McFadden adjusted his glasses, tugged at the red tie he wore over a white shirt and said, "The eyes of the nation are on Berkeley tonight. Will we continue to uphold the mantle of free speech, or will we let the flag fall?" McFadden found it not just disturbing but tragic that on the campus known as the birthplace of the free speech movement, a conservative could stir such a controversy just for taking out an ad in the Daily Cal. Horowitz's ad arguing against reparations ran Feb. 28, and the next day editor Daniel Hernandez printed an apology saying the Daily Cal had "inadvertently become a vehicle for bigotry."

It was all rather astoundingly stupid, and by any fair account when the evening was over the match went squarely to Horowitz, but that's getting a little ahead of ourselves. Besides, before the main event, the Spartacists did score some points when Karen Kenney, dean of students, overlooked campus noise regulations and let them use their bullhorn.

Rules ruled. Once inside, Benjamin Carrasco, our master of ceremonies and editor in chief of the California Patriot, read from the rules, regulations and code of conduct: There was to be a "zero tolerance level for disruptions," a chilling pronouncement but an effective foreshadowing of Horowitz's eventual strange and graceless exit.

Horowitz turned out to be a skilled and delightful performer, playing to students who applauded wildly when Carrasco suggested they show the Wall Street Journal that "law and order prevails" in Berkeley. Like a rock star, Horowitz started late and had sound trouble. But the veteran of countless demonstrations displayed terrific mike technique and showed a pleasant sense of humor when it was discovered that to thwart the feedback he had to move to the left.

Horowitz tried to break the ice by describing a cartoon depicting black comedian Richard Pryor surrounded by Klansmen about to lynch him; Pryor is asking, "Was it something I said?"

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