On most issues, I disagreed with his opinion. He had a nasty tendency to try to slip the verbal knife in and could achieve truly infuriating levels of smugness, but he was one of the last of the media figures remaining who could string words together with any style or grace. As he (and his more-frequent opponents) matured (and stopped trading Godwins and offers of a punch in the snoot), the spoken-word and written battles were a joy to behold, skill taken to the level of art.
He will be missed. None of today's 140-characters-or-less pundits is fit to hold his coat.
BUILDING A 1:1 BALUN
4 years ago
6 comments:
Certainly not a lot of vets around with actual combat experience...
I never forgave WFB for declining the punch.
AMEN!
He was a well-read collectivist who (in)famously accused Bill Buckley of being a crypto-nazi.
I won't miss him.
gfa
Obviously, my original, pre-coffee, comment was supposed to read "not a lot of pundits around with actual combat experience."
Indeed; had Buckley actually punched instead of merely threatening, Vidal would have preceeded him in death.
In the end, it is enough that he is dead.
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