William F. Buckley passed away yesterday. He was 82.
William Francis Buckley Jr. died Wednesday morning in Stamford, Connecticut, at age 82. Appropriately enough, he was working on a column. His death is the severing of the last remaining link between contemporary American conservatism and its founding generation.
In 1950, the literary critic Lionel Trilling could assert "the plain fact" that there were no conservative ideas "in general circulation." That confidence would be ground away. In 1951, Bill Buckley made his name with "God and Man at Yale," which critiqued his alma mater for its hostilities to capitalism and religion. Four years later, Buckley founded National Review. He was 29.
Buckley's influence propelled Barry Goldwater to the top of 1964 Republican presidential ticket. Goldwater lost badly in the general election, but in 1980 Buckley admirer Ronald Reagan won the presidency. According to Reagan Buckley was the most influential journalist of his era.
Buckley was a fierce debater who loved trading lyrical put-downs with his political opponents. But, unlike some of the conservative pundits who drive talk radio today, he had many personal friends and admirers among his public foes, including such luminaries as the late economist John Kenneth Galbraith and the late author Norman Mailer...
"You can't stay mad at a guy who's witty, spontaneous and likes good liquor," Mailer once said.
