2008

Who: William Buckley
Major Accomplishment: William Buckley was the popular host of one of television’s longest-running programs, “Firing Line,” and founded and shepherded the influential conservative magazine National Review. The more than 4.5 million words of his 5,600 twice-weekly newspaper columns, “On the Right,” would fill 45 more medium-sized books. His collected papers, which were donated to Yale University, weigh seven tons.
Legacy: “All great biblical stories begin with Genesis,” George Will wrote in National Review in 1980. “And before there was Ronald Reagan, there was Barry Goldwater, and before there was Barry Goldwater there was National Review, and before there was National Review there was Bill Buckley with a spark in his mind.”

Who: Charlton Heston
Major Accomplishment: He served as president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1966 to 1971. A registered Democrat for many years, he was nevertheless selective in the candidates he chose to support and often campaigned for conservatives. Again and again, he proved himself a cogent and effective speaker, but he rejected suggestions that he run for office. “I’d rather play a senator than be one,” he said.
Legacy: In 1997, he was elected vice president of the N.R.A. In December of that year, as the keynote speaker at the 20th anniversary gala of the Free Congress Foundation, Heston described “a cultural war” raging across America, “storming our values, assaulting our freedoms, killing our self-confidence in who we are and what we believe.”

Who: Tim Russert
Major Accomplishment: “Meet the Press,” the top-rated public affairs program on television, is viewed by nearly four million people each Sunday, according to Nielsen Media Research. As word of Russert’s death spread across BlackBerry and computer screens, tributes poured into NBC from the highest elected officials and competitors on other networks.
Legacy: “He really was the best political journalist in America, not just the best television journalist in America,” said Al Hunt, the Washington executive editor of Bloomberg News.

>>>NEXT: Finally, here are the losses we suffered in 2009…

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.