# Sorry, Dad, I'm Voting for Obama



## jackmccullough (May 10, 2006)

by Christopher Buckley

Obama has in him—I think, despite his sometimes airy-fairy “We are the people we have been waiting for” silly rhetoric—the potential to be a good, perhaps even great leader. He is, it seems clear enough, what the historical moment seems to be calling for.

So, I wish him all the best. We are all in this together. Necessity is the mother of bipartisanship. And so, for the first time in my life, I’ll be pulling the Democratic lever in November. As the saying goes, God save the United States of America.


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## Relayer (Nov 9, 2005)

"The only reason my vote would be of any interest to anyone is that my last name happens to be Buckley—a name I inherited."

Actually, lefties notwithstanding, I doubt most will care at all how he votes. I know I don't.


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## Quay (Mar 29, 2008)

Christopher is being unusually modest. :icon_smile: It is quite something when a Buckley of the Sharon, Connecticut, Buckleys votes for a Democratic candidate. Perhaps not as weighty as all the Eisenhowers lining up to pull the Democratic lever, but still. 

Given all the people he's met and befriended over the years, it's good to note he sees much potential in Obama. It would be a nice change to have a President who actually bested expectations instead of burying them.


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## agnash (Jul 24, 2006)

*Interesting*

I found the third to the last paragraph the most informative. Buckley believes that Obama could be a great president, but only if he has the intellect to not be a Democrat.


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## 16412 (Apr 1, 2005)

Young Buckley dosen't understand the importance of morality and thinks gitting along and making life easier is better. The old Buckley spoke endlessly about morality. So, the young Buckley has totally missing the boat his father was on. 

Young Buckley is riding one his fathers coat tails and doesn't even know why the coat tails were so go to ride on.


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## hurling frootmig (Sep 18, 2008)

WA said:


> Young Buckley dosen't understand the importance of morality and thinks gitting along and making life easier is better. The old Buckley spoke endlessly about morality. So, the young Buckley has totally missing the boat his father was on.
> 
> Young Buckley is riding one his fathers coat tails and doesn't even know why the coat tails were so go to ride on.


When did we start thinking that 55 or 56 was young? :icon_smile_big:

Remember William F. Buckley refused to refer to George Bush as "President Bush". He instead referred to him as "Mr. Bush". Even Bill made it quite clear what he thought of a number of Republican "conservatives" who really weren't conservative as he defined it.


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## Dr.Watson (Sep 25, 2008)

Conservative generally equals Republican.
Republican does not always equal Conservative.

"Mr." Bush's fiscal policies proved that.


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## Orsini (Apr 24, 2007)

You can vote for Mickey Mouse for all I care. I got bigger problems...


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## DukeGrad (Dec 28, 2003)

*Obamma*

Gentlemen

It is their future. Need to respect this is my feelings. Right now it is dismal with the present situation.
God save the Queen

Nice day


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## Liberty Ship (Jan 26, 2006)

Looks like the acorn fell pretty far from the tree. What an elitist idiot.


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## Kav (Jun 19, 2005)

What I always came away from listening to William F. Buckley was a constancy. Agree or not, you better have your facts lined up before debating. Buckley never had to ; backpedal,flip flop, waffle or dance anyone's two step.He certainly never had to apologise.


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## hurling frootmig (Sep 18, 2008)

I certainly did not always agree with Buckley but I respected him for the way he carried himself and the way he treated those with whom he disagreed during a debate.


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## M6Classic (Feb 15, 2008)

Kav said:


> What I always came away from listening to William F. Buckley was a constancy. Agree or not, you better have your facts lined up before debating. Buckley never had to ; backpedal,flip flop, waffle or dance anyone's two step.*He certainly never had to apologise*.


Except, perhaps for backing Southern segregationists in the late 1950s and for his dogged support for Senator Jospeh McCarthy.

Buzz


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## Kav (Jun 19, 2005)

M6, certainly those are two things you and I would seek an apology for. But he was a man of his times and not ours, or the 'victors' of history. Our descendants may look at things we did in a similar vein.
I think we sometimes need a higher ground.Call it forgiveness or the necessity of moving forward instead of becoming stuck looking back to often. 
Buckley was an interesting man, no doubt and worth reading.


