Gore Vidal vs William Buckley Republican Convention 1968 Debate 1

[@MrShbbz]

"As a matter of fact we have a situation in the United States where they believe we should have socialism for the rich and free enterprise for the poor." (5:19+) ... in 1968 (!), such a prophet.

[@joaomarcelo742]

more like a god

[@bradh6185]

Mac Greusaichelàmhaich I think it really just demonstrates that nothing changes. The exact things that were happening then are happening now.

[@JimmyFranceable]

Not really, the left just beat the talking point to death.

[@charlieann82]

Mac Greusaichelàmhaich Originally said by MLK Jr a few years prior. ❤️🇺🇸

[@kathleengleason9805]

Oh please the rich rule the world n dont pay adequate taxes good Lord u need a billion to live no let the capitalists that arranged this pay the poor so what

[@logix0]

Regardless of political affiliation I think we can all agree that what is missing from modern politics is thoughtful, intelligent debates between passionate well-spoken individuals--instead of the garbage we are treated to from modern media.

[@SteveTheGhazaRooster]

The fact this comment was posted 9 years ago but got a mere 10 likes me included, yet we can see dozens of comments posted ten hours ago with some witty line on a useless video, getting thousands of likes, sums up much of what you say by reflecting it upon our modern times. Sad truth is in these times many citizens were atleast somewhat informed on what was happening around them. Even far away from them at times. Now? Most people don't even want to look outside their own windows. The people have failed their government almost as much as the government has failed its people.

[@talkbackdoe7470]

"Listen here, you queer, stop calling me a crypto-fascist or I will sock you in your goddamn face, and you'll stay plastered" A prime example of civil discourse, from a Buckley vs Vidal debate.

[@billygowhoop]

There really isn't anything out there with the best political thinkers of both sides going head to head. If you ever see a debate on CNN or Fox, they always get idiots and weirdos to represent the opposing side.

[@BorisBoris-sl1sf]

@@SteveTheGhazaRooster It's not the fault of the media. The majority of people have always been crass and uneducated and frivolous, but were kept away from TV shows because there were standards of decency. Elitism, if you will. But your side believes that elitism is wrong. That the "real" Americans are the ones who can't string a sentence together and speak in low, grunting tones. So, you got what you always wanted. The real Americans have spoken and here we have the thrash you so abhor.

[@-HRH]

Astounding level of debate. This is back when people read books.

[@Martin-sp4zf]

This was back when some AMERICANS could read books, albeit explained by one out of the two of them, of the other being required to frequent Europe, to do so. The top spots in politics under the reigns of Nixon, Regan and others were not exactly festooned with talent and eloquence.

[@krisscanlon4051]

And wrote them too lol really wrote them lol

[@danielcavanaugh3590]

Pretty sure modern politicians still read books, its just that the image they are expected to take on and the ways they can manipulate people have changed.

[@Thatonecopypasta]

Now listen here you queer, stop calling me a crypto nazi, or I’ll sock you in your goddamn face, and you’ll stay plastered!

[@davidthompson62]

I’d like to know how many people have read anything by Vidal (in book form).

[@j1o1h1n1f32]

Mild mannered, calculated, well researched, debate about facts as opposed to conjecture. Two brilliant men who well articulate the English language. We need this today.

[@shakdidagalimal]

Ridiculous. It's just as goofy as the garbage we get nowadays. You're (and 16 others are)fooled by the polished Ivy League wordings.

[@apriore]

@@shakdidagalimal I think you are missing the point.

[@takuma359]

@@shakdidagalimaldo u wanna break down what they actually argued about or did you only listen to the accent and think “rich white men, must be wrong”

[@josephsauris4949]

Calculated, researched, yes. Mild-mannered, I dunno...

[@mattklein5498]

agree, but Vidal was far less fooled@@shakdidagalimal

[@pedrosolitario6532]

intellectual wrestlemania!!!!

[@boxer12350]

Still love this comment

[@yojoeski]

Not really, more like an NWA TV taping featuring Ric Flair (Vidal) vs George South (Buckley).

[@ForeverBennett]

Beautifully put, Pedro!

[@cohenkane2148]

The Super Bowl is on, I'm on this.

[@testertaster]

God damn could these guys detest each other any more?

[@boxer12350]

testertaster they could not

[@owiz9212]

Given the chance to kill each other and get away with it, they certainly would have.

[@AngusRockford]

Nope. Buckley was a bigot's bigot. A virulent anti-semite, a leading opponent of any and all civil rights for non-whites, and, of course, a vicious homophobe, which is darkly comic, because most people, especially modern conservatives, see him clearly as the self-infatuated, effeminate fop he was.

[@maggiesace389]

Cant blame WFBjr not liking nancy/nancys 1960s style WOKE, agenda.

