Tim Russert, NBC Washington Bureau Chief and moderator of Meet the Press, died suddenly of a heart attack last Friday. He was only 58. My wife and I were both long-time fans of Russert and his reporting. Watching Meet the Press, as well as his self-titled program that always aired on Saturdays, had long been staple parts of our weekends. Russert was, I believe, the best political reporter/pundit on television. He was also uniformly known as an all-around good egg. His devotion to his family and to his Catholic faith was legendary. There have been many, many retrospectives of his life and work over the past few days. We watched several hours worth and it was time well spent. If you missed them, here are some other avenues to look back at Russert.
MSNBC Announcement
TPM Announcement, including video of Tom Brokaw making the official press released for NBC
TPM Sunday (15 June 2008) Talk Show Round-up
TPM details of the cause of death
Russert was the author of two recent books that garnered a lot of attention. Big Russ and Me was an ode to his father their their relationship. That book had such a profound affect on so many of its readers that they spontaneously wrote Russert letters about their own fathers. He later turned those letters into another book, Wisdom of Our Fathers: Lessons and Letters from Daughters and Sons.
I will miss Russert's television presence and his take on the political matters of the day. His absence will have an effect on this year's presidential election. Surely, he would have moderated one or two of the debates between Obama and McCain, as he would have hosted both candidates and their minions many times on his programs.
This is a huge loss for his family, for his profession, and for American politics.
/salute
16 June 2008
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