Charlie Rose

A_Wittelsbach  10/03/2009 12:51 PM Report

Now, now, Mr. Jensen. Must you be so crass? You're either five years old or were raised without manners. What educated adult uses the term "shut up?" Really, in using such a pedestrian term, you betray your own ignorance and lack of cultivation.

You hang on to your pipe dream as long as you can because the world is already waking from its self-induced intellectual coma and is starting to see Obama for the fraud he is.

Whether or not Mr. Buckley was a racist does not detract from his intellectual legacy nor does it diminish the great respect that he garnered and of which he was well deserving.

thom_jensen  01/10/2009 04:33 AM Report

he was a very intelligent man who held steadfastly to what he thought was right. that is to be admired. the commenters below are of course right that he was a bigot and an elitist social climber.

lets hope that the alexander taylors of the world shut up for a while as obama succeeds. lets also hope that blacks follow his example and leave rap culture behind them.

Alexander Taylor  09/24/2008 05:38 PM Report

My, my, Mr. McCaskill, you are rather wordy, aren't you? Apparently you have too much time on your hands.

The mere fact that you found it necessary to compose that cacauphony of inane rhetoric I find laughable.

As you seem to find it so necessary to prove your intellectual capabilities seems only to indicate that you are, in fact, deficient in that capacity.

Is it that difficult for you to grasp the concept that individuals can change their social misconceptions and way of thinking? Should one delve into the personal thoughts and attitudes of many (dare I say, most) Americans in the early and mid 20th century, one would conclude that these were tinged with racism.

Things have obviously changed a great deal since then, though racism has not yet been expunged (that means, to eliminate) from the American social landscape. Perhaps it never will be, completely. Still, you need to concede that racism is not unqiue to whites. Not only have I personally experienced black racism, but I've often been witness to black-on-black racism; apparently, the lighter your skin, the higher up you rank on the pecking order of black society. Don't be so quick to cry foul Mr. McCaskill, when things in your own ethnic group fall very short of perfection.

So, you wrote that diatribe and you're not a masochist? Better take a better look in the mirror. Finally, that ridiculous colloquialism, "sliced and diced seven ways to Sunday," made me chuckle. Really, is that the best you can do? Time for YOU to withdraw from the field, don't you think? Any response to my final commentary would only confirm your mediocrity.

P.S. Perhaps you and Knut can get together to stroke each other's egos.

George Shadroui  09/11/2008 03:28 PM Report

Might I suggest to readers of this thread a series on Mr. Buckley written my moi on intellectualconservative.com that deals with his exchanges with a variety of leftists and touches on his attitudes toward civil rights, free enterprise, Gore Vidal, the culture wars, etc. I won't claim the series is perfectly executed, but it is a lengthy look at some of these issues and it might inform those who are quick to judge matters about which they clearly know only a very little.

http://www.intellectualconservative.com/author/George%20Shadroui/

Brian McCaskill  08/31/2008 11:54 PM Report

Alexander Taylor... ah, how to respond to the addled thinking found in your posts?

First of all, not a word in any of my posts suggests that I need to "raise the racism flag" on myself... I can legitimately argue that Mr. Buckley was a racist, because there is ample evidence to suggest that he was, but for you to claim that I'M a racist? That's an accusation without substantiation... you're just playing the race card, AT.

As for your suggestion that my critical assessment of Buckley's reaction to the civil rights movement is improper "lamenting about what transpired in the past"... are you serious? This thread is about the legacy of William F. Buckley... why in God's name WOULDN'T I discuss his checkered history on race here? If you think this thread should be limited to, say, WFB's love of sailing and his passion for verbosity, then you support your own form of political correctness.

As to whether I (or my fellow African-Americans) have a "sense of entitlement"... sorry, but we DO think we're entitled to be protected by The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and The Voting Rights Act of 1965, both of which Buckley opposed at the time... if our embrace of these Acts bothers you, congratulations on your hipster's flair for retro... retro racism, that is. ("Watch Alex kick it Old School, with separate water fountains, literacy tests, fire hoses, the whole Jim Crow shebang.")

You go on to object to my mockery of WFB's accent (and the word for his accent isn't "unique," it's "affected," by the way). Maybe that was a low blow on my part, but Bill certainly had his own taste for stooping low to conquer.

