Famous conserative dies.

[D. Allan]

William F. Buckley, Jr., the name awakens fond memories of the interviews i loved to watch him present on television. "The Firing Line" his program was called. A witty and charming man whom liberals could easily admire in spite of his conservative views. Today conservatives have the unadmirable Rush Limbaugh as a spokeman. Wit, charm and intelligence have been replaced by bellowing vituperation.

Read Mr. Buckleys obituary at The NYTimes.

Here are the opening three sentences:

By DOUGLAS MARTIN

Published: February 27, 2008

William F. Buckley Jr., who marshaled polysyllabic exuberance, famously arched eyebrows and a refined, perspicacious mind to elevate conservatism to the center of American political discourse, died Wednesday at his home in Stamford, Conn. He was 82.

Mr. Buckley suffered from diabetes and emphysema, his son Christopher said, although the exact cause of death was not immediately known. He was found at his desk in the study of his home, his son said. “He might have been working on a column,” Mr. Buckley said.

William Buckley, with his winningly capricious personality, his use of ten-dollar words and a darting tongue writers loved to compare to an anteater’s, was the popular host of one of television’s longest-running programs, “Firing Line,” and founded and shepherded the influential conservative magazine “National Review.”

[Dr. Shane]

Rush Limbaugh is certainly not in the same league but I think Bill O'Reily is. Buckley was classy, a real gentleman and that is what people of any ideology can admire.

[D. Allan]

O'Reily certainly comes closer. But it will be very hard to find anyone as talented as Wm F. Buckley, Jr. to do what he did.

Charlie Rose has been replaying some of his interviews with Wm. F.

Mr. Rose is charming and classy himself. I haven't noticed that he has political opinions to sell, however.

Of Mr. Buckley's memorable interviews are several that he did with Malcolm Muggeridge, a very erudite, charming and admirable man also.

[Jeannieb43]

William F. Buckley, Jr. was in a class by himself. He had a fabulous mind, and his TV program always contained something good and of value which could be learned from it. His vocabulary was extensive; he was a joy to listen to.

Nobody in the media today holds a candle to William F. Buckley, Jr.

His death has now reminded me of his younger sister Carol Buckley's memoir, At the Still Point, which I have in my library. I read it when it first came out and decided the Buckley family had an inherently special gene for putting beautiful words together. That book charmed me so much I read it through twice. She tells of her parents' meeting each other (in Mexico City when he was there on business), and of the fantasy that all nine children agreed, before Carol's birth, that their mother wanted to have another child. Carol is the youngest of ten children, and "Billy" was the sixth.

Carol had some issues in her life with mental illness. [i need to reread it to remember exactly what it consisted of.] But I've pulled the book down from my library shelf today and decided to read it again -- purely for the beauty of the language she uses.

The Buckley genes are extraordinary.

[by the way, William F. Buckley, Jr.'s "conservatism" was nothing whatsoever in any way shape or form like Rush Limbaugh's "conservative politics." Buckley is/was a gentleman; he also was VERY brilliant. He was a conservative in the mold of Goldwater. THAT was back when being a conservative Republican was a thing to be cherished. Which is no longer the case.]