(CNN) - No, hell has not frozen over, but a Buckley is backing a Democrat for president.
Christopher Buckley, the son of the late conservative icon William F. Buckley, said Friday he's decided to back Barack Obama's White House bid, the first time in his life he will vote Democrat.
“It’s a good thing my dear old mum and pup [sic] are no longer alive. They’d cut off my allowance," Buckley, a columnist for the conservative National Review, wrote on the Web site The Daily Beast Friday.
Buckley, who praised McCain in a New York Times Op-Ed earlier this year and defended the Arizona senator's conservative credentials against wary talk-radio hosts, said McCain is no longer the “real” and “unconventional” man he once admired.
"This campaign has changed John McCain," Buckley wrote. "It has made him inauthentic. A once-first class temperament has become irascible and snarly; his positions change, and lack coherence; he makes unrealistic promises, such as balancing the federal budget 'by the end of my first term.' Who, really, believes that?
"Then there was the self-dramatizing and feckless suspension of his campaign over the financial crisis," Buckley added. "His ninth-inning attack ads are mean-spirited and pointless. And finally, not to belabor it, there was the Palin nomination. What on earth can he have been thinking?"
But Buckley made clear he's not just voting against McCain, praising Obama for his "first-class temperament and first-class intellect."
"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," Buckley wrote.
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Welcome home, Sir!
Next in line to endorse Barack Obama....Rush Limbaugh.
Yes We Can!
Go Barack and Roll!
Wow, the beginning of the end for the McCain ticket. Nice to see someone speak real about this race and the issues confronting ALL Americans. Once of the reasons this country is so great and has a long and bright future ahead of it.
Many of the smartest and brightest Conservatives have been in print about the outrageous conduct of this Republican candidate. His judgement about Sarah Palin was first thought to be wise, but when the facts came out about her and she began to be interviewed. He has tried to take both sides of every position....making a fool out of himself. Now is is down to lies and smears, something he pledged not to do after his 2000 campaign. I miss the old mavrerick MCCain.
Today we are left with a bitter Rove type campaign. With the economic issues of today, the American people want and are due more!!!
Airy-Fairy?
Doesn't
"He is, it seems clear enough, what the historical moment seems to be calling for"
Sound alot like,
"We are the people we have been waiting for"
Either way, welcome to the winning party Sir. We look forward to pulling up our sleaves with you and working towards restoring the American promise back to our people.
This is a great day. I know that many people see that Obama is a great leader. I have complete confidence that this will be a landslide election. We are waiting to celebrate the victory!!!
Wow!!! How times have changed. I never, in my lifetime, thought I hear of a Buckley voting democratic. I must however, admit Mr. Buckley clearly and concisley lays out his argument on behalf of Mr. Obama. Sen. McCain has changed-and not for the better. He has become petty, duplicitous and above all willing to win at all costs, forgetting that should he win, he will then have to govern a people who think him inadequate at best and monster at worst. Lest he forget the election of 2000, Mr. McCain should attempt to remain honorable in his dealings. Mr. Obama is his adversary, not his enemy!!
Wow! Nuff said.
Welcome Mr. Buckley,
Please go out and get more conservitives to vote for OBAMA/BIDEN.
Thank you =)
I'm also a republican.. who will vote democratic for the first time!!
Republicans for Obama!
When you really think about it, there's simply no comparison between these two candidates. Any person with half a brain can see that Barack is clearly the superior candidate.
Wow!
Welcome!!
Obama & Biden for 2008!!
Welcome aboard.
Buckley is being honest and realistic
He knows that McCain is the wrong person for president.....at least he has the gumption to admit that unlike all those conservatives who will only vote within their party lines.
And true enough many republicans that I know are doing the same.
Obama/Biden 08
wow. i just dont believe it. i wonder if old man buckley would have agreed with his son. then again, when the republicans are acting the way you thought democrats would, by socializing the banking system, i guess its time to re-examine your position. good for him!
will National Review readers follow suit or cancel their subscriptions?
thank you Mr. Buckley and may others now follow your logic if they have been still on the fence.
WHO-HA!! This knocks my socks off!! It's all coming together for Obama....
finally people realize MCcain is a fraud all his life
another smart man steps forward to denounce the cow manure coming out of the Rebup ticket. Thank you Buckley.
Lovely....BARACK THE VOTE 08
I cant believe there is some sanity is left in conservatives. I thought everyone of them was like that lunatic who was "angry...real angry" in McShame rally.
Buckley, thank you for your candor and being a man to stand up for whatever believe you have. I respect you for that.
I couldn't have said it better myself.
I think McCain represents the past, Obama represents the future. The future can be unknown and at times scary. The best thing to do is embrace the change and go with it.
wowwwwwww!!!!!!!!!
obama/Biden!