-----------------

Buckley to Gore Vidal, during a debate on ABC News, August 28th, 1968:

-----------------

"Now listen, you queer, you stop calling me a crypto-Nazi or I'll sock you in the goddamn face and you'll stay plastered."

Poor Bill, when he was losing a debate he found it easier to wallow in the gutter and threaten violence than to intelligently counter his opponent's arguments (hopefully we'll see a similarly meatheaded moment from that notorious rageaholic John McCain in one or more of this fall's Presidential debates).

As for your presumption about how "understandable" my speaking voice is... now if luck runs my way I'll never meet you in person, but if I did, I doubt you would find my speaking voice any harder to understand than you would find the speaking voices of Colin Powell, Henry Louis Gates, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Bryant Gumbel, Bob Herbert, Lawrence Otis Graham, Randall Kennedy, Morgan Freeman, Stephen Carter, Ken Chenault, Deval Patrick, Richard Parsons, James Earl Jones, Cory Booker, Julian Bond, Sidney Poitier, Benjamin Carson, Lester Holt, Buddy Fletcher, Barack Obama... well, I could go on practically forever mentioning other black men whose speaking voices are quite easy for most English speakers to understand (at least those English speakers not presently comatose (physically, or in your case, intellectually), and not deafened by the racist gremlins constantly screaming inside their heads), but I'll restrain myself from lengthening my list and move on.

As for my alleged use of a thesaurus... really, AT? Is Roget's your cup of tea? How old are you, anyway?

The last time I dipped into a thesaurus was in my adolescence, before I fully had an educated adult's grasp of my mother tongue. Most skilled writers don't use a thesaurus, you see, as its groupings of synonyms can tempt one to overlook the rich nuances and shadings of English, and to end up substituting one word for another when it's not entirely appropriate to do so in the context of a given sentence.

Are we done here, Alexander? I certainly hope so.

I'm no sadist, and unless you're a masochist, the fact that you've been sliced and diced seven ways to Sunday should give you the good sense to withdraw from the field.

(Oh, and knut, thank you for your kind words.)

Alexander Taylor  08/15/2008 06:21 PM Report

Knut, is it? Really, you must get over yourself and play with a deck that doesn't include a race card. If you're so offended by Mr. Buckley, why are you even on this site commenting about him?

As for Mr. McCaskill's eloquence, I'm sure his thesaurus came in handy when drafting his post.

Oh, and by the way, my calendar read August, which means the election is still about three months away. As the media tires of its own Obama Lovefest, they will start to cover the stories that have, until now, been censored and your precious B. Hussein Obama will get the talking down he so rightfully deserves.

Peter Muer  08/10/2008 01:28 AM Report

William F. Buckley will be missed. He was

bright, articulate, and thoughtful and made

American intellectuals think and take action

to forge a better nation.

Chandler  08/09/2008 01:15 AM Report

Good night, Bill. Good night to you.

knut  08/06/2008 02:23 PM Report

wow....why am i not surprised at completely blatant racist comments on a thread about a tribute to w.f. buckley.

thanks for confirming a stereotype there guys!

"your people".....wow....i feel like am in a 60s documentary about the deep south pre- desegregation. guess what guys...black people can even VOTE NOW! it is looking like we will have a multiracial president. welcome to 2008.

also very impressed by the eloquence of the posts by Brian McCaskill. well phrased sir.

Alexander Taylor  08/06/2008 01:56 PM Report

Mr. Brian McCaskill, having read both of your posts, I have no choice but to agree with Marianne.

You exhibit the very ignorance and lack of grace that is endemic of your people. If you wish to raise the racism flag, you'd best be ready to pledge allegiance to it yourself and on behalf of your people.

Instead of lamenting about what transpired in the past, pull yourselves together and move forward. Drop the cloak of entitlement, roll up your sleeves and work toward a better life.

Mr. Buckley was deserving of Mr. Rose's praise and admiration. He will be sorely missed, especially in this culture of self and self aggrandizement. You're pathetic stab at Mr. Buckley's accent was very telling of the person you are. Yes, he had a unique accent, but at least he was understandable, which is more than one can say for you (presumably) and your own people.

