Sooooo... I was in a bar a few Fridays ago (odd) on a Friday afternoon (odder) when I started getting emails and voicemail's. “Russert died”. “Heart Attack in his office”. I had consumed a few beers. I answered back that i had nothing to do with him passing away. I do not know what it says about me that my friends knew Russerts death would matter to me. Probably nothing good. Fortunately I was up in Michigan all week and busy but now, after a week and sitting in front of my TV on Sunday morning I have a full understanding of the loss.I miss this guy. Russert was one of the good guys and by that I do not mean liberal or conservative or anything else in regard to political leanings but in regard to delving quality to the American people. Journalism has been stomped by capitalism over the last twenty years because it is not cost effective to have researchers and reporters out there from 10 different news sources to give us balance. So we have pool reports. We have one source in a foreign country giving news to everyone. We have budget cuts and of course we have “Fair And Balanced” Fox News.
Russert was like a beacon on Sunday mornings. Most Sundays I watched him while reading m paper and in most cases put my paper down and listened to whomever he was interviewing. He was polite and also no nonsense with no bullshit. Inevitably he would put up the interviewees own headlines, quotes and comments to question them about their current pose. It did a lot to educate me as to how the political winds and positions ebb and flow... and blow. He was not bombastic but he could get pissed off and when he did it was genuine and did not have the obnoxious “look at me” quality you see from so many of the talking heads, Fox and non Fox.
Watching the “Meet The Press” memorial to him... the sense of loss was heightened. I did not even know what a devout Catholic he was and that is a good thing. He carried a sense of righteousness about him that did not require that he wear it on his sleeve. Jeez, the guy was a Buffalo Bills fan for God’s sake. Most of the city of Buffalo has grown out of that but Russert had those qualities of doggish loyalty that changes everything. He clerked for Daniel Patrick Moynihan. According to Wikipedia:
“Russert, a devout Catholic, said many times he had made a promise to God to never miss Sunday Mass if his son were born healthy. In his writing and in his news reporting, Russert spoke openly and fondly of his Catholic school education and of the role of the Catholic Church in his life. He was an outspoken supporter of Catholic education on all levels. [27] He said that his father, a sanitation worker who never finished high school, "worked two jobs all his life so his four kids could go to Catholic school, and those schools changed my life." He also spoke warmly of Catholic nuns who taught him. "Sister Mary Lucille founded a school newspaper and appointed me editor and changed my life," he said. Teachers in Catholic schools "taught me to read and write, but also how to tell right from wrong."[27]
That is very good stuff. It just always seemed like he was something that the people he was covering. But he was not smug about it. He had a law degree which automatically makes him suspect but he overcame those formidable odds along with overcoming a Jesuit education to just become a nice, insightful committed guy. He lacked pretense and there was never any sense that he had anything but scorn for the cults of personality established by some of his contemproaries whether in “Hardball” or “The No Spin Zone” he was never bigger then the story, he never was the story. He reported the story. He will be impossible to replace but you hope NBC tries hard. We were lucky to have him. Light a candle, say a prayer. We are poorer without Tim Russert. GO BILLS!There were a ton of eulogies for him. I think this is the best:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/25249357#25249357
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