RIP: Tim Russert

[NYCe]

:(

Wow.

one of the best who ever did it.

www.msnbc.com

[MrsKellyPierce]

awe I loved him, good night

[Realgirls4me]

Damn, just got word.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080613/ap_on_en_tv/obit_russert

[BrendaQG]

I am speechless with shock and surprise. He was only 58 and from all external signs was a healthy man.

God does as God wills. God wanted to take him to paradise early.

[Realgirls4me]

I'm still very numb by the news too. I looked forward to Meet The Press every Sunday morning.

[flabbybody]

I'm beyond shocked

[jmecross2]

This is such a shock. He was the best interviewer that we had and a genuinely good man.

Life is so fragile.

[PatrickFromNYC]

He was a great interviewer who was equally tough on both liberals and conservatives. He played it straight down the middle and America actually got to make up their own minds. RIP

[tg4me]

And just like that......he's gone. It's sad and I can't imagine how grief-stricken his peers and family are tonight. RIP sir.

[StaggerLee]

He was never my favorite, but I would take him over 99% of what's out there any day. He was very well-respected among his peers, which says everything. He will be missed.

[skaterboisandiego]

One of the best. RIP !

[MacShreach]

Damn shame. Journalism--especially broadcast--can be a really high-stress job. RIP.

[cockgobbler]

For a guy who wrote a couple books about fatherhood and his relationship with his own father (I think it was called "Big Russ and Me") to die on father's day weekend is kind of freaky.

[chefmike]

I heard the news as I was getting ready to leave the house this afternoon. I was surprised by how much it moved me. I felt like an old friend had died. But the Grim Reaper takes who he wants when he wants. Rest easy, Mr. Russert. This election won't be the same without you and your chalkboard.

[PatrickFromNYC]

I heard the news as I was getting ready to leave the house this afternoon. I was surprised by how much it moved me. I felt like an old friend had died. But the Grim Reaper takes who he wants when he wants. Rest easy, Mr. Russert. This election won't be the same without you and your chalkboard.

Co-Sign

[BrendaQG]

Tim Russert entered my consciousness when I was only 11 and he took over as the host of "Meet the Press". I'll admit that for most of that time I was a die hard fan of "This Week with David Brinkley." However, since Brinkley left TV and left us at a ripe old age "Meet the Press" has been my favorite Sunday Morning political talk show.

That was all because of the sparking personality and wit of Tim Russert. Like Brinkley, Russert has the unusual power to make the dry issues of politics exciting. A fight over the federal budget, becomes as exciting as a good movie with men like him to narrate it. The 2004 election was such such a time. I was watching MSNBC when Tim Russert wrote on his little white board "Florida, Florida, Florida". "Florida, Florida, Florida" it was too, for over a month. One did not have to be a big political person like me to appreciate his coverage of that election. For me and I am sure for many that will be one of his most memorable moments on TV.

Tim we hardly knew ye. We knew the guy on TV. Yet based on what your colleagues on MSNBC say the guy on TV and the guy in private were the same. No pretense, and "not a pretty face". Just a sharp mind. A man who did his homework. A interviewer who would bring a politicians words back to haunt him w/o seeming mean. A folksy nice guy, a kind of person that it is all too often seen as bad to be in today's America.

Now we, who are interested in politics, look forward to the future. A future that by all reasonable thought Tim would have been here to report on for a long time to come. Instead we will have to make due with reporters who while competent lack that spark that pop that buzz,...which made us tune in on Sundays to see our old friend Tim Russert.

Though Mr. Russert was a Catholic, a person of the book, It seems to me this fits him well.


بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
bismi-llāhi ar-raḥmāni ar-raḥīmi
In the name of Allah most Beneficent ever merciful.

وَالْعَصْرِ ﴿١﴾
I swear by the time,

إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ ﴿٢﴾
Most surely man is in loss,

إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ ﴿٣﴾
Except those who believe and do good, and enjoin on each other truth, and enjoin on each other patience.

The Qr'an Sura 103 Al-Asr "The Time" or "Time and Age".

Tim Russert (PBUH) is survived by his Father, Son and wife. All of whom he loved more than anything. My prayers will be with them.

as sallam ul lakium.

[JelenaCD]

Tim rest in peace yet people die everyday , why do we give extra attention to some and neglect the others ? the news media is giving idol worship to their own newsman ! Like the death of newsman is more imp then the death of any other human.
I liked the guy yet he wasn't really independent , he was a partisan hack !