[@mirusmedia]

I was 11 years old and watched every minute of this coverage. I loved it then and now.

[@pianobanter]

Richard J. McCollough, M.Ed. Have you seen the documentary film of the debates and the Vidal / Buckley relationship, “The Best Of Enemies”? It’s excellent.

[@mirusmedia]

@@pianobanter I saw previews of it, but did not get to the theatre to see it. I will look it up. Ironically, years before I wanted to do a documentary on them and that time in history. But the ones I am working on now will make up for it. They were much more intelligent on-air than many today.

[@jeff5102]

You must have been an admirable eleven-year-old.

[@michaelshier3956]

Both these guys were totally American. Those upper class accents are just amazing. Bring back the accents.

[@alb0zfinest]

Buckley was Irish

[@Thomaspoa]

@@alb0zfinest en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_F._Buckley_Jr.

[@MsFreshadenu]

@@alb0zfinest buckley was american

[@eddieperez9565]

That's because they're elites, the ones the right complains about.

[@angelinejohnson9511]

once upon a time, rhetoric and elocution were important topics of education.

[@paulstoker47]

Thank you for posting it, sir! Ah, those were the days...

[@TheHeraclion]

Gosh, how handsome was Gore then?

[@williamfarris2291]

TheHeraclion have you ever wondered what he looks like now?

[@geraldbaker4019]

@@williamfarris2291Not very appealing I’d say

[@xander7ful]

Vidal saw Welfare for the Rich in 1968! How very insightful and incisive of him to mention it! They do indeed spread the wealth around.

[@gojeda]

Presumably other people's wealth, not your own correct?

[@SagesseNoir]

Dr. King noticed that government funds for the rich are called subsidies, but less generous government funds to the poor are called 9wth disdain) "welfare."

[@nicholasgonzalez5982]

20 trillion dollars have been spent on welfare programs for the poor since LBJ. The poverty rate has flatlined. These social programs have been ineffective.

[@abrad755]

​@nicholasgonzalez5982 not sure if these figures include Medicare and Social Security. Social programs have been poorly funded, implemented and updated especially considering they are constantly under attack and in political gridlock along with minimum wage and corporate regulation. We've spent much more on corporate subsidies and the military. How productive have our military campaigns been since then? Why hasn't the net worth of the American working class kept up with corporate profits since we have no problem with corporate welfare?

[@aNewJesus]

@@nicholasgonzalez5982 Federal subsidies to U.S. businesses now cost American taxpayers nearly $100 billion a year; and that was in 1999. Fossil fuel industry alone has taken 7 trillion in subsidies. If all corporate welfare programs were eliminated, Congress would have enough money to entirely eliminate the capital gains tax and the death tax. Alternatively, Congress could cut the personal and corporate income tax by 10 percent across the board.

[@georgediederich2035]

What a great historical view of politics thanks SOO much for posting

[@carlmarston1687]

The camera on William Buckley makes him look like he’s in one of those funhouse mirrors

[@AaronBowley]

lol

[@dstyles8913]

looks like he has fetal alcohol syndrome

[@carlpen850]

Here we are almost 46 yrs later & nothing has changed except the names.

[@johndeluca298]

And the sexuality. Gore was clearly, at least to everyone but Vidal and that tot tapping Buckley kept his mouth "occupied" while boring everyone at Yale.

[@SagesseNoir]

One great change is that the intellectual level of conversation has dropped drastically over the past four or five decades. Can we able to sustain such a conversation nowadays.

[@SagesseNoir]

trha2222 Civility has suffered a general decline. But Conservatives have certainly not fared better as exemplars of civility. If general, they've generally not fared as well. And liberals have no monopoly on violence.

[@SagesseNoir]

trha2222 Most American terrorists--regardless of what the media suggests--are RIGHT WING and usually white. Liberals didn't start the birther movement. Liberals don't tend to affiliate with white supremacists and nationalists. Liberals don't form armed militias to terrorize their neighbors. In decades past it wasn't the liberals who formed lynch mobs, bombed churches, shoot dissident university students, or impose segregation by means of force. And Chris Hitchens was right when he noted that it was the LEFT who formed the black freedom movement of the 1960s and the movement for the rights of women. You don't have to romanticize liberals or other leftist to see that most violence and repression have come from the Right--and still does.

[@SagesseNoir]

trha2222 I've studies history and know what I'm talking about. By the way, your reply to my analysis--"pure bullshit"-- is an example of what I meant when I stated earlier that discussion or debate on the level of Gore Vidal and William Buckley is rare and barely possible today. Despite his snide, mocking manner Buckley would hat least have made some effort to reply to me with a REASONED rebuttal.

[@sfpdaniel]

I'm going to be laughing at the line, "good night and let me tell you!" all day

[@tiffsaver]

Vidal's comments regarding Nixon was pure prophesy... just look at history, the greatest test of any philosophy.