Brian McCaskill  07/07/2008 12:27 AM Report

Marianne,

You appear to the "whiny, helpless" one, because you're clearly helpless to offer a substantive response to my post. Instead of giving a point-by-point rebuttal, you launch an incoherent broadside against black people, one that crams enough racism into a short passage to make the average person's head spin. (And it's safe to say that Mr. Rose would be disgusted by your post.)

Finally, why not show the courage of your convictions, "Marianne"? Why don't you sign with your full name?

I'll say one thing for William F. Buckley, he was steadfast enough in his beliefs to put himself in the firing line (as it were) by publicly standing by his words, unlike yourself.

bill  06/15/2008 12:13 AM Report

To David who wrote: "It's sad how Charlie Rose and his show is biased towards conservative opinions. Another example of how American media is run by corporations."

Are you kidding me? Have you ever actually watched an episode of Charlie Rose? He has guests from both sides of the aisle on and keeps his personal politics out of it. Buckley was his friend and you could tell he was visibly upset even though Charlie Rose is hardly a conservative.

Secondly, his show is on PBS! WHAT big corporation? ITS PUBLIC BROADCASTING!

Marianne  06/10/2008 01:47 AM Report

Brian McCaskill, leave racism out of this. And it is time people started accusing Blacks of racism- the pilfering of civilizations, cultures, history; blackmailing everyone by crying racism etc. The world does not revolve around you, whiny, needy, helpless creatures.

Brian McCaskill  04/23/2008 01:18 AM Report

As a longtime Charlie Rose fan (and an African-American), I was most disappointed in how Charlie glossed over Buckley's racism during the hour-long "appreciation" of WFB after his death.

Both Garry Wills and Jeff Greenfield referred to this racism, but Charlie hastily brushed them aside and moved on... I can only assume that Charlie, who has shown an interest in African-American issues on his show a # of times over the years, felt awkward about the glaring contradiction between the idealized obituary portrait of Buckley and the decidedly mixed reality; nonetheless, Charlie should have examined this reality, as his show is supposed to be journalism, and not merely a forum for the nostalgic whitewashing of the mixed legacies of his recently departed friends.

As for WFB's belated acknowledgment that Martin Luther King and the civil-right movement were good for America... sorry, but 2004 is a bit late in the game to come to that realization... I would be more impressed if he had come to this viewpoint not in 2004, when the only people to openly oppose civil rights and voting rights for African-Americans are Klansman and neo-Nazis, but in the 50's or the 60's when the stakes were high and his anti-racism could have actually helped people; instead, he used The National Review to support anti-black domestic terrorism.

Finally, I'll give Buckley a LITTLE bit of credit... kudos for getting away with that ridiculous accent all those years.

I mean, at least George Plimpton (who had his own over-the-top plummy accent) was a true blueblood of many generations, unlike Buckley, the son of a Texas wildcatter, who was nouveau riche in comparison.

Barry  04/04/2008 01:28 AM Report

I remember watching an ealy 1970's Firing Line where Buckley's guest was John Kenneth Galbraith (JKG)and Buckley stating to JKG and his fellow liberals that progressive taxation was just a form of stealing. JKG just ignored the baiting, but today liberals must respond. First by pointing out how the wealthy hold all of the cards in their multiple "marked" decks and all stacked in their favor. Just look at all of the tax evasion and lack of tax enforcement on the wealty. As George Bush 41 once stated, the IRS should not go after the wealthy since it was cheaper for the IRS to prosecute the middle class and poor because the wealthy could afford all of the legal fees and had the best legal advice.

Not only do the wealthy get all of the tax breaks, but they have their own printing press in the FED (Funds Eternally Delivered)for bailing themselves out of imprudent "investments"!

My how the CONservative movement has "progressed!

Sara  03/22/2008 04:21 PM Report

Buckley was a lunatic. Please crazies, desist from praising a madman. Hopefully, the conservative deadly movement that has ruined this nation dies with him.

