ExcerptHoward Hunt Was Buckley’s Deep ThroatOne of the masterminds of the Watergate break-in, Hunt confided in his friend, the conservative icon, leaving Buckley the journalist uncomfortably compromised.Alvin S. Felzenberg
SAT to OED: Drop DeadWhy Are We Dumbing Down the SAT?America’s college entrance examine wants to do away with difficult vocabulary. Stefan Beck
PolymathBill Buckley Gets Bigger Over TimeBiographer Sam Tanenhaus calls him the architect of modern conservatism and the inventor of the TV debate format. Yet today generations have no idea who Buckley was.Scott Porch
PUNDITRYThe Birth of the Political Divide This exclusive clip from the documentary ‘Best of Enemies,’ about the famous ’68 debates between Buckley and Vidal, explains how America became separated along political lines. Jen Yamato
Harsh WordsWhy Did Vidal & Buckley Hate Each Other?The liberal and conservative titans famously tore into each other in an ABC confrontation in 1968. A brilliant documentary reveals that flashpoint's bitter legacy--both personal, and for punditry in general.James Kirchick
WASP FIGHTVidal vs. Buckley Paved the Way for 2016In the 1960s, Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley were having the same political arguments we’re having today—and had a lot more fun making them. Gail Sheehy
GENTLEMEN! Behind the Fiery Buckley/Vidal Debates Vidal called Buckley a 'crypto-Nazi' and Buckley threatened to ‘sock you in your goddamn face.’ The Sundance documentary ‘Best of Enemies’ goes inside the famous feud. Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville
Quit Redefining ConservatismAs CPAC continues its right-wing celebration this weekend, The Daily Beast’s Christopher Buckley (politely) takes on his first cousin, Brent Bozell III, and the other signers of the Mount Vernon Statement, for trying to redefine conservatism by updating his father’s original manifesto—when all they’re really doing is bashing Obama.Christopher Buckley
Chris Matthews on the Buckley MystiqueThe MSNBC host celebrates Christopher Buckley’s lively tribute to his parents—and says Losing Mum and Pup answers JFK’s key question about biography: What were they really like?Chris Matthews
Remembering William F. Buckley, a Year LaterFrom Palin and Blago to the trillion-dollar stimulus, if only we could know what he would make of all this.Christopher Buckley