[@keefriff99]

tiffsaver Very true...Vidal sounds like a prophet here.

[@extremesplash81]

+tiffsaver And Buckley's regarding a black man using his race to absolve his wrongdoing sound prophetic also.

[@stephenjoiner3738]

Buckley prophetic? Cease your blasphemy!

[@stevencoardvenice]

tiffsaver And Buckley was for the Vietnam War. Conservatives shouldn't promote this guy as a great thinker when he's repeatedly on the wrong side of history. He's an articulate idiot. He just defends the powerful, defends the status quo and the interests of the american ruling class. Nothing original or courageous about him

[@sulfurousstench]

well said

[@johnmontgomery9100]

Brilliant debate. No matter who you agree with both men bring it.

[@syourke3]

It is hard to believe that American television once hosted two such passionate and articulate political commentators. Gore Vidal was a very popular guest on American talk shows for a while - but then the political spectrum moved far to the right and Vidal went from being a frequent television commentator to a TV non-person.

[@spahnranch69]

Thanks for providing this gem. I loved it. I think the reason why Buckley and Vidal disliked each other is because they both realized that neither one of them could intellectually defeat the other. Again, thanks very much for this!

[@ccaammiinniiito2]

@Spahn...How poetic!

[@gojeda]

+Thomas More You should probably elaborate on why you think Buckley was a homosexual. It is because you believe that Gore had a point when he said (paraphrasing) that humanity must be as gay as he is?

[@gojeda]

Ah, I see.......a "hunch". Well I should remind you what I said was that you should elaborate, not that you had to elaborate. I find your comments (and your claim) rather spurious, but considering you haven't offered anything substantive, I suppose it was the only kind of "drive-by" answer you could give. Suffice to say, the claim is malarkey. Of the countless words spoken or written about Buckley by his most strident enemies and closest friends, no one has ever made such a statement about the man. Aside from the fact that such a statement would be poorly received precisely because there is no evidence to support it, there wouldn't be much of a point to it even if it were true. Homosexuality did not make Gore a better person inasmuch it would have made Buckley a poorer one. So who else was gay, according to you? Teddy Roosevelt?

[@ccaammiinniiito2]

Thomas More I see no conservative today, except for George Will, who can keep company with William F. Buckley, Jr., who, along will, are exemplars of a classic education now long gone, except for a few prep schools such as the St. George's School in Newport, R.I., and a few others. And poor O'Reilly isn't even in the ballpark with either Vidal or Buckley. Say, more, excuse me if I've asked this question once before and have forgotten that I have asked it, but just how is it that Vidal is related to Jimmy Carter, of all people, however intelligent Carter is? I fail to discern a cultural connection as I do with his connection to the Bouvier family. Carter's not preppy at all.

[@ccaammiinniiito2]

Thomas More On the question of bigotry found in the Republican party, am I correct that conservatism on the continent is different from our local brand, that is, it isn't a cover for racism? One of Buckley's more admirable standouts is that he addressed bigotry by conservatives and moved the movement away from anti Semitism, at least, not so much for the black conservative. Is a conservative in Europe different from his American counterpart?

[@cemab4y]

I watch these two articulate men, and I keep thinking about Rush Limbaugh. Our political discourse has deteriorated.

[@mdesapio]

Charles Martin Oh come on - Limbaugh's style is not that of Buckley or Vidal, but he's far from inarticulate. How often do you listen to him?

[@geniusmchaggis]

Michael De Sapio never michael. never.

[@beasleybrother1]

These people knew how to speak and debate with civility. Not to stoke racial fears and prejudices

[@geniusmchaggis]

beasleybrother1 you should watch some of the early "firing line" episodes from the 60s here on youtube. they were very combative! they came out swingin!

[@beasleybrother1]

Limbaugh and Hannity and those types are notorious for stoking fears whether they be racial, socioeconomic, or anti-LGBT. If you don't think so, need to really take a hard look. These men didn't.

[@markgraczyk5600]

Fascinating debate. I consider myself a progressive, but always had grudging admiration for Buckley's intelligence and debating skills. Curious what he would have thought of the rise of Trump and today's brand of Republicanism. Vidal was also skilled, but a bit too arrogant for my tastes.

[@payasoinfeliz]

He would have loved Trump, as all fascists do. They always fall in line.

[@felixetienne-edouardpfeifl9996]

Interesting take on the two. To me, Buckley's manner is so pretensiously contrived, so overly theatric--beyond any normal expression of patrician manner--that he strikes me as especially arrogant, also evident in his posture within the chair. That said, I knew Vidal personally and can say he was far more arrogant personally than he is here (oddly enough)--I find him quite correct and civil here.

