William F. Buckley is dead.

It's kind of fitting, I suppose, that Buckley should die just before the conservative movement he helped father is resoundingly booted from office. George W. Bush prepares to leave office in ignominy, having co-opted the name of conservatism, perverted its principles and put an end to a long (and exceedingly successful, politically) tradition of of conservatives who, like Buckley, actually thought things through, who believed in a philosophy of moving forward cautiously and not rushing into every plan that seems like a good idea at the time without consideration of the long-term consequences. For obvious reasons, I was never a big Buckley fan, but unlike many of his followers, the man was no fool, and it's always a shame to say goodbye to a worthy political adversary.