Morality 180. In 1966, Hefner is interviewed by conservative William F. Buckley, Jr. on Firing Line. The Playboy founder is no match for the Catholic who snipes him at will with 'moral' bullets. The acerbic, dry Buckley is on attack mode with an equally conservative audience, in moral panic, behind him. Buckley, rather his opponent, has the flavor of the day. He posits a question on nudity and evolves the topic. Hefner picks it up and runs the gamut only for Buckley to 'cut the buffalo' at will. 47 years later, Buckley (who passed 2008) is the 'buffalo' and stands no chance defending 'morality' with the playboy. Morality has turned 180.

Words - Tommy Peters

PS: William F. Buckley Jr. (1925—2008) was the author and editor of over fifty works of fiction and nonfiction. The founder and former editor-in-chief of National Review and former host of "Firing Line," he was one of the intellectual leaders of the right from the 1950s until his death in 2008. His syndicated column, "On the Right," was begun in 1962. He served as a CIA agent in the early 1950s, helped found the Young Americans for Freedom in 1960, and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George H.W. Bush in 1991. His most recent work of nonfiction, Flying High, an appreciation of Barry Goldwater, was published by Basic Books in 2007.

(Advanced appreciation is rendered for materials used without express permission of persons depicted and/or of copyright owners)

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