Yale Man with God.
"If National Review is superfluous, it is so for very different reasons: It stands athwart history, yelling Stop, at a time when no one is inclined to do so, or to have much patience with those who so urge it." A farewell to one of the left's most formidable and forthright adversaries, who began his career as a nonconformist and, from the war on drugs to Dubya and the neocons, relished bucking the trend until his final days. I hardly ever agreed with the man, and, indeed, found many of his strongly-held views repellent. But, particularly as far as arch-conservatives go, I did have a good bit of respect for him. William F. Buckley, 1925-2008.
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I know what you mean about his views, but he was truly a one-of-a-kind original. I never met him in person, but I have sailed on his boat many times (until he sold it recently), and he always treated my parents and my "Onkel Heinz" (a caretaker of Patito) with tremendous respect. There would often be gifts in the pantry, like exquisite wine or fantastic cheeses, for us to enjoy on our daytrips.
When we had just graduated with our MBAs, I was looking pretty seriously for a job. He heard about it somehow, and wrote a very nice and supportive letter to me, with the offer of a free ad touting my MBA-degree skills in the National Review. It never came to anything after running in three issues, but it was still a really sweet gesture.
I will always remember him fondly, despite his views clashing violently with mine, and I'm sorry he is gone from the world.