He was the delight of the 1965 New York City mayoral race when he ran a campaign mixing puckishness and sophisticated policy proposals as the Conservative Party candidate. Yet his most notable role has been that of maestro of the word, both written and spoken. His books will be read long after he assumes room temperature. The writing is grand. Unfortunately, it is Bill's spoken words that are now in danger of being lost.
Most words uttered to an audience expire the night they are uttered.
So much the better for most of the mediocrities who speak publicly in America nowadays. But Bill's lectures have been composed with great care and spoken with a fine sense of drama. His debates have been even better, especially when they were with such bright prestidigitators of the Left as John Kenneth Galbraith. The Heyday of those debates was in the 1960s, when Liberalism's intellectual and political possibilities were still arguable, and when Liberalism's proponents were still vigorous and disciplined in their thought. That was long ago, and no heirs to Galbraith ever replaced him.