The feisty conservative magazine became the voice of a resurgent conservative movement in 1954, when liberalism dominated the American political scene and conservatives were looked upon as odd specimens of a vanished past.

As the Times noted, "In the 50-year ascent of the American right since then, his publication, National Review, has been its most influential journal and Mr. Buckley has been the magazine's guiding spirit and, until today, controlling shareholder."

According to the Times, as of today, Buckley will be handing his shares of the company stock over to a board of trustees he picked.

They include: his son Christopher; NR president Thomas L. Rhodes; Evan Galbraith, an executive of Morgan Stanley and President Reagan’s ambassador to France; Daniel Oliver, Reagan’s Federal Trade Commission chairman; and Austin Bramwell, one of the magazine's youngest current contributors - like Buckley, a Yale graduate.

Buckley's departure, the Times wrote "represents the exit of one of the forefathers of modern conservatism. It is also the latest step in the gradual quieting of one of the most distinctive voices in the business of cultural and political commentary, the writer and editor who founded his magazine on a promise to stand ‘athwart history, yelling 'Stop,' at a time when no one is inclined to do so, or to have much patience with those who urge it.’"

In an interview with the Times, Buckley expressed some dissatisfaction with President Bush, the latest heir to the spoils of the political revolution launched by National Review a half-century ago.

On the Iraq war, he told the Times, "With the benefit of minute hindsight, Saddam Hussein wasn't the kind of extra-territorial menace that was assumed by the administration one year ago."

"If I knew then what I know now about what kind of situation we would be in, I would have opposed the war," he added.

He is also bothered by the expansion of big government under the President. "It bothers me enormously," he said. "Should I growl?"

As for National Review’s contribution to American politics: "We thought to influence conservative thought, which we succeeded in doing," he told the Times.

But Buckley did much more than that. He insured that modern American conservatism remained relevant and not myopic, seeking to win future battles, not fretting about the past.

He and his magazine became the brain trust of Ronald Reagan's revolution and for that reason Bill Buckley played a critical role in defeating the Evil Empire and making America a better, stronger place.

The good news is that William F. Buckley's departure isn’t total. His column will continue to appear in National Review.

Editor's note: