RENEE MONTAGNE, host:
We remember now the man known as one of the fathers of the conservative movement. William F. Buckley died yesterday at the age of 82. He was a CIA operative who founded the conservative magazine the National Review. He used the magazine, his prolific columns, and his television program to help push conservative ideology to the forefront of American politics.
Mr. WILLIAM F. BUCKLEY (Founder, National Review): The next president of the United States would ideally combine the best features of Julius Caesar, Albertus Magnus, Thomas Jefferson, Napoleon Bonaparte, Abraham Lincoln, and Eleanor Roosevelt.
MONTAGNE: That was a tall order, and that was Buckley's prescription for the president before the wrenching 1968 election, which came amid widespread fury over the Vietnam War. In a broadcast on his TV show that year, Buckley had a long list of qualities that he thought would make an ideal American President.
BUCKLEY: The next president should not aspire to too much extra Americanism, to the myth of himself as leader of the world. For instance, he should not reject his role as an American, proud of America's past, hopeful for America's future and grateful to a providence that he was born in America and will have now the supreme opportunity to serve his country.
MONTAGNE: The man who did win that election was Richard Nixon. Buckley supported him to start with, but eventually called for his resignation after Watergate. William F. Buckley died yesterday at his home in Connecticut.