William F. Buckley endorses Kerry???

[Craig Roberts]

Visiting National Review online, I found this recap of the debate by the venerable William F. Buckley Jr. Very interesting piece. He’s being as oblique as he can, but I think we can add him to the list of conservatives who are increasingly appalled by Bush’s Iraq policy. In fact, it almost sounds like a backhanded endorsement of Kerry by the final lines:

"President Bush does not have an easily saleable vision of what to do with that cursed dilemma. It transpires, gradually, that we are relying on the Iraqi people to effect their liberation, because we simply aren't up to it.

And Kerry was there to say: Let me try it, I'm somebody else. And that got a lot of people to opine that that is a winnable program."


And is it me, or is his opening paragraph completely irrelevant to the rest of his assessment? Is it only there to camouflage the rest of the piece? Maybe I’m reading too much into it…

http://www.nationalreview.com/buckley/buckley200410011418.asp

[elperromagico]

1. I wouldn't go that far, but a lot of your typical Bush supporters

were dismayed and disappointed by Bush's performance in the debate on what is his strongest issue with the American people.

Buckley appears to be among them.

[Julien Sorel]

2. It's a backhanded swipe at Kerry, and a direct swipe at Bush.

Buckley is erudite scum, perhaps a level above George Will on the moral food chain, but that's not saying much.

[Craig Roberts]

5. Explain

How is it a backhanded swipe at Kerry? He says some critical things about Kerry, but he is explicit about them. And in the end he seems to be suggesting that Kerry has established himself as a credible, if vague, alternative to hopeless Bush.

[Julien Sorel]

7. Here,

No no. Mr. Kerry reminded us, lest we have forgotten it in the 15 minutes that have gone by since last he referred to it, that he knew what it was to fight for his country inasmuch as he had done so.

and here,

Mr. Bush attempted here and there to challenge any soft assumptions encouraged by this vague agenda.

and most importantly, here,

And Kerry was there to say: Let me try it, I'm somebody else. And that got a lot of people to opine that that is a winnable program.

"I'm somebody else" isn't a program, winnable or otherwise.

[Craig Roberts]

9. I don't know

I don't expect Buckley to be happy about the prospect of Kerry as president, and I'm not suggesting he is suddenly excited about him. It just seems to me the gist of the article is that what little Kerry might be offering is more attractive than what Bush has to offer, at least with regard to Iraq.

[Julien Sorel]

20. It's possible.

It's probable that that's about as "vociferously," to borrow a word from our pedantic president, as Buckley gives out praise, especially in the environs of NR. Like most "pundits," Buckley is much more liberal with insults than kind words.

[arewenotdemo]

18. Buckley and Will in the same sentence. Think I'm agonna

:puke:

[speedoo]

3. Like any true conservative, Buckley has to be appalled by shrub.

The coWard has broken virtually every rule in the conservative playbook.

[RoyGBiv]

4. Buckley is hard to judge ...

He has unconventional opinions. (He's in favor of the legalization of marijuana, for example.) He's a conservative, and hard-core one at that, on many issues, but he also happens to be brilliant, so he doesn't present the standard mix of steaming BS and bile that most conservatives do.

So, I dunno. I don't try to second-guess him very often. I disagree with him a lot, but I do so while realizing he's not generally offering a position based in shallow rhetoric. There's enough subtext in that article it could take significant effort to deconstruct it fully.

[Craig Roberts]

6. Hm

I've seen him write brilliant stuff, and I've seen him write stuff I thought was rather silly. Like George Will he is great when he maintains his intellectual rigor, but can get a bit hysterical at times.

I agree it is a subtle article with a subtext that needs to be evaluated. What do you make of his opening sentence? He seems to acknowledge the right-wing spin on Kerry's victory and then subtly dismiss it in the next paragraph. The whole article seems a softly-spoken refutation of the right-wing effort to spin Kerry's victory as somehow fake, false, or undeserved.