Elizabeth Minnesota  03/14/2008 12:09 AM Report

I discovered Buckley about thirty years ago, and found that while I usually disagreed with him, I admired his erudition and his civility. The granddaughter of union organizers and back-to-the-earther who opposed Vietnam (and the various debacles since) and supported McGovern, Humphrey, all the losing liberals, I realized I was one of the grown ups one day when, watching Buckley on PBS on a Sunday afternoon, I found myself thinking about something 1) I agree with that thing he's saying; and then 2) he's kinda sexy.

I thought he and Gore Vidal would live forever - I see now that none of us shall.

Thanks, Charlie.

M. Campos  03/08/2008 01:15 PM Report

Dear Mr. Rose, A few days ago I read that

Malcolm Muggeridge once said to Mr. Buckley, "I have met all the improtant men and women in my lifetime and on the whole I think them an awful bore". Mr. Buckley, surely is one of the exceptions. For me and so many others Mr. Buckley was an immensely interesting person on so many levels,

not just the political arena. (I cite the Paris Review interview as an example.) It is difficult to judge a person whom one does not know personally, but the many tributes, anecdotes, etc. that have been written in his honor only attest to his incredible influence and impact he had, has and will have for years to come not only as a public figure but as a superior human being. Mr. David Brooks said he was shocked that Mr. Buckley expressed a desire to die in your interview with him. I, too, thought it sad and shocking, until I began rereading one of his books, "Overdrive" where he cites, "...It occurred to me that thirty years hence "the"

pheasant might well be strolling by, viewed by different eyes. And perhaps halfway between now and then I will be seeing him. From a wheelchair? I hope not; though it is for most people who grow old, my father among them, and the geriatric imperative suggests it wil be so even more in the years ahead. The thought is glum, but not so much as its complement, that fifteen years hence I should magically find myself fifteen years younger. The only quality of youth I covet is their health, not their age; life is wonderful, but the thought of reliving it is altogether repelling spiritually and even biologically exhausting." This was written in 1983. The beauty of the written word is that the essence of a human being still can shine even after death, and, in Mr. Buckley's case, this is particularly true.

David  03/06/2008 03:09 PM Report

It's sad how Charlie Rose and his show is biased towards conservative opinions. Another example of how American media is run by corporations.

MotherLodeBeth  03/06/2008 02:49 PM Report

Awesome show. Really will miss this sane voice in this age of wanntabe media conservatives who shout, are vulgar, and damn uncivil.

Sara  03/05/2008 02:00 AM Report

Lovely show.

Bill Galvin  03/04/2008 10:14 AM Report

I was amazed at the one-sided tribute Charlie Rose delivered on William F. Buckley. Actually Buckley is somewhat a tragic figure as well. Supporting racism and McCarthy in the 50's. For a balanced opinion of Buckley, I would encourage views to read the article in slate magazine. This is the Buckley I also remember. A statesman who supported poor choices. WHY WE SHOULD BE (MOSTLY) GLAD THAT HE OUTLIVED HIS BRAND OF CONSERVATISM.

By Timothy Noah copy the link:

http://www.slate.com/id/2185301/

Lau Pan  03/03/2008 11:44 PM Report

I had the good fortune to have grown as a child with the influence of Mr. Buckley. He always impressed me with the depth of knowledge, wisdom, and great mastery of the English Language. He was a true inspiration for many of us on the debating team to strive to do better.

My father I and use to love to read his works listen to his program and discuss the thoughts and comments he brought to the table.

My Dad passed away a few years ago and now with Mr. Buckleyâ??s passing it brings back many of those memories.

As you said on your show Charlie time passes by so quickly. The time we spend with each other is precious and not to be wasted. There is not always a tomorrow for some.

Dad was impressed with the amount of work and accomplishment Mr. Buckley was able to contribute to society and mentioned this to me many times when noticing I would spend too much time in frivolous pursuits.

Thank you for your kind tribute to Mr. Buckley.

Jackie  03/03/2008 11:14 PM Report

I was looking tonight for a remnant, a picture, the voice. I did not know Mr. Buckley, but admired him immensely. I was friends for an all too short time in New Haven with Fernando Valenti, who would sometimes regale me with stories of visiting Bill in Stamford (something about bullshots). I have been, and probably always will be, an ardent liberal, progressive and looking forward to paying taxes (see O. Wendell Holmes) for the rest of my life. But Mr. Buckley's appeal, as so many have said, was his civility, his intelligence and the twinkle in his eye as he just got one by you. Few in my lifetime have been able to perpetuate an idea and keep the beach ball bouncing through the crowd to the next generations. Ideas come and go in the marketplace, but I suspect we shall never see another quite like Bill Buckley. Thank you, Bill, for all of it, from a friend you never met. Thank you, Charlie, for the very lovely and moving footage.

