[kellynla]

"He united the conservatives. But William F. Buckley did more than that: he crafted a winning alternative to New Deal liberalism. Now the right is adrift and needs … another William F. Buckley."

[devere]

Newsweak predictably uses Buckley’s name to bash his fellow conservatives.

[Cicero]

A mixed bag, snide at times, and much too long, but some good details worked in here and there. About the only time I ever read Evan Thomas and actually learned anything.

[SE Mom]

A relatively fair piece from the leftist, Thomas.

I just watched a very nice special on FOX with David Asman- he had interviewed WFB several months ago- and put it together with some memories from friends. It was a lengthy interview- Buckley was sharp as ever, and funny as always.

[Ann Archy]

David Brooks could use some lessons in conservatism.

[ModelBreaker]

"The first time I had dinner, they put a finger bowl in front of me and I wasn't sure if I should drink it,"

Buckley lived on the coast in Stamford Conn. A college buddy of mine grew up on an island just off Buckley's house. I was invited to spend a week there once. And had the a similar fingerbowl experience. It was a little more complicated because they were serving fresh blueberries. I really wanted the blueberries. Problem was, there was a really flat plate and the fingerbowl. The flat plate seemed like a stupid place to put blueberries. And I thought the water in the fingerbowl was perhaps a clear syrup to put the blueberries in. Suspecting I did not have enough data, I just did nothing. Then mom put her blueberries on the plate and dipped her fingers in the fingerbowl.

OTOH, my buddy dumped the fingerbowl and filled it up with blueberries.

[Enchante]

"During the late '60s, when the Harvard campus was roiling, Buckley joked that he would rather be governed by the first 2,000 names in the Boston phone book than by the Harvard faculty."

This is so much deeper that a mere "joke" -- it is one of the most insightful comments anyone has made in our lifetimes. Why is it that the faculties of Harvard or Princeton or any other 'elite' school are not even fit to run their own campuses decently, never mind the country and the world?? People should really think about it a lot..... although I'd not want to governed by 2,000 anyones from such leftist places as Boston or Cambridge!!! But we'd certainly be better governed by the first 2,000 names from any phone book of a relatively conservative part of America than by either the socialists of the Harvard faculty or the socialists of the Boston phone book!!

[Blind Eye Jones]

“All the beautiful spirits find themselves”

Hardly the case.

[Republic of Texas]

It doesn't’t surprise me a bit that Even Thomas is more impressed with the personalities than the philosophy.