[sparklite2]

Tucker Carlson’s Fox show is akin to Firing Line without Buckley’s sanctimony. Just add a small audience and that’d do it, youngster.

[jobim]

In deference to your august age, I will be gentle.

Carlson's show is the best of its kind - I try to watch it every night.
But it is not at all the same format as Firing Line.

Tucker typically has half dozen guests, generally culled from events of immediate
interest. His show very much is a recap on world events as they are happening.

Buckley did no such thing. He chose guests well in advance, based upon their lasting
impact on the culture in some manner.

The tone he adopted was conversational and expansive, as one would adopt over dinner.
Despite diametric opposition of viewpoints in many cases, Buckley granted his guest the
dignity of hearing their views straight through, and gave the impression that he placed
value on this discussion, and on the person of the other.

Firing Line built upon the impression that there existed a "jetstream" of ideas that
hovered above daily discourse, and that to engage in them was a worthy and
enlightening enterprise.

Today's shows are strictly news shows, lacking any expansive qualities,
and incapable of inculcating a love of dialogue for its own sake.

Our loss.