Pretty pathetic if you ask me. There are plenty of things not to like about McCain. The Palin hatred is stupid, though, and shows a lack of insight about people and the office of President. Palin might not make a great president, but if she didn't, it wouldn't be because she lacks foreign policy experience. That she is not so sophisticated as to think American doesn't have to be the strongest kid on the block, is to her credit.
No doubt Obama is a man of great talents. Talent is not his problem. The problem is his ideas. When you find yourself hoping, as Buckley the Lesser indicates, that Obama is too smart to follow his own ideas, that is a danger sign. I hope that too. My hope is that he is more opportunist than ideologue, and I think he probably is, but that doesn't mean I endorse him.
Like the world couldn't survive without Young Buckley endorsing someone for President. This is really just about the small Buckley positioning himself for the Obama administration and getting his stuff in the Times. I am not outraged, as I think it is naive to hold literary men to very high standards of conduct. But one might have hoped for more from a Buckley.
Buckley is an idiot.
He became enamoured of Obama through his book, but it never occured to him that the uh and duh man did not write it. Obama's ghost-writing terrorist friend and mentor Bill Ayers is actually quite a good writer, but is not running for President. Technically.
Buckley tells us he knew McCain, and McCain has now lost his bearings. Those were always his bearings, and lots of us saw that twenty years ago.
Buckleys father began to get silly in his late sixties, but junior can't wait that long.
Posted by: james wilson | October 11, 2008 at 08:21 PM
Perhaps this is satire. Perhaps Chris Buckley will step forward with a clean and emphatic denial. Or, perhaps this nut fell a little too far from the tree. Socialist president, leftist congress, and possibly 2 or 3 supremes up for change, and ya vote for tempermant. Right.
Posted by: Phocus In Arrzona | October 12, 2008 at 11:27 AM
Sadly for thinking people...the Buckley stops here!
Posted by: Phocus In Arrzona | October 12, 2008 at 11:34 AM
I'm sure Buckley is just relieved to have his name in the news for something other than his current legal troubles. His child's mother is pursuing a child support increase with an Anna Nicole-esque fervor....although I suppose her motive is a bit more selfless considering it is for the benefit of a disabled child and not just shameless gold-digging like Anna. At any rate, his current publicity will probably bring mixed responses. The Right will condemn him for being opportunistic and the Left will probably welcome his support while remaining skeptical. Either way, it is a curious decision for him to outwardly back Obama.
Posted by: belicoso | October 13, 2008 at 11:51 AM
I don't remember anything coming from Chris Buckley that was anything other than warmed-over glop, sometimes a bit clever, never substantial except derivatively, if I recollect right.
More important, though, is that his whole break with McCain-Palin is about manners and who he'd have over for dinner. Certainly not Palin (way too backwoods), and likely not McCain either any more. I'm not saying that either Palin or McCain is exactly wonderful (though if I do vote for a major candidate I'll vote for them), I'm just saying that Chris is pure snob and no thought, at least in the piece in question.
Ooh, Harvard.
The man is an upper-class twit who cares only about where the person went to college, and whether or not he hires his attacks out, like Obama (essentially) does, rather than snarling himself. There's enough to object to in Palin and McCain for him to slightly decorate his grotesque contempt for anyone "beneath him", but it doesn't even come close to disguising the fact that he's essentially Thurston Howell III without the honesty.
Well, good riddance to him. May he never write for National Review again.
Glen D
http://tinyurl.com/2kxyc7
Posted by: Glen Davidson | October 14, 2008 at 01:29 PM