Travis  03/03/2008 10:37 PM Report

amazing.

Daniel J Hesse  03/02/2008 10:42 PM Report

Charlie,

As a kid, I grew up in the TriState region and picked up all the PBS Channel and all of the Buckley programs that were on WNET. I have grown as a kid and then as an adult with the greatest admiration for his intellect, erudition, and persuasive ability to approach a subject in his later years with the harmlessness of a dove and the wisdom of a serpent.

I enthusiastically watched him in your last interview in December of 07 and as always sat in literal amazement, with a sense of awe as he struggled to garner air in his speech.

Thank you for your respect, honor, and devotion of the hour to this gem and gift to our nation and our movement. Also, let me personally express my honor to have seen you at our campus at Regent University in VA Beach, Virginia, this fall. Your moderation among the clashing of the titan was a paramount success combined with a gentleman's regard for good dialogue and differing view points.

Your appreciation and honor for William F. Buckley, Jr. is equivalent to my own estimation of you and your work over the years. I recall as a young airman coming back from North Dakota and staying in Brecksville, OH, watching you late night on the television.

May our memories always embrace and cherish the personhood of Buckley and may this generation produce a few good men of his caliber.

Lee Anderson  03/02/2008 07:34 PM Report

Thank you, Charlie Rose. It's good to know that we still have you!

Kay  03/02/2008 01:50 AM Report

We loved your tribute to William Buckley. The friendship you enjoyed was obvious and the warmth of your conversations was very moving.

Thank you for all of your programming and outstanding interviews. You perform a real public service. I record every one of them so I can view at a reasonable hour. Your show is 11:30p.m. here.

James Dennis  03/02/2008 12:58 AM Report

I loved this man and greatly appreciated Mr. Rose's tribute. I must say that I tire of ignorant people calling such as Buckley "racist". In a NY Times Magazine interview of 2004, Buckley was asked if he had ever been wrong. He explained that he regretted being on the wrong side of the segregation issue, that he had come to admire Dr. King, and that, in retrospect, the federal government should have intervened and was correct to do so. What more do people want, particularly from a man born in 1925 to a Texan father and a South Carolinian mother? Stop impugning the memory of a great man. Posting an apology for previous hateful comments would not be out of order.

R.I.P. Mr. Buckley. May we all exhibit half your grace, your capacity for learning and admitting past mistakes, your serenity in the face of death, and your extraordinary capacity for friendship.

Edie Bonferraro  03/01/2008 10:30 PM Report

Dear Mr. Rose: It was beautiful to see the mutual admiration between two very classy men. I'm sure you were a dear friend, and only the very pathetic would imply something else. My son and I are not Conservatives, but he called me from work when learning of Mr. Buckley's passing. Mr. Buckley was too fascinating not to leave deep impressions. His interviews with you just added to his depth. Thank you for sharing your grief. I'm handling it was care. And thank you for the quality you bring to late-night viewing.

Michael  03/01/2008 09:05 PM Report

Charlie Rose is so, so correct. His reference at the end of the broadcast about going sailing. "There is no tomorrow!"

Jane Robertson  03/01/2008 08:55 PM Report

Charlie, You're absolutely the best! What a wonderful tribute to Wm. Buckley, especially with your personal comments to frame the man himself and his importance to you and to our world. Thank you, thank you.

Truly, you're the best of television in every way.

J.R.

Jane Robertson  03/01/2008 08:55 PM Report

Charlie, You're absolutely the best! What a wonderful tribute to Wm. Buckley, especially with your personal comments to frame the man himself and his importance to you and to our world. Thank you, thank you.

Truly, you're the best of television in every way.

J.R.

Jane Robertson  03/01/2008 08:55 PM Report

Charlie, You're absolutely the best! What a wonderful tribute to Wm. Buckley, especially with your personal comments to frame the man himself and his importance to you and to our world. Thank you, thank you.

