“...I was a fan of Pat Buchanan’s for a few months. But it gradually became more and more evident that he was a nut case. In fact, I first began getting the clue when I had lunch with an associate editor of First Things around the time of the New Hampshire primary....”
Pat Buchanan is not a nut case.
It is true that he shares an anti-Israel bias that is actually commonly found among paleos of a certain age.
I grew up with such people and always split with them on the Israel matter.
But Pat is otherwise a brilliant guy who cares deeply about his country and has worked tirelessly for conservative causes including for Ronald Reagan.
He’s NOT anti-Semetic; he’s anti-Israel, which is quite a different thing. I do NOT agree with anything he says about Israel or our important relationship with them.
But this is just one matter among hundreds and on most of the others if not all he is brilliant and thought-provoking.
Of course he had no business running for president but that’s less his fault than it is the fault of our miserable electoral process that freezes out thinking people.
Whether they know it or not, today’s generation of conservatives owe Pat a lot for keeping the faith through many rough years and times.
Leave it to someone from the media to “convince” you that one of our best minds is a “nut case.” I worked most of my life in the media too. And Pat Buchanan has my complete respect except for a single issue. (And I wish I could say THAT about anyone running for president right now.)
True.