Bill Buckley, RIP

Bill Buckley died today. He was 82 years old. It isn't too much to suggest that Bill Buckley was one of the most influential Americans of the last 60 years.

From God and Man at Yale to Firing Line to his many columns, Buckley made the case for conservatism. I remember watching Firing Line in the 60s and thinking that he was awfully articulate for a conservative. Back then we assumed conservatives were either knuckle-draggers or wild-eyed cowboys from the Daisy ad. Certainly no conservative could be charming.

Buckley blew away the stereotypes about conservatism in the years after JFK and LBJ (in '64). He made conservatism intellectually respectable. He never persuaded me away from classic liberalism, but he did convince me that conservatives can have good ideas.

He convinced a lot of other Americans too.