Former House Republican leader Bob Michel, who died Friday two weeks shy of his 94th birthday, should be remembered as a brave veteran of the Battle of the Bulge, a patriotic public servant, a thoroughly decent man – and, yes, contrary to some public impressions today, a conservative hero. For young conservatives ignorant of Michel’s actual record, especially those who like to cite him as an example of weak, accommodationist non-leadership, it is that last assertion that may sound controversial.