Happy Birthday to William Buckley

I just read a tribute to William Buckley. He is turning 80 and I just wish we could count on 80 more from this most talented observer of the scene in America. Here is one of my favorite anecdotes, but you can read the others here.

In his speech to a large student crowd, Buckley talked at length about the China trip. I had just read his National Review article about the trip and observed how he artfully incorporated pieces of it into his speech. He fielded student questions following the speech from a microphone placed on the floor below the podium. One of my classmates, visibly drunk, approached the microphone to ask Buckley a killer question.

"Mr. Buckley, Mr. Buckley, Mr. Buckley," he said as he warmed to his theme. "Do you really think the American involvement in Vietnam is right, or do you recognize that it's an imperialistic war where we're pursuing our own interests at the expense of the Vietnam people with no justification except the higher interests of American business and its friends in the Nixon administration..." and so on, at slightly greater length.

"The former," Buckley responded.