[@bobbypins1743]

@@westbatman66 bro you are a cartoon

[@blacksand357]

@@westbatman66 Allow me to present a bit of republican "what-aboutism" in the form of Miss Haley's on again, off again support for her former boss and the ever sinister Rick Scott openly denying his own proposals to sunset social security and medicare programs. Republicans are by far the most hypocritical as Vidal keenly pointed out a half century ago.

[@syourke3]

I think they’re identical twins separated at birth.

[@RikSchneider]

The ultimate debate when it comes to intelligence, wit and humor.

[@tonywilliams602]

Whatever you think of Gore Vidal, he had Nixon pegged from the beginning.

[@56squadron]

The worst thing about Nixon was the most liberal thing about him - His penchant for Keynesian economics, which he used to win an election, and which brought about the rampant inflation that destroyed industry, the american middle class, and which we have never actually recovered from.

[@marioarguello6989]

​@@56squadronIt's "funny" how the Masses Of Dumbasses believe he was "far right" when years clearly not.

[@tonysam1955]

Both Buckley and Vidal came from privileged backgrounds, but Vidal never went to college while Buckley made a big deal out of being educated in the Ivy League (Yale). Vidal was way smarter than Buckley.

[@stephenjoiner3738]

Vidal was a self-made intellectual. Buckley was artificially manufactured.

[@gojeda]

It is more accurate to say that Gore CHOSE not to go to college. I am not sure if that something to brag about, to be honest, given the highly privileged background Gore had (arguably more privileged than Buckley's). Either way, I fail to see your point unless you are trying to say that a collage education is just another elitist crime.

[@gojeda]

I forgot to add that if we are talking about demonization laced with subtle ad hominem attacks under a veneer of frustration and self-loathing anger, I would them agree with you that Gore's genius is superlative in the regard.

[@Zimx02]

@@gojeda As someone that actually has an education in logic and cringes at the misuse of the phrase "ad hominem" by self-serving pseudo-intellectuals, I can say that Gore Vidal is far more intelligent. This is why we can't underestimate a good education. Just because some people were privileged enough to not need one, doesn't mean that every Dunning Kruger Effect struck pretender can provide intelligent commentary.

[@roughhabit9085]

Anyone who uses the term Dunning Kruger needs a bullet . It’s funny that language can sound exquisite to some and dull to others. Personally I thought that Yale’s greatest ever debater was a cut above his very talented opponent on this occasion

[@llynfach]

Politics aside, I love both these chaps. I wish modern Americans still had accents like these.

[@tonyduncan9852]

Sorry - but one of them is quite detestable. And the other is Vidal.

[@TheClassicalConservative]

@@tonyduncan9852 Ok boomer

[@tonyduncan9852]

@@TheClassicalConservative Pre-boomer, if you like labelling _that_ much.

[@floydzeppland]

​@@tonyduncan9852 you were born before 1946?

[@tonyduncan9852]

@@floydzeppland By 2 yrs.

[@cruelsuit1939]

I'm so glad I lived long enough to see Gore Vidal proved right and William F. Buckley proved wrong. Vidal may have had an ego but Buckley made his own ego the center of his self-worshiping universe. The "conservatism" of Buckley and his ilk was the ideology of self-satisfaction and the bigotry that his kind was the end of human development.

[@williamfarris2291]

cruelsuit1 so what do you think now? 5 years latter?

[@docmagnus]

Vidal was an utter ass. As are you.

[@docmagnus]

Darin Preston Not an argument; a statement of fact.

[@docmagnus]

Charles Barnes Hilarious!

[@46dc9er]

Thank you OUTSTANDING !

[@troyadams19]

I nearly died when he said "The Jig is Up" was a headline about Powell.

[@definitiveentertainment1658]

Buckley looks EXACTLY like his Genie Impression from Aladdin here 😂

[@jake105]

Geez I'd forgotten about that.

[@yawdjin1737]

“A few provisos... “ Now I finally make the connection.

[@roughhabit9085]

“It seems to me that the Republican Party has shown a record of greater sobriety than Mr Vidal who boasts of not reading something that he’s prepared to misquote in the presence of the person who edits it “ God that was quick

[@apointofinterest8574]

@Rough Habit: No, Vidal does not read that "little magazine," but that doesn't mean he was not holding the exact quote from it in his hands. In fact, he was. When it did not suit his purpose, Buckley was known for denying what he had wrote or said. Vidal knowing that, came prepared, armed with quotes.

[@AntonyTheGod]

Oath. One of my all-time favourite cracks. Makes me laugh every time.

[@hotlunch4415]

It may have been quick, but given that it is not credible, he probably ought to have reconsidered it.

[@AntonyTheGod]

@@hotlunch4415 Mate, Buckley zapped him.

[@wally1452]

I watched this as many as 10 times I believe. Neither political party differs anymore but this program (my opinion) showed what Republicans are forever like and Democrats are no different now.

