On the Right

New York, May 9—On Saturday evening a week ago at the Waldorf-Astoria the Friars Club hosted a testimonial dinner for Henry Kissinger at which the luminaries were abundantly present, a jolly evening with, however, a note of strain. Because Mike Wallace was one of a dozen speakers, and on the following evening CBS’s 60 Minutes would feature a segment on the “Shah-Kissinger Connection.” Officials of all the networks were seated at the dais, and tribal loyalties are always an electrifying element even in circumstances primarily social. Bob Hope, who has recently been appearing with CBS, told the crowd: “I have a soft place in my heart for NBC. [Pause] Who else would pay $80 million for exclusive rights to a presidential boycott?” That is not the kind of thing that passes for humor at NBC on the eve of the Olympics.

CBS’s problem was imminent. The next night, the guest of honor, Henry Kissinger, would not appear on the 60 Minutes show to which he had been invited, an invitation which he had at first accepted. When it came his turn to speak, he made nice fun of the situation. When he learned that the episode was to be entitled “The Shah-Kissinger Connection,” he said, “I knew it would be a hatchet job: obviously I was getting second billing.” Roars from the audience.

About the Author

William F. Buckley Jr.

William F. Buckley Jr. founded National Review magazine in 1955.

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William F. Buckley Jr.

New York, May 9—On Saturday evening a week ago at the Waldorf-Astoria the Friars Club hosted a testimonial dinner for Henry Kissinger at which the luminaries were abundantly present, a jolly evening with, however, a note of strain. Because Mike Wallace was one of a dozen speakers, and on the following evening CBS’s 60 Minutes would feature a segment on the “Shah-Kissinger Connection.” Officials of all the networks were seated at the dais, and tribal loyalties are always an electrifying element even in circumstances primarily social. Bob Hope, who has recently been appearing with CBS, told the crowd: “I have a soft place in my heart for NBC. [Pause] Who else would pay $80 million for exclusive rights to a presidential boycott?” That is not the kind of thing that passes for humor at NBC on the eve of the Olympics.

CBS’s problem was imminent. The next night, the guest of honor, Henry Kissinger, would not appear on the 60 Minutes show to which he had been invited, an invitation which he had at first accepted. When it came his turn to speak, he made nice fun of the situation. When he learned that the episode was to be entitled “The Shah-Kissinger Connection,” he said, “I knew it would be a hatchet job: obviously I was getting second billing.” Roars from the audience.