Already the denunciations of Senator Lindsey Graham, who died at 71, are piling up. Former Republican operative Steve Schmidt’s verdict was not untypical. He declared on X that Graham not only “lacked a moral core,” but also found relevance “as a cast member in the most malignant reality show ever made.” 

There’s never been a bummer rap. Graham’s moral center was never in greater evidence during the Trump era. Had Graham not aligned himself with Trump, American foreign policy would look vastly different over the past several years. Rather than delivering pompous, empty speeches like former senator Jeff Flake, he made a conscious decision to influence Trump rather than flee the field of fight. And he often succeeded. As Sam Tanenhaus, the author of a valuable new biography of William F. Buckley, Jr., told me, “what many call cowardice looks like a strategic choice. If you believe in government, you do all you can to........

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