From this conservative’s standpoint, Walter Mondale was wrong on almost every issue imaginable. Nonetheless, the former vice president, who died Monday at age 93, was a thoroughly decent man and a dedicated public servant: an honorable, old-school liberal and a patriot. Today’s political world could use more of his style of politician.

As a 20-year-old, Mondale worked for Hubert Humphrey as Humphrey (also later the U.S. vice president) ousted communists from Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. As Humphrey’s protege at each step of Mondale’s career, Mondale shared Humphrey’s pro-union, fiercely liberal, but anti-communist beliefs. While nobody so close to 1960s-1970s union bosses could be accused of lacking sharp elbows, Mondale also shared Humphrey’s sunny outlook and old-style, end-of-day graciousness.