William F. Buckley, Jr.

    Remember Bill Buckley — the conservative inquisitor par excellence?  Remember how he sparred with liberals on Firing Line, his TV program for 33 years (over 1,400 episodes).  But remember also how he did so firmly and cogently, but always respectfully, rarely if ever insulting or trashing his guests.

    Richard Brookhiser, a later editor of National Review, the conservative bi-monthly founded by Buckley, said that Firing Line “was the grandfather of today’s cage fight media—but its descendants are illegitimate.  Buckley hosted and roasted guests fo the left (and right) to find out what they thought.”

    Indeed.  In a recent book on Buckley, Open to Debate: How William F. Buckley Put Liberal America on The Firing Line, Heather Hendershot writes:

        "In short, Buckley came to realize that one could have very interesting conversations, and even become very good friends with, people whose belief systems were very different from one’s own.  This kind of personal realization was not strictly necessary for a political pundit, a conservative movement organizer, an editor of a journal of opinion, or a nationally syndicated right-wing columnist.  You could, theoretically, perform all of these rolls from within an isolated bubble filled only with your own ideological compatriots.  But a willingness to engage generously with political opponents would make you a better host of a public affairs TV show.  Of course, Buckley did not need to be friends with all of his liberal and left-wing TV guests, but it would have been boring if he had simply attacked and disdained them.  He succeeded on his program Firing Line for more than thirty years  because he was open to guests, open to their differences, open to debate."

    Not too many Buckleys around today, are there?  Personally, I’m a liberal and rarely agreed with Buckley politically.  But my sense of nostalgia is great.  I wish he were still with us.