In the summer of 1968 television news changed forever. Dead last in the ratings, ABC hired two towering public intellectuals to debate each other during the Democratic and Republican national conventions. William F. Buckley Jr. was a leading light of the new conservative movement. A Democrat and cousin to Jackie Onassis, Gore Vidal was a leftist novelist and polemicist. Armed with deep-seated distrust and enmity, Vidal and Buckley believed each other’s political ideologies were dangerous for America. Like fighters in a heavyweight battle, they doled out policy and personal insult, their explosive exchanges devolving into vitriolic name-calling. Live and unscripted, their debates kept viewers riveted. Ratings for ABC News skyrocketed. A new era in public discourse was born.
EYE ON A CRAZY PLANET
Monday, August 3, 2015
Best of Enemies: A new documentary about the William F. Buckley vs. Gore Vidal TV debates
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