[@williamstearns7490]

A good wit and an articulate argument is very satisfying. Especially when it’s persuasive enough that it compels me to rethink or change my stance on a subject.

[@GoodWoIf]

I love how Vidal in style, tone, and background, appears at first to be exactly the kind of typical rich boy advocating for his class. But he's not, he cares about the poor, disenfranchised black people, and is angry about how the wealthy class and the republicans co-opts democracy for their own benefits. He knows the bullshit and calls it out directly. It's fantastic.

[@RavMan40]

YES !!!

[@tommym321]

Agree

[@andromedastar4900]

I admire Vidal a great deal for precisely that reason. He was born into wealth and privilege, into America's elite ruling class, but he never fit in to their society for a number of reasons, and he knew he was seen as a pariah both by the ruling Democrat elites his family was part of, and by neocons like Buckley (a big part of the reason Buckley hated him so much was because Vidal refused to hide in the closet like most other gay men of the time). He was unapologetic about who he was, even though he was constantly denigrated for it. He could think for himself, think outside the box, he had a genuine compassion, sensitivity, and intelligence. He came across as aloof, difficult to know and get close to, but if you knew about his upbringing and his experiences, you would understand why he was that way.

[@oroderosa]

@@andromedastar4900 very true

[@ninapeatrice9631]

Buckley had the facts.

[@bradpirochta9293]

A very polite cat fight.

[@Brooklyn3955]

My goodness how these two gentlemen speak!

[@scottrussell2281]

Articulate and well informed debaters are much needed today, though it seems with the public's short "give me the tag line" attention span, they are not wanted by the average person today. Sad.

[@cheriepeden7745]

Two rich guys debating the fate of the poor is just so hot.

[@splashpont]

This is a must see BEFORE the Presidential Primaries begin, every four years. (Preparing to watch Part 2!)

[@slowbro173]

Vidal's banter is impeccable

[@gorecassady1632]

Banter

[@samfacultad9669]

Impeccably disingenuous

[@Rockownz5150]

5:08 - 5:48 Nothing has changed in 45 years! NOTHING! Jesus Christ, this is depressing.

[@JohnnyTubeNYC]

$75 Billion spent on military budget. Chicken Feed compared to today's.

[@420JackG]

Back then 75 billion wasn't exactly chump change.

[@FknAzzMuncher]

16% of the total U.S budget is spent on military, which when you compare to other nations budgets, is more than reasonable.

[@sammcfadden3961]

Adjusted for inflation not really

[@ReallyGoodBadBoy]

How very interesting this to watch. Well Vidal and the Liberal vision for America has claimed a definitive victory in the 50 years since this happened. Entitlement spending has far eclipsed military spending, and absolutely nothing to show for it. The wealth divide is larger, the poor are relatively poorer, and Government has grown.

[@Hhoom-rc8le]

Seeing Americans complain about government is hilarious. So much wringing of hands but no desire to learn from success around the world. Greetings from Singapore

[@thomashahn631]

You mean the liberalism of Hillary Clinton and Ronald Reagan? We are still living in the post new deal world of the Reagan revolution. Vidal was neither a Democrat, nor a liberal.

[@nightowl5475]

Vidal had boxed Buckley in a corner with Buckley’s own words. It’s obvious Buckley was trapped by his own rhetoric and Vidal was brilliant in his direct approach. Vidal wins hands down!

[@nightowl5475]

@@westbatman66 What interview were you watching? The parallel universe interview??

[@thomashahn631]

@@nightowl5475 No, the one where Buckley said that both Nixon/Reagan were satisfied with his foreign policy views, and then Vidal reminds the audience that Buckley advocated for nuking North Vietnam, bombing China and invading Cuba. Buckley was desperately trying to parry that the final 3rd of the debate. When Buckley takes a tough debating blow he's grinning like the Cheshire cat.

[@alphadogstudio]

I miss this kind of intelligent debate.

[@samsca8529]

This was one snippet of the Buckley-Vidal weeklong coverage of the Republican primaries. They did a show ever day of the convention. This is the same coverage where Vidal and Buckley famously called each other a “crypto-nazi” and a “queer”.

[@mmgogre9973]

If you’ve not yet, you’ll see all but one of their debates (one video is two edited together) are available on this account.

[@eddiemaxblack]

Nothing has changed. The Republicans still serve a specific class; the corporate class. We still spend enormous amounts on the military... which simply serves the corporate sector. Black people are still very much disenfranchised. We're regressing... as far as wealth concentration is concerned. It's much worse today. We've a plutocracy.... whereas in '68 there were hints of a semblance of a democracy.

[@CHANgnsd]

And the Democrats still prey on dopes like you.

[@michaelcolello2735]

Being able to tell two-plus-two equals four denotes being 'preyed' upon?

