Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley, Jr. Spar in 'Best of Enemies'

By the mid-1960s, the presidential conventions had turned into full-fledged TV events, but ABC was dead last in the ratings. In order to spice up their convention coverage, ABC executives invited two towering intellectuals to a series of debates. The fireworks between liberal Gore Vidal and conservative William F. Buckley, Jr. created giant ratings for ABC, and ushered in the age of bellicose cable news commentary.