WOW! Thanks for the news. I never liked his politics and he did horrible things to our country with his words. But I always appreciated his style. A shame the whole conservative movement can't die with him.

I think we would all differ with the man's politics, but he was a real intellectual, capable of actual political debate and discourse, which is a long way from the hacks, loudmouths and bullshit artists that represent public face of the conservative movement today. In the '60s, the main conservative voice you would see on TV was Buckley. Today, it's Glenn Beck. Power truly does corrupt.  

To often we gloss over someones "politics" when the pass, because no one wants to kick someone when they're down (or dead.)

Bullshit. Buckley wrote a book defending Joe McCarthy. He was proud of his xenophobic anti-American views. Let his words define him, not our appreciation for his intellect. He wasn't your neighbor, right?

In an interview with Charlie Rose in 2003(?) he said he was giving up making speeches. Rose asked him if he had a successor and he said that person would have to be a young socialist because the socialists are where the conservatives once were.

Let me take this opportunity to say that the Blackford Oakes novels were really good - the adventures of a CIA agent that were improbable, but firmly grounded in real history, with a pretty balanced view of the real historical personalities involved.  They are probably most famous for the fact that Oakes beds the (alternate history) Queen of England in the first one, but they were less over the top after that and even that adventure followed sort of reasonably from its premise.  WFB's political opinions didn't get in the way of his telling a good story.

RIP, in any case.

You know, this notion that everything Liberal/Democratic is right and everything from "the other side of the aisle" has no merit is ridiculous.  First of all, you need opposing viewpoints to gain some kind of perpective.  

Do you want to live in a monolithic political world? I sure as hell don't.  That kind of world is what gives us dictatorships and truly evil people, like Adolph Hitler.  

I want to know the perspective from those I differ with. Maybe there's some middle common ground THAT MAKES SENSE.  So, insofar as Buckley was the titular head of the Conservative movement, I'm more than happy to hear what he's said.  It gives me a jumping off point to examine and strengthen, if necessary, my own views.