William F. Buckley Jr., RIP

William F. Buckley father of the modern conservative movement died today at 82 years of age. He will be sorely missed. He was as much an educator as he was a political commentator. I greatly enjoyed his columns for several reasons. Primarily, I became a fan because he was able to take common sense conservative viewpoints and make them understandable even to those with an Ivy League education. I like to think I'm fairly well read. However, for years it seemed that every one of Buckley's columns had me reaching for a dictionary. Whatever my vocabulary was, without much exaggeration, I can give Buckley credit for doubling it.

National Review, the magazine he founded over 50 years ago, will live on as his legacy. More importantly, the millions of people he influenced will carry on his philosophy.

There have been many tributes to Buckley on his passing. National Review Online has links to many of them.

Here are a few links to read to get to know Buckley a little better.

In a column titled "A Remarkable Man" Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) recalls his forty years of friendship with Buckley.

Ann Coulter reminds us of Buckley's rougher moments in "William F. Buckley: R.I.P., Enfant Terrible."

The obituary from the London Telegraph is worth reading in its entirety, but I have to share this paragraph for those of you who don't bother clicking the links:

His spirit began to show at the age of eight, when he wrote King George V a sharp note reminding him of the debts Britain owed the United States for the First World War.