[@TheBrainMachine78]

CHANgnsd Republicans don't give a shit about anything besides funneling money to the 1%. Broke as a joke right-wingers vote for this, over and over and over again. They define the useful idiot.

[@damac5136]

TheBrainMachine78 And Vidal just explained their game of crying crocodile tears that a brain-dead American public still has yet to pick up on going on fifty bleemin' years now. Owning the media is apparently the end game. Sad.

[@tiffsaver]

Edward Black Eloquently put.

[@gorecassady1632]

God I miss Gore Vidal

[@ccaammiinniiito2]

@juan...So do I. And you'll be amused, perhaps, that I'm watching an old classic called "Suddenly, last summer," starring Elizabeth Taylor, Montgomery Clift, and Kate Hepburn as Mrs. Venable and written by Tennessee Williams. Rounding out this cast is the wonderful Mercedes McCaimbridge. And to add to this lineup, the screenplay is by none other than Gore Vidal and Tennessee Williams himself, whose brother suffered from some exotic infirmity. Elizabeth Taylor gets first billing. But it's clear that the star of the show is Kate Hepburn, seconded by Montgomery Clift, a relationship similar to the one Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) has with a young character played by a youthful William Holden in "Sunset Boulevard."

[@gojeda]

+Jay Young He might be missed for his banter, but his screenplays, more times than not, were forgettable. Suddenly Last Summer was, arguably, one of the few successes (at least at the box office) though it was still panned by both critics and some involved with production of the film (beginning with Williams himself).

[@kathleengleason9805]

I do too he would have a field day talking about Trump that twat is just what smart minds feared

[@callmemurphz]

thanks for this..

[@jwake4803]

The political "pundits" we have today don't compare to these two. Who do we have now? Ben Shapiro? Anderson Cooper? Bill O'Reilly? Sad times.

[@nicholasgonzalez5982]

J Wake Ben Shapiro is good.

[@rosagorda]

This is the kind of debate that I love: civil and based on substance!

[@Tom-kt8lu]

Both catty old queens!

[@ronniebishop2496]

Nixon was very experienced, and very knowledgeable . In fact he’s one of the most qualified we’ve had in my 73 years of life.

[@FengLong]

As someone from the UK, I would find it so much easier to take Americans at all seriously if they still spoke like this instead of the farmer/bumpkin accents they all seem to have these days... Shame, really~

[@simianinc]

+FengLong Right, cos everyone from Essex speak like Oxford dons

[@Revelwoodie]

+FengLong It's called the 'Mid-Atlantic' or 'Trans-Atlantic' accent. I was considered the officially correct way to speak in this country for a long time, and was taught to children in schools. It began to fall out of favor over time, surviving mainly in private schools in the Northeast, and so eventually became associated with the upper class of the East Coast. That's probably why after WWII, it fell out of favor altogether and stopped being taught. I agree, it is an attractive accent, and I miss it. It survives now only at your great Aunt Martha's house lol, and in videos like this.

[@rolandtomassi3486]

Buckley is a witty man

[@beanie928]

Wow! Political pundits who really could get with it. Fascinating!

[@43nostromo]

William Buckley: "He was wearing my Harvard tie. Can you believe it? Like oh, sure. HE Went to Harvard..."

[@johnnypastrana6727]

Buckley went to Yale not Harvard.

[@tommym321]

Hahahahaha I got that reference

[@dennis3178]

In Philadelphia, it's worth fifty bucks...

[@sethkay382]

team VIDAL!!!!!!

[@TobinhoDiaz]

What's with the unusual framing used by ABC? Often the top half of the screen is empty.

[@michaelshier3956]

TobinhoDiaz early green screen

[@SLSAMG]

Buckley loves the sound of his own voice.

[@gordonbartlett1921]

Quite true. And that's why he seems the more more pompous -- if that's even possible.

[@jaywilson4520]

0:38 Buckley never looked better.

[@mohammadj.yeganeh5964]

Omg I laughed so much at that part!

[@PinkieFlamingo]

He is the best liar. Truth to power was Barry Goldwater, Arizona POTUS candidate v. JFK Goldwater was the next Teddy Roosevelt.

[@PinkieFlamingo]

"He" is the best liar and Vidal is the best truthtellrr. Lots of TV film on you tube as much fun. Go nutz.😊

[@leapevery4years52]

Vidal has the facts.

[@infinitejest441]

Buckley sounds like a Valley girl.

[@mrgu6883]

I wish this kind of debate would return to the USA

[@malter5800]

I like the sound of Gore Vidal's english.

[@mckernan603]

Malte R They both have the East-Coast "Mid-Atlantic" dialect that seems to have died out.

