Aug 24, 2009 05:56 PM
by James Panero
How could I not mention a post by Daniel McCarthy at Tory Anarchist that states: "I think theres more to be said for Paneros view than I allowed at the time." Alas, I hear this refrain all too often.
McCarthys comments comes out of a panel discussion I took part in last February on "The Enduring Legacy of William F. Buckley Jr," sponsored by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. The venue was the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington and my co-panelists were McCarthy of The American Conservative and Matthew Continetti of The Weekly Standard. The audio of the conference is now available below, and ISI has also posted a video at its website.
In the years after God and Man at Yale and McCarthy and His Enemies, both influenced by Willmoore Kendall, Buckley lavished a great deal of his energies on his more non-political pursuits. My desire at the conference was to take into account Buckleys novels and memoirs, along with his passions for sailing, skiing, and music, in understanding his legacy. Admittedly, my understanding of Buckley starts at the end of his life and looks back in. For our panel discussion, Daniel McCarthy began with the philosophy that informed the young Buckley and carried it forward. Both points of view are relevant. So allow me return the compliment above with my own observation: theres more to be said for Daniel McCarthys view than that I allowed at the time.
( AHR-mah wih-ROOM-kweh)
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