Via the NYT, William F. Buckley Jr. Is Dead at 82
Mr Buckley, 82, 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.
Going out working bears dying in a hospital, to be sure. Of course, it also means that one’s passing is likely quite a shock to one’s family.
May he rest in peace.
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February 27th, 2008 at 11:29 am
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February 27th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
I remember back in my college days (late 70’s) buying National Review just to read the letters to the editor. Buckley was a riot with his ill tempered responses, usually insulting the writer in novel ways with each issue.
Buckley is remembered as very educated, intellectually snobbish figure. I think what endeared him to a couple of generations of conservatives was his ability to punctuate a well thought out, intellectual point with a crude exclaimation (like when he called Gore Vidal a G** D*** F*****, mixing the whole name in vain thing with a shot at Vidal’s homosexuality). This only worked AFTER the opponents argument was sufficiently dissected; some of his comebacks were in Latin, adding to their untouchability.
I’ve always thought that several conservative of today’s commentators, especially Ann Coulter, were trying to mimic WFB’s style in their outrageous schtick. But WFB’s occasional verbal outrageousness only worked because it was worked into a fabric of an extremely tight logical argument. Some of his targets could respond to the logic, some to a crude insult, but the individual who could do both was rare indeed.