy. It was, said I, entirely personal. Nothing that Mr. Kennedy did in the way of public policy was either singular or enduring in effect. In foreign policy, he lost out on Berlin, presiding over the death of the Four Power Agreement over that city.

Kennedy did not consummate his war against Castro at any level. At the military level, he failed at the Bay of Pigs. At the dirty-dog level, he failed in four or five attempts to assassinate Castro; failed with toxic cigars, impregnated wet suits and poison pills. At the diplomatic level, we focus more appropriately on the arrival of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba than on their withdrawal. It is acknowledged by everyone that we very nearly had a nuclear exchange in October 1962, and historical adjudications correctly deal with the fact of the missiles being deployed there, rather than of the fact that they were finally shooed away."

Kathy

[Myra Bronstein]

We'll have to get Gore Vidal in here to put him in his place, as he did during the 68 Dem convention.

What'd Gore call him? A crypto-fascist I believe. Ah, it was glorious.

And he was right. Though he left out the part about Buckley being a propagandist for the regime.

So he's party line all the way.

Like Bugliosi.

Two of a kind.

This is a small section from a William F. Buckley Jr article "Worshipping JFK." I think he wrote this around the time he wrote his novel on the Kennedy years, Getting It Right, a Novel. I always wondered if Buckley played a part in the Assassination of Kennedy. He says some miserable things. And I have to remember he's a staunch Catholic. ---

uexpress.com: On the Right with William F. Buckley Jr 11-21-03 Worshipping Kennedy

"Curiosity just goes on and on about Mr. Kennedy, and I subscribe to it, having recorded (but not yet seen) the two-hour show presided over by Peter Jennings at which we shall have one more chapter of the Grassy Knoll. The advertisements promise a computer re-creation of the assassination. I think it's about as clearly established that Lee Harvey Oswald killed Kennedy as that John Wilkes Booth killed Lincoln, but seeing it all again, you can use up a little agnostic curiosity on that morbid episode, draining it for a year or two. It is always exciting to read about the assassination of Julius Caesar, particularly when the tale is told by the greatest tale-teller in dramatic literature, never mind that we know that Brutus did it. It goes that way, also, for JFK.

But the question I was asked didn't have to do with who killed JFK, but with what was his legacy. It was, said I, entirely personal. Nothing that Mr. Kennedy did in the way of public policy was either singular or enduring in effect. In foreign policy, he lost out on Berlin, presiding over the death of the Four Power Agreement over that city.

Kennedy did not consummate his war against Castro at any level. At the military level, he failed at the Bay of Pigs. At the dirty-dog level, he failed in four or five attempts to assassinate Castro; failed with toxic cigars, impregnated wet suits and poison pills. At the diplomatic level, we focus more appropriately on the arrival of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba than on their withdrawal. It is acknowledged by everyone that we very nearly had a nuclear exchange in October 1962, and historical adjudications correctly deal with the fact of the missiles being deployed there, rather than of the fact that they were finally shooed away."

Kathy

[John Geraghty]

I'm attempting to embed the clip Myra referred to, fingers crossed.

<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRjZR8j4-z4"></param><param'>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRjZR8j4-z4"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRjZR8j4-z4" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>

[Kathleen Collins]

We'll have to get Gore Vidal in here to put him in his place, as he did during the 68 Dem convention.

What'd Gore call him? A crypto-fascist I believe. Ah, it was glorious.

And he was right. Though he left out the part about Buckley being a propagandist for the regime.

So he's party line all the way.

Like Bugliosi.

Two of a kind.

It was their last debate in 1968. Gore Vidal called Buckley a "Crypto-Nazi." Buckley said, "Call me a crypto-Nazi again, you queer, and I'll punch you in the face, and you'll stay plastered." The camera went to a close-up of Gore Vidal, who was noticeably embarrassed, his face darkened and his mouth twitching in a nervous smile and a tear entering his right eye. "Oh, yeah," said Buckley, re his threat. Then he started to say something about what he did in the war and Vidal said, trying to cover his embarrassment, "See you distort your own military history." Buckley said, "Myra Breckenridge. Go back to writing your pornography." The host was beside himself, trying to get them to stop "calling names" -- that's what he called it. They went to a commercial and when they came back, there was more arguing, nothing making sense.

According to Vidal, as they were collecting themselves to leave Gore said, "Well, I guess we gave them their money's worth tonight."

Esquire magazine asked William F. Buckley to write an essay about the debates with Gore. What they didn't tell him was Gore was going to "answer" Buckley's essay the following month. Buckley was so offended, he brought Gore and Esquire to court. The charges were dropped against Vidal (Buckley said he still had to pay $70,000 in legal expenses). But Buckley won out over Esquire. All in all, a very entertaining time.

Kathy (Forum Gossip)