William F. Buckley Jr., 1925-2008

Remembrances of the National Review founder by James Michener, Jackie Robinson, Ted Koppel, Andrea Dworkin, Oliver North, Mike Wallace and other notables.

Compiled by Dana Cook

Read more: Larry King, Oliver North, Tom Brokaw, Andrea Dworkin, Mike Wallace, Life

Feb. 28, 2008 | Mike Wallace, broadcast journalist: Cold War prescription

There were new voices being heard on the political landscape in the mid-fifties, and "Night Beat" tuned in on them ... One such guest was an erudite and self-assured young man named William F. Buckley, then just emerging as the most engaging spokesman for the conservative cause. In those days as now, the overriding foreign policy concern was the aggressive designs of the Soviet Union, and I asked Buckley what steps we should take to gain the upper hand in what was still known as the Cold War:

BUCKLEY: By accepting certain goals and preparing for those goals irrespective of the cost. To list a simple program: Liberate Albania. Unification of Korea, Extirpation of Communist influence in Syria. Unification of Germany. (New York)

From "Close Encounters: Mike Wallace's Own Story," by Mike Wallace and Gary Paul Gates (William Morrow, 1984)

Irv Kupcinet, columnist and broadcaster: Wonderful guest

There were innumerable great arguments on the show ["Kup's Show"].

William Buckley would argue about anything with anybody. I seldom agreed with him, but he was always a wonderful guest and I'm frankly proud that we were the first to invite him on this kind of show when he was just starting his National Review. (Chicago, 1955)

From "Kup: A Man, an Era, a City," by Irv Kupcinet with Paul Neimark (Bonus Books, 1988)

Garry Wills, journalist and author: Pleasant company

That higher bounce of a voice he saves for the telephone: "This is Bill Buckley. I read what you sent us, and love it and will run it soon. Could you come to New York and see us?" ...

Luckily National Review's first office (later abandoned), though cramped and slovenly, was air-conditioned. I waited in a little cubicle for visitors, glassed off from the one large room, with little stalls along the sides, that housed this busy small world of editors. Stuck in my bowl, I took a goldfish view of bustle in and out of stalls, stray interweavings in the middle of the room. My first impression was of youth; but that did not carry over to the man who came to pull me out of my bowl.

I was surprised, for some reason, to find him tall -- less preppy-looking than his book-jacket picture had led me to expect; pleasantly disheveled and informal, despite the rich prance and neighing of his voice. Today many people who meet Buckley for the first time have seen and heard him on TV; but I knew him only, by repute, as a Wunderkind; and this tall 32-year-old seemed somehow more normal and adult than the image I had formed of him.

When we went into his office, though, he seemed a bit boyish in the company of fellow editors, each his senior by decades -- James Burnham, John Chamberlain, Willmoore Kendall. Buckley sat on his desk, tucked his legs under him, and continued discussion of some policy matter. He showed a deference to others that might belie his superiority on the review's masthead; but he showed the same deference when the conversation circled toward my chair. Buckley asked my opinion. I don't remember what the subject was, but I fear I answered confidently. The others went through the motions, at least, of seriously considering an opinion from this stranger off the street. Those around Bill pick up his manners, acknowledging each other's presence and giving all a hearing. It is one of the things that makes his company so pleasant. (New York, 1957)

From "Confessions of a Conservative," by Garry Wills (Doubleday, 1979)

James Michener, novelist: Funny, delightful, outrageous

The [United States Information Service] board that [Frank] Shakespeare assembled was evaluated as "unquestionably the most effective and best-run advisory board in the nation." ... the rare skill demonstrated by its chairman, Frank Stanton ...

His number two man when I came aboard was William F. Buckley, Jr., the right-wing ideologue and one of the funniest, most delightful and outrageous men in the nation. He and I were about as far apart politically as two men could be, but I held him in the warmest regard. Savagely brilliant and devastating in his witty dismissal of bores, he was one of the young men most influential in helping swing the nation far to the right, a sinful performance for which I suppose God will forgive him, for he convinced me that God was of course both a Catholic and a conservative. (Washington, D.C., late 1950s)

From "The World Is My Home: A Memoir," by James A. Michener (Random House, 1992)

Pierre Berton, broadcaster, journalist and historian: Commitment

The strength of [CBC's] Front Page Challenge in its early years lay in its glittering array of international guests, from Eleanor Roosevelt to Mary Pickford, from Jacques Cousteau to Aleksandr Kerensky, [who] occupied the [mystery] guest's panelist's chair ... William F. Buckley, who believed in keeping appointments, turned up at the last moment, bedraggled and unshaven, delayed by storms that forced him to change his flight schedule again and again. He had been traveling for 24 hours when he finally reached the studio, but to him a commitment was a commitment. "Bring me a six-pack of beer," he begged. He got it, and the show went on. (Toronto, early 1960s)

From "My Times: Living With History 1947-1995," by Pierre Berton (Doubleday Canada, 1995)

André Schiffrin, book publisher: Looking for debating points

Asked by a group at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute -- a college in Troy, New York -- if I would be willing to engage William F. Buckley, Jr. in a public debate. Buckley was at the height of his fame. Someone there must have thought it would be interesting to have these two Yale alumni who were at such opposite ends of the spectrum meet for the first time.

I prepared meticulously for the debate, reading Buckley's published works and making careful note of his viewpoints and arguments, until finally I felt ready to meet them head-on. Buckley was, as always, suave and debonair. I felt more awkward, wearing a hand-me-down, unfashionable double-breasted suit. Yet when we met onstage, I noticed that he seemed strangely nervous. Presumably, losing the debate to me in front of the several hundred people in the vast RPI auditorium would have been humiliating. Accordingly, he focused on making his debating points rather than sticking to his old viewpoints. Buckley's main argument -- in Troy, New York, of all places -- was that there was no poverty in the United States. I had a hard time persuading the middle-class audience that poverty was still a major factor in our collective lives. Meanwhile, all my notes were in vain, since Buckley was quick to abandon his positions whenever necessary. I tried to point out these tactics to the audience, but the debate ended in an ambiguous draw. (Early 1960s)

From "A Political Education: Coming of Age in Paris and New York," by André Schiffrin (Melville House Publishing, 2007)

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