John McLaughlin, who died Tuesday, was a broadcasting legend. For 34 years he hosted the syndicated public affairs program “The McLaughlin Group” – a show that basically reinvented the panel-discussion format on television. I was privileged to be a part of the “Group” for slightly over 24 years of its 34 years on the air.
The program always had the same format – four panelists and John serving as ringmaster, introducing each topic with a provocative commentary and then inviting, and indeed provoking, spirited discussion.
The show had two conservative commentators, with Pat Buchanan being the most long-lasting, and two others, a centrist such as I was, and others who were on the left of American politics, personified by Eleanor Clift, who had the longest tenure on the show.
John’s signature trademarks included the use of nicknames for his guests, theatrical openings and closings of discussions, and a final “predictions” segment that often proved prescient in anticipating public events and politics both national and international.
The show was hugely popular from the beginning, and at one point aired on more than 300 network affiliates and PBS stations, as well as in the United Kingdom and other European countries. John’s forceful personality and the lively discussion became part of popular culture. The show was lampooned on “Saturday Night Live,” and John appeared as himself in several films including “Dave,” “Mission: Impossible,” “Independence Day,” and “War, Inc.” to mention a few.
The show had an authenticity to it because everybody spoke their mind. That made the audience feel as if they were listening in to an honest and intense dialogue and, by God, that’s exactly what it was. Float a half-baked opinion you hadn’t thought through, and that gravelly voice came through to make you wish you had been more ready for the verbal ambush. He wasn’t trying to make you look foolish, and he wasn’t vindictive – just valiant for reason and truth and no time for waffling.
As a quartet of debaters, we had good days and bad, but there never was a show that wasn’t infused with his intellectual energy and the ability of a chess master to see where a conversation might be moved to a more productive area.
The show attracted a huge audience, as every one of its participants knew from the way they were continually approached by people who had seen the show and wanted to debate the issues with us. It was remarkable how the McLaughlin exchanges became a part of the national conversation.
Last Sunday, John missed the first show ever after 1,700 episodes. “I am under the weather,” he explained in a note that prefaced the telecast. He acknowledged that his distinctively sharp voice was “weaker than usual,” but he concluded, “Yet my spirit is strong and my dedication to the show remains absolute.”
And our dedication to the man and his service to America remains absolute, too. We will all miss him on the air, forever aware of what he might be saying as we wrestle with our doubts and convictions at a perilous time in our history. As a colleague for the better part of 30 years, I will cherish the warmth, integrity and loyalty of a great friend.
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