Truly, you're the best of television in every way.

J.R.

Peter Frank  03/01/2008 08:00 PM Report

In his appreciation, Charlie Rose speaks of his "friendship" with Buckley. Yet at the same time, he tells us that the last time he saw his "friend" was at Buckley's wife's funeral which was almost a year before Buckley died. This is typical of Rose's frequent, sycophantic claims of friendship with the great and near-great that actually appear to be more professional relationships or acquaintanceships.

How could you fail to visit a real friend in declining health living less than 100 miles away for a year?

Contrast the above Rose version of friendship with this example of actual, meaningful, and terribly touching friendship described by John Kenneth Galbraith's son in a little essay he wrote on Buckley's passing. I'd link to it, but I don't remember where I saw it.

During the final year or so of Galbraith's life, Buckley, in severly declining health himself, took a train from Connecticut to Cambridge every month to visit his old, sick friend and then returned home the same day. Even after one visit had gone so poorly, Jamie Galbraith wrote, that Buckley told Jamie he was going to discontinue the arduous round trip train excursions, he was back the following month to console his ailing friend and did so until Galbraith passed away.

Luke K.  03/01/2008 05:59 PM Report

Under Bush the conservative movement has been largely bankrupted of credibility in the national discussion. Another Buckley must emerge soon to give a true conservative counterbalance to the rise of the nascent progressive movement (Obama) before it oversteps the bounds of rationality.

Mensch  03/01/2008 05:00 PM Report

Thank you, Charlie. You exemplify the personal attributes most noted of Mr. Buckley in the numerous remembrances of him: charm, civility, generosity and decency -- irrespective of the differences of opinion with others. It is no wonder you and Bill were such friends; you are two of a kind. Carry on.

James Raia, www.byjamesraia.com  03/01/2008 04:08 PM Report

Thank you, Charlie, for a fine retrospective of William F. Buckley. It was a brilliant hour of clips and your final tribute to an icon of our times and to your friend was extraordinary . . . And then to let the close of the show roll without sound! Bravo to you, sir, for a sad, poignant hour of television. Mr. Buckley would have approved.

Chris Ullman  03/01/2008 03:19 PM Report

Saying good bye is such sweet sorrow.

Political differences aside, The Charlie Rose hour is the later day version of William F. Buckley's "Firing Line." The contentiousness is less, but the discussions are as juicy. While politics trumps the interviews, movie and book promotions there is the grist of good conversation in The CR Hour always.

I was moved to tears by your salute and farewell to a friend. We were reminded in the tribute of Buckley's charm, wit and scamp. It was the facial expressions he brought to the debate. The forehead shifting, and the widen eyes that punctuated his conversation. There was his sense of impishness. How does a brilliant conversationalist keep you involved in the debate? By making us feel we were in on the joke. His invitation for us to hang around? Because, something good was about to happen.

Lastly, taking yourself to task for procrastinating the sail or the dinner really hit home.

Please keep up the tradtion of inviting guests from across the political spectrum who actually have something to say and are challenged to defend it.

Dave Ryan  03/01/2008 12:16 PM Report

Thanks for a stimulating hour with your extraordinary friend. The compilation was enjoyable. I was touched by your affectionate presentation of the clips, and your heartfelt, elegant farewell.Your celebration of Buckley's magnificent life ranks in my opinion among your finest efforts.

Peter Brawley  03/01/2008 12:01 AM Report

Wm F Buckley applied his considerable rhetorical skills to vigorous support of Franco's fascism, Roman Catholic authoritarianism, Joe McCarthy's demagogic witchhunts, and American white supremacy. He wrote and worked for authoritarianism and privilege against liberty and egalitarianism, and for war against peace. His legacy is ugly enough to induce tears, but not the sentimental kind.

Elinor Stone  02/29/2008 11:30 PM Report

I don't know a lot about William Buckley, but Charlie's show honoring him said everything about the beauty of friendship. It made everything else on air look sterile and ragged in comparison. Thank you, Charlie, for being a friend to William Buckley and for sharing your friendship with us in all its strength and sadness.

