Political Quotes

“I wish to mark the loss of an outstanding American intellect--and, what's more, a decent and a well-loved man. William F. Buckley, Jr., died last week at the age of 82. He was found at work at his desk, pen in hand--and I don't think he could have imagined a more fitting exit. Few thinkers were more prolific than Bill Buckley--his total catalogue amounts to more than 50 books and thousands and thousands of columns, not to mention his three decades on the pioneering debate program ``Firing Line.'' Few writers wielded more influence--the entire modern conservative movement honors him as its founder. And few figures in our national life earned such admiration-- all the way from Ronald Reagan, who told Buckley, ``You didn't just part the Red Sea--you rolled it back, dried it up and left it exposed, for all the world to see,'' to the many writers, activists, and leaders who counted him as a mentor and inspiration. He was a good friend of my parents, Thomas and Grace Dodd, and one of Connecticut's best-known native sons. I was especially proud to see him in attendance at the dedication of the Thomas J. Dodd Library in Storrs; like my father, Bill Buckley was a dedicated foe of totalitarianism in all its forms. In the wake of his death, tributes have risen from left and right and from every point in between. Even those who stood against Bill's staunch conservatism respected his intellectual rigor and integrity.”