RE: I got to see him destroy gore vidal live...
He once threatened to punch Vidal in a debate ( ON LIVE TV no less ) for calling him a crypto-Nazi.
From ABC News, August 28, 1968:
Vidal: “the only pro or crypto-Nazi here is yourself.”
Buckley: “Now listen, you queer, you stop calling me a crypto-Nazi or I’ll sock you in the goddamn face and you’ll stay plastered.”
I wonder if Buckley would have been suspended for making that statement today...
WATCH IT HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYymnxoQnf8
I saw it back then! Best TV of my life!