Saturday, March 8, 2008

R.I.P., W.F.B.

Yes, this post is a week late (I was moving across the country, cut me some slack), and yes, this isn't exactly a typical QLE subject, but perhaps let us take just a moment to recognize the passing of William F. Buckley, the father of the modern conservative movement in American politics. "What the fuck is this?" you may be thinking. Believe me, I am as liberal as they come, and I'm assuming most of you out there are as well; but a cursory look into W.F.B.'s leisure activities reveals him to be perhaps the father of everything the QLE stands for as well. A legendary man's man, who spent every moment of his free time chasing the best in life, from sports to literature to music to copious amounts of booze. A former CIA agent who possessed a talent for being able to hammer back G&Ts, debate foreign policy at the UN, and think of the story arc for his next novel all at the same time. And his "By the way, I have a yacht" mid-Atlantic prep school accent only makes him even more fabulous of a human.

The following is an incredible debate conducted at the height of the Vietnam war between Buckley and one of the biggest all-time leftys, Noam Chomsky. Both men's command of the English language and mastery of the art of debate here is stunning. For the essence of the man, listen near the end of the first minute, the manner Buckley says "42,43,44" and later, at 2:30, the way he says "pursue" and winks at Chomsky. Never has the comment, "Fuck you, I'm smarter and cooler than you" been so gracefully and silently delivered.

We lost a true American last week, and Beefeater lost one of its biggest customers.

1 comment:

Loganius said...

A well spoken shit is still a shit.

His winking wasn't, in my opinion a moment of sheer brilliance but rather the wink of the most condescending ass in the room. And his argument was bollocks to boot.