[RoyGBiv]

10. Buckley is a writer ...

And a damn good one. As a good writer, he understands his audience and how audiences in general interpret information. In particular, he knows that what's presented first will be what is best remembered. So, he put that sentence up front to make sure it was remembered. Why he wants it remembered is the question. With that in mind, it seems as though he wants to keep the idea of "liberal bias" in the media at the forefront as his readers follow along and to contrast it to his own, more reasoned opinion. Buckely is also in competition with people like Limbaugh.

Now, having said that, I'd be more confident in my interpretation if this were someone other than Buckley. He's tricky. A good writer also knows that one can present information up front so that it serves as a constant contrast to whatever point he or she is really trying to make. In that case, the author is only trying to emphasize the information in order to point to its absurdity. Or maybe that fits with the competition theme. Limbaugh may have been right, but for the wrong reason. Here ... listen to me. I have the correct answer.

Still, I honestly don't know what Buckley thinks on this. An assessment by another respondent seems on the mark. It's a back-handed compliment of Kerry and a direct swipe at Bush. A lot of conservatives -- and it wouldn't surprise me in the least if Buckley is among them -- think Bush is throwing away the ballgame with his incompetence. They support his goal, but think his methods are bad.

[Craig Roberts]

12. Well

The article surprised me. George Will has written some pieces VERY critical of Bush's war in Iraq, but I never expected Buckley to write an article like this. Regardless of whether he is quietly endorsing Kerry, he obviously has no use for Bush's distortions about the situation in Iraq. I believe he makes that clear, at least.

[arewenotdemo]

21. Yeah, Bow-Tie did finally start to yap

when the shit hit the fan in Iraq and it became fashionable to do so. Before that, though, he was ALL cheers and pom-poms.

And his criticism arose from his fear that we weren't prepared to kill enough Iraqis:

"It is too late for debate about being in Baghdad. And the (relatively) pretty phase of empire -- the swift dispatch of an enemy army -- is over. Regime change, occupation, nation-building -- in a word, empire -- is a bloody business. Now Americans must steel themselves for administering the violence necessary to disarm or defeat Iraq's urban militias, which replicate the problem of modern terrorism -- violence that has slipped the leash of states."

Will was born 60-70 years too late for his real calling.

[yardwork]

8. I never know what the hell Bill Buckley is trying to say

Some time ago I read some of his spy novels, though, and his view of the world is about as neocon as it gets.

[Craig Roberts]

11. I never knew Buckley wrote spy novels. How... plebeian.

[RoyGBiv]

13. Spy Novels ...

If I am remembering things correctly -- I made a study of Buckley for reasons I don't even remember now, but it was awhile ago -- writing fiction, particularly those kinds of novels, is his real love. Politics paid the bills.

[yardwork]

15. His novels are a rip-off of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels

(If it is possible to rip off something that is already hackneyed.) The protagonist is somebody named Blackie (can't remember his real name) who is obviously a fantasy-figure of what Buckley would like to be - a dashing, athletic, brilliant superspy who get sent by the CIA to assassinate people who might spread communism. Blackie assassinates them with a heavy heart, though, as they are usually kind, intelligent, artistic commies, but commies nonetheless. Blackie's wife reads Jane Austen novels. She has no other identifying characteristics. Gorgeous but evil women are always throwing themselves at Blackie, but he generally stays true to Ms. Stay-at-home-Austen-fan, IIRC.

[Craig Roberts]

16. Ok, I'm sold

I have to read at least one of these things.

[arewenotdemo]

19. Thank you

The more I know about Buckley, the more there is to despise.

[Eric J in MN]

14. My interpretation is that he's sayng maybe we should give

someone else, such as John Kerry, a chance to try to manage the situation in Iraq.

[Craig Roberts]

17. Yes, that is what I get out of it.

Although RoyGBiv's caution is probably well-advised.