Buckley uses a lot of big words, but when he debated Reagan on the Panama Canal, Reagan kicked his butt and had a much better graps of the specifics. Buckley took the said of Carter on giving it away.
I have the perfect answer. Sean Vannity, "I, me, my mine."
Was that Buckley's position or was he just arguing that side of the issue? Hard to imagine that he was on Carter's side on any issue. I could probably make Buckley look bad on that issue, given the weakness of the arguments in favor of giving it up.
Even if that was Buckley's position, we all have our bad days. Not saying that Reagan would be a poor alternative, just that Buckley is better.