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## Thom Browne's Schooldays (Jul 29, 2007)

Chris Buckley is a damn fine and genuinely hilarious writer.

I've probably read more about WFB than by him, but I do remember seeing him on some low-budget Hoover institution TV show where he admitted error in his position of civil rights, and (I thought oddly) expressed regret over his position on Vietnam.


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## M6Classic (Feb 15, 2008)

Kav said:


> M6, certainly those are two things you and I would seek an apology for. But he was a man of his times and not ours, or the 'victors' of history. Our descendants may look at things we did in a similar vein.
> I think we sometimes need a higher ground.Call it forgiveness or the necessity of moving forward instead of becoming stuck looking back to often.
> Buckley was an interesting man, no doubt and worth reading.


He actually did apologize for having espoused those positions. During the Nineteen-Fifties, many people realized that segregation and Joseph McCarthy were rank evils of their times, we did not have to wait several decades to reach that conclusion. Neither should have Buckley.

Buzz


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## Kav (Jun 19, 2005)

Remember the example of the two thieves on the cross with Jesus? 
In one of the apocrypal books are some stories of Jesus growing up in Egypt during his 'lost years' before teaching. His family were siezed by bandits. 
The bandit chief soon realised they were even poorer and only worth selling into slavery.
But he relented and shared the meager provisions with them instead.
He freed Jesus and family and went looking for wealthier victims with his gang.
The story is that bandit leader was the good thief on the cross .


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## M6Classic (Feb 15, 2008)

Kav said:


> Remember the example of the two thieves on the cross with Jesus?
> In one of the apocrypal books are some stories of Jesus growing up in Egypt during his 'lost years' before teaching. His family were siezed by bandits.
> The bandit chief soon realised they were even poorer and only worth selling into slavery.
> But he relented and shared the meager provisions with them instead.
> ...


To be honest with you, stories about Jesus are not in my cannon and I am not sure what this story says about the Family Buckley. Nonetheless, Bill Buckley supported reprehensible positions early in his career, even when others had already identified them as evil. It is good that he later acknowledged his errors, but by his own later confession he had been egregiously in error.

Buzz


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## Kav (Jun 19, 2005)

I've got rocksalt in my cannon, a 1/4 scale Napolean from Dixie Gun Works.
If the scientologists ever come back I'm ready. 
But Buckley isn't coming back. We have his writings, his life. We can't rewrite either, just live ours by example a little better, if possible.


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## yachtie (May 11, 2006)

Mmmm... socialism... soooo enticing- just like rat poison..


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## the law (Sep 16, 2008)

yachtie said:


> Mmmm... socialism... soooo enticing- just like rat poison..


Yup! He's going to "spread the wealth around."


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## M6Classic (Feb 15, 2008)

yachtie said:


> Mmmm... socialism... soooo enticing- just like rat poison..


Good Lord! The right wing hasn't seen so many socialists lurking on every corner since the death of Westbrook Pegler! I guess that all the gun people who carry concealed fire arms in the defense of liberty had better get out on patrol! Don't forget to look for the commie under your bed.

Buzz


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## Kav (Jun 19, 2005)

All you bourguisie will surrender your ties ( you may keep solid red ones) for equal distribution to the proletariat.


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## eagle2250 (Mar 24, 2006)

Should a child of mine ever come home uttering such a nonsensical proclamation, the little miscreant would be disowned...written out of the will, I say! Certain transgressions are simply inexcusable.


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## Quay (Mar 29, 2008)

eagle2250 said:


> Should a child of mine ever come home uttering such a nonsensical proclamation, the little miscreant would be disowned...written out of the will, I say! Certain transgressions are simply inexcusable.


Do you suppose this could have been what killed WFB Jr? I know he'd been in dodgy health for years but I'd suspect that Christopher bounding into his untidy but wonderful converted-garage study announcing this could have finally done him in.

If so, good thing for Christopher that his father had no time to alter his last will. I could see Agatha Christie making something of all this. Or perhaps a self-help book like "Obama Killed My Father and I Got Rich! And you can too!"


