A hero and a friend of mine passed away today.  Bill Buckley was 82.

Coming of political age during the Reagan administration, I was drawn instinctively to conservative ideas.  Two people taught me why:  Ronald Reagan showed me conservative principles in action.  William F. Buckley, Jr. showed me their intellectual foundations.  Reagan made it cool to be a conservative.  Buckley made it hip to be conservative AND and cerebral.

Over the years, I had come to know him as “Bill.”  The first time I met him, I was so awestruck that I greeted him as “Mr. Buckley, sir.”  He laughed at its absurdity.  “It’s Bill, Monica,” he said.  “Just Bill.”

I had the privilege of being his guest at numerous small dinners at his home, where we would toss about ideas and talk about the current state of the world.  He never lost the intellectual curiosity for which he was famous.  To the very end, he was writing a book about Reagan and complaining to me—with a big smile—about how long it was taking.  He always wanted to know what the younger generations were thinking, how they viewed the world, where conservatism was going—and how best to keep it on track.

He told me once that he often listened to and enjoyed my radio show.  That’s when I knew I was doing my job well.

This weekend, I’ll dedicate the show to his memory, and be profoundly sad that my audience will be without one very special listener.

Have PoliticalMavens.com delivered to your inbox in a daily digest by clicking here