Although I barely knew him, I am, like many others, stunned and saddened by the news of William F. Buckley Jr.’s demise. A great deal will no doubt be written in the hours and days ahead about his colossal achievements: He practically invented the modern conservative movement, he founded a magazine that still endures as one of the most influential beacons of the Right, he nurtured many generations of talent, and he produced too many books and articles to count. On top of it all, he managed to live a whale of a life, whether skiing in Gstaad or sailing across the Atlantic. He was also, in my encounters with him, an unfailingly kind, generous, and gracious soul. Not even his most rabid political opponents could deny his innate decency, any more than they could deny his rapier wit.

One trait of his was, I believe, especially responsible for his success. It is hard to put into words, or perhaps my vocabulary is simply inadequate to the task—something that is particularly galling since I am speaking of the master of the mot juste. The best I can do is to say that he was “balanced.” That’s not quite right. But what, after all, is the opposite of “unbalanced?” That is the danger that anyone who devotes himself to an ideological pursuit, as Buckley did, runs. It is all too easy to go off the rails, to become fanatical in your convictions, and to leave good sense and moderation behind. That is a danger that has befallen countless conservatives from Joe Sobran to Jude Wanniski.

The most successful conservative editors, such as Bob Bartley, Norman Podhoretz, and, more recently, Bill Kristol, have not succumbed to the temptation of extremism. Neither did Bill Buckley. In fact, he managed on a number of occasions to keep the conservative movement as a whole from lurching into loony-land.

COMMENTARY is running an article by him that recalls the important role he played in the early 1960’s in repudiating the John Birch Society. This was one of the most important services he performed for conservatism, though it was hardly the last time that he would break with fellow-travelers (such as Sobran) who had simply gone too far. His common sense, his equipoise if you will, stood not only him but the entire conservative movement in good stead for many decades.

This is an important part of his remarkable legacy, and one that deserves to be honored and remembered—and emulated.