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"[William F.] Buckley was charming because he had to be."

"He got a lot of attention because it was a time when liberalism was at its zenith, and so was its control of the media. Liberals were secure enough to let guys like Buckley on, but only guys like Buckley, whose I?m-a-member-of-the-club aristocratic credentials made him seem safe. And only so long as he was sufficiently nonthreatening."

It doesn't work like that anymore. And by the way, as I remember it ? and I watched "Firing Line" in the 60s ? Buckley wasn't a charming, refined guy ? or not just a charming, refined guy. There was something freakish and weird about him. I remember the exaggerated imitations of him emphasizing elaborate squirming in his seat, his tongue darting in and out of his mouth, the long pauses with abrupt spates of words, the crazy gesturing with a pencil, and the bizarre reaching for big words people had never heard before. Maybe upper class people and Yale graduates were able to perceive him as one of their own, but to average TV viewers, he was a big oddball.


Ah, yes! Here it is: Joe Flaherty's impersonation (the second character shown in the SCTV sketch).

Full post as published by Althouse on August 04, 2010 (boomark / email).