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## Laxplayer (Apr 26, 2006)

M6Classic said:


> Good Lord! The right wing hasn't seen so many socialists lurking on every corner since the death of Westbrook Pegler! I guess that all the gun people who carry concealed fire arms in the defense of liberty had better get out on patrol! Don't forget to look for the commie under your bed.
> 
> Buzz


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## Terpoxon (Sep 28, 2006)

M6Classic said:


> He actually did apologize for having espoused those positions. During the Nineteen-Fifties, many people realized that segregation and Joseph McCarthy were rank evils of their times, we did not have to wait several decades to reach that conclusion. Neither should have Buckley.
> 
> Buzz


Does your criticism of those that supported McCarthy extend to the Kennedys?

https://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/progjfk2.htm


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## M6Classic (Feb 15, 2008)

Terpoxon said:


> Does your criticism of those that supported McCarthy extend to the Kennedys?
> 
> https://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/progjfk2.htm


Absolutely...Kennedy, Nixon, all of them.

Buzz


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## Kav (Jun 19, 2005)

Somewhere in Germany an elderly Luftwaffe pilot sits with his grandchildren. I critic him in this purge. He failed to get 'tail gun Joe' over Freidrickshaven.


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## Quay (Mar 29, 2008)

And now Christopher has left National Review, amidst much ugliness and anger from those who oppose his decision to vote for Senator Obama.

https://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/14/buckleys-son-leaves-national-review/


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## super k (Feb 12, 2004)

I don't go to my tailor for shirts, my shirtmaker for suits, or Chris Buckley for opinions.


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## Joe Frances (Sep 1, 2004)

And as soon as his tax hikes come into effect we might as well kiss this forum good by, because with the loss of large amounts of disposable income, the venerable names in clothing manufacturing and sales will go out of business. Once it's all Today's Man we won't need Ask Andy's any more.


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## 16412 (Apr 1, 2005)

super k said:


> I don't go to ...., or Chris Buckley for opinions.


What do you go to Chris Buckley for?



> And as soon as his tax hikes come into effect we might as well kiss this forum good by, because with the loss of large amounts of disposable income, the venerable names in clothing manufacturing and sales will go out of business. Once it's all Today's Man we won't need Ask Andy's any more.


Sometimes the way Obama talks I think he will be way worse than Jimmy Carter. Unemployment and soup lines are going to be way longer. The Democrat motto, "We like to help poor people, so lets make lots of them."


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## TMMKC (Aug 2, 2007)

Other than being WFB's son, I never felt that Christopher Buckley was any type of Republican standard bearer. If you've ever read much of his work, his endorsement of Obama isn't really all that surprising...at least to me.


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## jpeirpont (Mar 16, 2004)

A thinking conservative finally. Honestly the appointment of Palin alone would have made me leave the GOP, if I didn't four years ago.


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## Relayer (Nov 9, 2005)

It's one thing to see reasons to leave the Republicans. There are several sufficient if there was another conservative party available. 

But, (for Buckley) to go over to Obama on a hope and a prayer (secular, of course) that his "temperament" and "intellect" will cause him to govern as a conservative, despite the fact that his entire career, as brief and scant as it is, has shown him to be the very opposite of conservative... terribly foolish thinking (or, perhaps, disingenuous).


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## TMMKC (Aug 2, 2007)

jpeirpont said:


> A thinking conservative finally. Honestly the appointment of Palin alone would have made me leave the GOP, if I didn't four years ago.


This column is somewhat germane to the thread: https://www.kansas.com/205/story/561317.html

It sums up some (but not all) of the reasons I left the GOP and became and Independent. Or rather...did the GOP leave me?


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## Terpoxon (Sep 28, 2006)

This article is a joke. It completely ignores the demographic changes in cities that caused the shifts and instead blames it on Republican strategy. Ad hoc ergo propter hoc arguments are logical fallacies last time I checked.


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## Quay (Mar 29, 2008)

TMMKC said:


> This column is somewhat germane to the thread: https://www.kansas.com/205/story/561317.html
> 
> It sums up some (but not all) of the reasons I left the GOP and became and Independent. Or rather...did the GOP leave me?


