The Freeman 1972 - The Ludwig von Mises Institute

1972 CRUISING SPEED 187mented Buckley week began atBill's Stamford, Connecticut,seasidehome at ten o'clock on a Mondaymorning after a. newspapercolumn had been written and someroutine correspondence handled.The important thing is that onething provokes another even asBill is riding into Manhattan totape-record a couple of TV shows.Memories crowd until the bookbecomes as complex as the Buckleycharacter, which deceives manywho come upon it merely one aspectat a time. Yes, Bill Buckleycan be offensive to modern-dayliberals, as when he.sets down inhis list of accomplishments inWho's Who in America the factthat he founded the National Committeeto Horsewhip Drew Pearsonin 1967. Like any man of wit,Buckley outrages those who haveno wit at all. But witty outrage,with Buckley, procedes from a gorgeoussense of unmalicious fun.As Critics See HimUnlike a few polemicists whomI could mention, Buckley stays inthe kitchen not only because helikes to cook but also because hecan stand the heat. His sense ofeditorial honor does not permithim to hide anything, so he printsa long diatribe about his characterwritten by one Hank Levine, thechairman of the Party of the Leftof the Yale Political Union. Mr.Levine sees Buckley in terms of a"kind of silent leer-wince," which,whatever this may say about theLevine eyesight, indicates thatLeftist undergraduates at Yalecan be as tone-deaf as a mummy.What seems to Mr. Levine to bea superiority complex is, in a way,Mr. Buckley's way of overcominghis environment. He grew up with"liberals" to the left of him, to saynothing of .those who kicked himfrom behind and gouged him fromin front. (I recall defending BillBuckley years ago against acharge, made by an editor of awell-known "liberal" monthly, thatBuckley's National Review lackedhumor, which is about as idiotica criticism as could be made.) Billhad to rehabilitate wit among thewitless, to re-establish eleganceand finish in the arena of controversy,to bring tone and savor andcutting edge to our polemics. Hecould not have done this withouthaving had some theatrical sense.Underneath the showmanship isthe overmastering urge to instruct.A Becoming ModestyIt may seem strange to HankLevine, but Bill Buckley actuallycomes through in Cruising Speedas a person of most becoming modesty.He cail kid J. Kenneth ·Galbraith,who is his friend, but whenGalbraith tries, on the way to theski slope at the Rinderberg in