[@coreycox2345]

Was it a real accent @@mckernan603

[@mckernan603]

This podcast explains it well: slate.com/human-interest/2016/10/why-people-in-old-movies-talk-a-certain-way-on-lexicon-valley.html

[@colinmontgomery5492]

@@mckernan603 , 'Trans-Atlantic', not 'Mid-Atlantic'.

[@johnlewis1640]

Back when a debate was a real debate not just answering questions one by one.

[@GrandMasterFreshMpls]

What they say isn't terrible unique, as much of the debate and arguments they had are still going on to some degree today. However the way they talk, and relate to each other, is far more interesting I believe. Nobody talks like that anymore.

[@jereuter01]

"Passionate, but irrelevant." Priceless. Vidal pummels Buckley no end, but I can't help but wonder what today's Politifact would have found regarding many of their statements.

[@seanmoran1894]

How about the diminutive angle the producers shot Buckley? Buckley is shot low but Vidal is full screen.

[@gorecassady1632]

Thy look up to Buckley

[@Dingleberrycrunch36]

Man, imagine a time when people actually spoke like Frasier

[@freeman7296]

Their digs against each other are great.

[@PaulineTriage]

Vidal @ 4:46 - "Republicans are not a party, they're a class". BAM. Still so fucking true right now.

[@PaulineTriage]

D Kelly,Jr Did I say that? No, I did not. Both parties are imploding right now, we're all well aware of that.

[@gojeda]

The obvious response to Gore, which should have been made by Buckley, should have been... "As opposed to the Democratic Party being a farce, you mean?"

[@dsjump]

This is the miracle of prep schools. Buckley's father was a Texas oil wildcatter and Vidal's grandfather was an Oklahoma Senator. Vidal never even had to go to college to acquire that mid-Atlantic patrician accent. Both of them should be a-sayin's Garsh! Shazam! Whee Doggies, y'all. Pass the cornbread and okra! But no. They went to prep schools.

[@reverendbryan]

I have to wonder of the distortions on Mr Buckley's camera were intetional on the technition's part. Well played!

[@dennisstaughton7474]

rev.b No, he always had an oddly shaped head, a problem exacerbated by a dreadful comb-over. If the camera got too close, his pock-marked complexion was all you could see. Filming Buckley was a no-win situation.

[@coolmamac]

I miss these two.

[@CLASSICALFAN100]

WFB's & GV's finest hour. This is what they will be remembered for...

[@LethalBubbles]

buckley really is the breitbart of his day.

[@tcw865]

Thanks very much for putting these online - seems like you're the only person who has done so which is fantastic. In the playlist I see 8 debates all up but on the documentary and other articles it mentions there were 10 debates. Does anyone know where the other 2 debates can be seen or have I misunderstood? Thanks in advance.

[@mmgogre9973]

I’m not the one who uploaded these; but I am married to them. They can no longer access this account. Yes, there are 10 debates. One of the 8 here (Miami) is technically two debates; but is edited by ABC oddly and is unclear to those who don’t know that. The final 10th my spouse didn’t share as it is after the most famous of these debates and it is only a couple of minutes long. Vidal and Buckley are not interacting at one another at all. They were simply answering Howard K. Smith’s questions. Because there isn’t much there, he did not see to upload it.

[@tcw865]

@@mmgogre9973 Thanks heaps for explaining, good to know. Thoroughly enjoyed these! Have a good day.

[@grimeyg79]

"Every human feels greed except for you!" Tells you all you need to know

[@milart12]

I think its a tie..I wish current debates were as lively

[@leapevery4years52]

Buckley is so slimy, no grasp of the facts, just personal insults. And history shows he was wrong.

[@eusebiusthunked5259]

History shows what now? Vidal said he could never see Nixon as president. Buckley was correct about Nixon having the edge, but also about Reagan's strong showing. Which alternative history are you referencing?

[@56squadron]

@@eusebiusthunked5259 - Liberals have to be right... even when they are wrong. In fact, the wronger they get the more they double down on the rhetoric that they're right. Johnsons "great society" for example - an unmitigated, unparalleled disaster of the first order - Literal billions spent and poverty is at an all time high, the black community is in shambles, our inner cities death zones... and Carl Wellington thinks they were right.... He also probably thinks there are 17 sexes.... and you can be any one you want.

[@eusebiusthunked5259]

@@56squadron I guess many people do that, they attach their ego to their position and aren't willing to accept information contrary to their perspective. I'm not sure that Politicians of any stripe are a net positive when they divide society into factions, both the Left and the Right wings pursue this to advance their position at the cost of the nation. I don't know too much about Johnson's Great Society. But I do wish that Liberalism wasn't assigned to political Partisanship. I have some left wing views and some right wing views according to different people, but I generally reject that rhetoric. I identify as Liberal in the classic sense of protected individual rights and defined government roles, that maximizing general well-being is achieved by collectively supporting the Commonwealth in supporting the conditions for citizens to succeed. What do you believe was an example of a better alternative to the Great Society program? Was its implementation the problem, or did it have incorrect goals? And what would be ideal from your perspective?