Great opinion piece, TMMKC. Thanks for posting it. :icon_smile:


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## Kav (Jun 19, 2005)

" I didn't leave the Democratic party. They left me."- Ronald Reagan. Like the thread on restaurant dress codes, WE hold THEM to our standards, not vs a vs.


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## a4audi08 (Apr 27, 2007)

Joe Frances said:


> And as soon as his tax hikes come into effect we might as well kiss this forum good by, because with the loss of large amounts of disposable income, the venerable names in clothing manufacturing and sales will go out of business. Once it's all Today's Man we won't need Ask Andy's any more.


Yes, we know what happened the last time the top marginal rate was at 39.6%. This country damn near imploded right? Who can forget the mid to late 1990s, when Brooks Brothers, J.Press and Ben Silver had to close their doors because of the "loss of large amounts of disposable income."


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## Mike Petrik (Jul 5, 2005)

a4audi08 said:


> Yes, we know what happened the last time the top marginal rate was at 39.6%. This country damn near imploded right? Who can forget the mid to late 1990s, when Brooks Brothers, J.Press and Ben Silver had to close their doors because of the "loss of large amounts of disposable income."


I agree that a 39.6% rate is not quite confiscatory, and it is unlikely that it alone will really cause the demise of high end retailers. Who will be most hurt will be charities. Higher tax burdens do translate into diminished charitable giving. If one's taxes go up $30K, then one's appetite to give to charity often goes down accordingly.


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## Mike Petrik (Jul 5, 2005)

TMMKC said:


> This column is somewhat germane to the thread: https://www.kansas.com/205/story/561317.html
> 
> It sums up some (but not all) of the reasons I left the GOP and became and Independent. Or rather...did the GOP leave me?


David Brooks: the most conservative columnist at the NYT; which of course is akin to being the tallest building in Green Bay, Wisconsin.


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## Relayer (Nov 9, 2005)

a4audi08 said:


> Yes, we know what happened the last time the top marginal rate was at 39.6%. This country damn near imploded right?


Unfortunately, it's not just about the top income tax rate (though, that will contribute). Add in additional soc sec tax, higher capital gains tax, and higher prices due to increased corporate taxes.

Implosion? Who knows. Overall damage? May be significant.


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## Terpoxon (Sep 28, 2006)

Mike Petrik said:


> I agree that a 39.6% rate is not quite confiscatory, and it is unlikely that it alone will really cause the demise of high end retailers. Who will be most hurt will be charities. Higher tax burdens do translate into diminished charitable giving. If one's taxes go up $30K, then one's appetite to give to charity often goes down accordingly.


So you are fine with working 2 days a week just to pay the government? I think medieval serfs had a better deal.


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## Beresford (Mar 30, 2006)

Terpoxon said:


> So you are fine with working 2 days a week just to pay the government? I think medieval serfs had a better deal.


Why, it's not that bad!! Some of us are now working seven days a week, instead of five, to make ends meet. So the government is only taking 2/7 of our income!!

Oh wait, maybe I did the math wrong and it's three out of seven?

Ahh, now I know why I have to work seven days a week.


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## Howard (Dec 7, 2004)

Beresford said:


> Why, it's not that bad!! Some of us are now working seven days a week, instead of five, to make ends meet. So the government is only taking 2/7 of our income!!
> 
> Oh wait, maybe I did the math wrong and it's three out of seven?
> 
> Ahh, now I know why I have to work seven days a week.


I work 4 days a week with two days off.


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## jpeirpont (Mar 16, 2004)

Relayer said:


> It's one thing to see reasons to leave the Republicans. There are several sufficient if there was another conservative party available.
> 
> But, (for Buckley) to go over to Obama on a hope and a prayer (secular, of course) that his "temperament" and "intellect" will cause him to govern as a conservative, despite the fact that his entire career, as brief and scant as it is, has shown him to be the very opposite of conservative... terribly foolish thinking (or, perhaps, disingenuous).


And how would it be better to place cleary unqualified people into a leadership position in this country?


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## Quay (Mar 29, 2008)

Follow-up to the OP: more on Christopher Buckley and his difficult if liberating decision (with some clothing commentary, no less):

https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/19/fashion/19buckley.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=all


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