Four Cheers for Christopher Buckley, Son of William F.

OK, if you haven't heard about this listen up. Christopher Buckley, son of William F. Buckley, the Godfather of modern American conservatism, just announced his support for Barack Obama.

This matters. A lot.

George Will and David Brooks haven't gone that far yet, but they are flirting with it. If they have anything like Christopher Buckley's balls they will do it soon, while it still matters.

I was going to title this post Two Cheers For Christopher Buckley. I was thinking he should lose a cheer because he wasn't there in the first place. But then I watched him with Chris Mathews tonight and heard him explain his Obama endorsement and his offer to resign from his father's magazine -- The National Review. He actually thought his offer wouldn't be accepted because he believes in the free expression of ideas. It's part of his understanding of conservatism. "As long as you have an argument," he said -- that should let you into the conversation.

But his resignation was accepted in a flash.

His story is powerful. All the more so because he admits his own status has always depended on his father's. He has genuine humility, which you hardly ever see anymore. And that helps explain why he is supporting Obama.

Here's the reason: he has realized that in Obama we have a first class temperament wedded to first class mind. That's it. Respect for intelligence and character has always been the best thing about authentic conservatism. They, the authentic conservatives, have always been the real elitists.

So Christopher is just being true to his values. He's saying let's not elect someone who is just like me, just like the average person. Let's elect someone better -- someone fit to lead.

So not two cheers for Mr. Buckley. Four cheers for this man.