William FBuckley Jr

Feb 29 2008 by David Charters, Liverpool Daily Post

IN THE days of long hair and elasticated morals, when the philosophy of doing your own thing was all the rage, right-wing thinkers in American were invariably characterised as crude red-necks eager to pull the trigger – that was before the emergence on TV of William F Buckley Jr, son of oil money.

Smooth as a slick, handsome and elegantly-attired, he was a lacerating wit, who delighted in plucking the scalps of lofty liberals.

Of course, some were quite properly outraged by what they regarded as his racism, which softened greatly as he matured and never embraced anti-Semitism, which he always abhorred.

But his suggestion, during the Aids crisis, that gay men should be tattooed on the buttocks, provoked a stir.

Some sections of the public were willing to forgive his indiscretions because Buckley was a stimulating intellect, who helped make Conservatism cool again.

He was also a patriot whose precocious leanings were evident in a letter written to the King of England when he was eight, demanding the return of taxes paid by Americans.

A master communicator, he was able to bring his opinions to a wide public from 1966 on his TV show, Firing Line. Generally, the discussions were conducted in a civilised manner by Buckley, whose dedication to the work ethic could be betrayed by the manners of a dilettante. Among his guests were Germaine Greer, Margaret Thatcher, Richard Nixon and Groucho Marx. However, there was a lapse in gentility when he threat- ened to “sock” Gore Vidal.

Opponents were keen to emphasise Buckley's privileged upbringing as the sixth of 10 children born in New York to a multi-millionaire with oil holdings in seven countries. He graduated from Yale in 1950.

In the early 60s, he formed the Young Americans for Freedom and in 1965 unsuccessfully stood for mayor of New York, promoting, half-humorously, an elevated bikeway for Second Avenue.

In English terms, Buckley, married with a son, was a libertarian, who defended personal freedom, including the right to smoke cigarettes and marijuana. There was a hint of the late Auberon Waugh about him and, like Waugh, he was industrious, founding the National Review in 1955 and writing 5,000 columns and 500 books, including his thrillers featuring the Ivy League spy Blackford Oakes, who knew our Queen rather well.

William Buckley, writer; born November 24, 1925, died February 27, 2008.