Tom & Julie Lauricella  02/29/2008 08:59 PM Report

First...we would appreciate if the Buckley tribute could be aired again during the day either on a weekend or weekday.My husband and I caught the second half of your afternoon tribute.

My husband remembers William F. Buckley vividly, particularly since he participated in a debate held at the Garden City Hotel many years ago that was sponsored by YAF.

My husband represented the NY Young Republican Club and the topic was recognition of Red China (YAF was firmly against). My husband had no idea of what to expect, or who would face him. Needless to say it was a massacre, although Buckley was gracious and a perfect gentleman. I saw Mr. Buckley in a later debate and walked out afterwards nearly convinced that he was right on some points. (By the way, what passes for debate in today's politics is a travesty).

We've been active liberal Democrats for almost 40 years, yet we admired his brilliance, wit, and versatility. We disagreed with him but we respected him. Unlike the far right demagogues in politics today he was a true conservative, an honorable man, who did not seek to impose his deep religious beliefs on the rest of the nation. William F. Buckley was unique.

Thank you for presenting this program.

Joseph Knorr  02/29/2008 08:06 PM Report

If artists need a muse, than liberal progressives need the Buckley's. I myself being a liberal appreciate the environment (minus the little exchange after the 68 convention with Vidal...)that Buckley provided. I remember an interview when German troops spoke with Americans who were fighting in the same battles, I trust both men caught in the trenches in their ability to see actual events as they unfolded.

Bill Buckley will be missed and respected by myself as one who lived in the trenches and participated in political dialogue that has shaped policies and thus our very lives every day. When I die do not let my eternity be filled with those with common values who stood on the sidelines, I'd rather be cursed with Bill, challenging my opinions with his cutting humor, sharing a trench engaged in the fight of our lives, living the best human experience possible.

Kellygo  02/29/2008 06:59 PM Report

Mr. Buckley has been a strong influence in my life even though I never met him. I watched Firing Line when I was a about 11. I tried to understand what was being said, but eventually had to try to pick out words. In college I was a fairly serious viewer. He was an excellent role model for all.

I never knew him but will miss him.

Thank you Charlie and Staff for the wonderful tribute.

Peter A. Jensen  02/29/2008 02:50 PM Report

Charlie, my sincere compliments to you for your dialogues with William F. Buckley, Jr. I have enjoyed those that I have watched, including the most recent and last. I began watching Firing Line in the early '80's and continued forward. In addition, I have read his sailing adventures and latest books. All were excellent. I will truly miss him. Thank you.

David  02/29/2008 02:45 PM Report

My regards for an excellent tribute to Mr. Buckley. He was such an erudite & scholarly man; he is & will be truly missed. Thank you for such a send off. I enjoyed it thoroughly & was moved by your benediction. He was your friend.

David

Carole Maynard  02/29/2008 02:04 PM Report

Today I feel anger and disgust at your weeping tribute to William Buckley, the man whose racist words are memorialized in his National Review article, "Why the South must prevail". Ironically, today the soaring words of a young black leader, Barack Obama, echo across our country in refutation of what Buckley stood for. And, people are weeping for joy . We should not laud a man, whose invective promoting the basest of human instincts, brought out the worst in us.

mr relieved  02/29/2008 01:45 PM Report

....it is sad for ANY human to die...but it sure is a relief that this unpleasant man will no longer be polluting the media with his reactionary ranting.

he is an "important figure" for sure....in the worst possible way.....a man who makes hatred civilized and even admirable. he is an veritable institution of right wing tripe dressed up as an intellectual.

"all hail the christian white male power structure!!! long may it live! down with anything that is NOT this!"

ug.

James Maynard  02/29/2008 01:40 PM Report

Your almost tearful tribute to William Buckley was completely incomprehensible to me. This man was so archly conservative that he lauded the witch hunts of Senator Joseph McCarthy, ridiculed the passive resistance of Martin Luther King in his search for racial equality, and supported segregation of the races. Furthermore, his vaunted intellectuality was simply a facade produced by debater tactics, such as an arched eyebrow, calculated speech pauses to emphasize a supposedly intense brain activity, and a flippancy and crafted turn of phrase aimed at winning an argument, not finding the truth. No Charlie! Bill Buckley was never deserving of your sympathetic endorsement.