[@McGarvinStudios]

Thank your for posting this! I love watching these two!

[@bernlin2000]

Wow a real debate....I miss those

[@djangst]

Buckley was as Vidal dubbed him: A Crypto-Fascist.

[@someguy4405]

Then as now, the intellectually lazy on the left associate conservatives with nazis because they know fascism has much stronger negative cultural connotations than socialism, they know many on the right are still capable of shame, and they themselves feel no shame whatsoever let alone for their associations with communism.

[@TbsDltn]

repubz normally are that bold & brash

[@dragonfly686868]

“I based my character on you, passionate and irrelevant” 😂 LOVE gore Vidal. We’ll never have anyone like him ever agn.

[@infinitejest441]

He was the George Carlin of his day

[@briandelaney9710]

That insanely bizarre appearance by Vidal on the BBC after Obama’s victory was more of an insight on his hateful character

[@dragonfly686868]

@@briandelaney9710 do you have the link? Would love to see what Vidal had to say about Obama.

[@kenoneill8783]

Where did you get this? Is it an original betamax or early VHS recording? Actually I doubt VHS was around then.

[@mmgogre9973]

Actually this copy was acquired by a member of Vidal’s family for family archival purposes and then shared here from that original copy.

[@Gabriel21733]

Subsidizing the rich? How timeless.

[@nauort23]

These two should have settled their differences between the sheets.

[@rsr789]

So did GW Bush... it doesn't say much. The Ivy League is severely overrated!

[@leoz2035]

Vidal was a legend.

[@rowenaburke4689]

Vidal IS a legend.

[@eddieperez9565]

Seems like things haven't changed much since the 60's....

[@apointofinterest8574]

"In your little magazine, whose name shall not pass my lips...which I do not read, but am told about."

[@ton_of_youtube1831]

Doubt it is true that Vidal never read the National Review but I get the sentiment. Vidal mentions between 7:05-7:15 a headline he read in the National Review, that headline being "The Jig is Up". And again Vidal mentions a National Review article between 10:10-10:18 concerning Ronald Regan's cutting programs for the poor as Gov. California.

[@apointofinterest8574]

@@ton_of_youtube1831 He didn't say he himself read the headline, much less the article. Gore simply asked: "What was one of the headings in the National Review when Adam Clayton Powell got nabbed? The headline was: The Jig is Up." Which fits with his earlier statement that he's only "told about" the magazine.

[@tonyesposito6048]

@@apointofinterest8574 Yes, I heard what he said. But that does not mean that’s what did. Like I mentioned, I “doubt” he really never read National Review. We may never know whether he did or not. But the point he was making/implying is that he did not like the magazine, it’s politics and the editor of it (WFB).

[@apointofinterest8574]

@@tonyesposito6048 It's plain that Gore Vidal never read the National Review, only that he was told about what was in it, or else that provocative headline was referenced elsewhere, and caught his attention. It's nice to be able to chat with the Chicago Blackhawk Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender.

[@roughhabit9085]

Vidal’s major beef with Buckley was that Buckley moved in higher social circles than him

[@yaserthe1]

Wow Gore Vidal could literally be saying exactly the same things today, and it still applies.

[@roughhabit9085]

If he’s dead he can’t literally be doing anything

[@parrisgjerde9212]

What a cush job! After your 2nd question, you just sit back, and watch the sparks fly for 15 minutes😂

[@Porkcfish]

I put all four of these on Plex so I could play it on my TV. You do not get this kind of entertainment anymore. The idea that intellectuals were celebrities must seem odd to a generation who cares about that vile Honey Boo Boo. Christopher Hitchens came close as he, too, was a very entertaining polemicist. Camille Paglia, too. You watch old Carson or Cavett clips and you get Capote, Mailer, Vidal, Chomsky... Those days are gone. We are a lesser nation for it, too.

[@SlimeOgre]

will be posting more videos soon. thank you for the comments

[@allblaall7551]

Now we have intellectual heavyweights such as joke tapper and hannitty

[@joseywales148]

You would have to be brain dead to watch either

[@PAPACHANGO56]

Gore Vidal (on 4 m./45 s.): "... somebody once pointed out: Republicans are not a party, they are a class... it is a class, by enlarge it is a class of small businessmen with very strong views..."

[@billygowhoop]

I could listen to both these guys read the phone book. Especially Buckley, his cadence and accent are just fantastic.

[@saintnetzari2210]

Gore Vidal is a socialist, while Buckley is the ultra-conservative, but Gore liked Nelson Rockefeller, very interesting.

[@matthewromano1198]

Saint Netzari Vidal was not a socialist, but he did have many socialist views. Nelson Rockefeller was a very progressive Republican.