Gore Vidal

Last week the NYTimes devoted a full page for Gore Vidal's obituary. He was a prolific author and essayist - a literary lion who often roared. He was variously described as snobbish, aloof and did not suffer fools. He was also witty and urbane and loved the spotlight when it was on him. He feuded with Norman Mailer and Truman Capote but his most famous encounter was with William F. Buckley at the Democratic Convention in Chicago Summer 1968. They were both enlisted as commentators for ABC News and the network arranged a debate between them on the subject of the Viet Nam War with Howard K. Smith, a seasoned newsman, as moderator - and Howard K. got more than he bargained for as there was no love lost between the "combatants". During the exchange things got personal - Vidal called Buckley a crypofascist - Buckley call Vidal a "queer" and threatened to punch him in the face - and the cameras kept rolling.  I watched it in awe. 1968 was a difficult time for our nation - with the war dragging on - assassinations of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King - and with LBJ bowing out the Democratic Convention in Chicago was a wild scene. The local police engaged the war protesters and inside the hall the convention was underway when Abe Ribbicoff of Connecticut who was at the podium looked down at old Mayor Daley in the front row and castigated him for the actions of his police. Daley was furious - I couldn't read his lips - but NO ONE ever talked to him like that in his home town. (The Buckley vs Vidal exchange is on You Tube)
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