[BrendaQG]

@JelenaCD

Go to hell!

It is human nature to care more for a person who you saw live, and at his peak just suddenly die....than to care for the average person who is a total stranger.

Don anyone else take me wrong. Everyone cares a bit when they hear of anyone's death. This is different. From what anyone knows the guy was as squeaky clean as restaurant china, a living saint. Usually when one dies like this there is something they do some lifestyle thing that leads them to it. He was a bit heavy...but from what I see on MSNBC he died almost literally from working too much. Only on HA, and in tranny land, could I even imagine such a virtue becoming a vice.

[JelenaCD]

Brenda ,
I disagree with you so you say go to hell ? do you even believe in respect or democracy ?

[redhotmailer]

Freakin A people, get your GD cholesterol checked ... it is not that hard. This is the same thing that took my dad .... and it is so avoidable.

[JelenaCD]

i know this will draw fire yet if Tim Russert was a right leaning man the news would not even be news ! He was a liberal lap dog bottom line and nobody wants to say that so i will !

[johnb]

he was by himself in keeping the political discourse above the water line. i don't know who will take his place.

[Realgirls4me]

i know this will draw fire yet if Tim Russert was a right leaning man the news would not even be news ! He was a liberal lap dog bottom line and nobody wants to say that so i will !

Bullshit. He wasn't perfect by any means, but a Liberal lap dog he wasn't. e.g., Any footage of him questioning members of the Bush Administration on the claims they were making on the run-up to the Iraq war? He fell for their lies hook, line, and sinker too. ...Care to peruse Media Matters to see how many times they had issues with him?

[Alyssa87]

WHY COULDNT IT BE BILL O'RILEY?!

[chefmike]

I liked the guy yet he wasn't really independent , he was a partisan hack !

That's the kind of reprehensible lie that we've come to expect from those on the right.

[wearboots4me]

i know this will draw fire yet if Tim Russert was a right leaning man the news would not even be news ! He was a liberal lap dog bottom line and nobody wants to say that so i will !

Hey Jelena how do your conservative friends feel about transgendered and/or CD people? You are CD aren't you?

[dageekindapink]

how ironic the koran quoter fires off with go to hell at the first chance;) well done peace lover

[Realgirls4me]

WHY COULDNT IT BE BILL O'REILLY?!

Because firebrand, pugilistic "journalists" such as the tinhorn O'Reilly serve a good purpose. They are actually needed around to show aspiring journalism students from around this country of what journalism isn't, and it isn't the venomous, vile, divisive, HIGHLY partisan slop O'Reilly dispenses every night.

[thx1138]

Russert WAS under treatment for heart disease so he knew what his condition was. He just didn't how quickly it could spiral out of control.

[thx1138]

Someone's opinion (not mine but it does raise some interesting points) excerp...Tim Russert/ The political animal (media) and the OTHER Tim - you don't know:

It was my opinion that Russert would still be sitting in Buffalo, NY - if he'd not backed up 'Weapons
of Mass Destruction' and soft pedaled with Cheney - McCain - etc. I never watched
his programs, wondering how could a guy, lauded to be so informed etc - paid NO attention to (Nobel Peace
Prize) the Atomic Energy Report, that stated ' We have found NO evidence of a nuclear weapons program in Iraq'. Russert also asserted that 85% (Not ) of the American people supported the war - and if there was a 'mistake' in intelligence it was a 'honest mistake'. This misguided mind set is certainly not a reason to 'hate' the guy. You simply disagree. What a world if we all thought - dressed - and sang the same song.


View full sizeThe Russerts --no greater love can be seen than the love in this family . They were devoted to one another.


Anybody possessing critical thinking skills - KNOWS - that there is no reason for us to be OCCUPYING Iraq
other than the FACT; that they sit on billions of barrels of untapped OIL reserves. Why else are plans afoot to construct 58 military bases - and the construction of a BILLION dollar embassy (walled city) that in my opinion, is the new Ministry of Oil. Also - Americans have been given ZERO information on the' Hydro - Carbon - Law', that the Iraqi government (they refuse - thus the continued combat) is being coerced into accepting (written in Washington). This law would sign over approximately 3/4 of Iraq's OIL to foreign investors! If Iraq's major resource, was radishes, does anybody imagine, for one moment, that the U.S. would invade to 'liberate' the citizens from a RADISH DICTATOR ---supposedly building up a nuclear stockpile to protect the radish harvest - please! Recall that millions, upon millions, upon millions, marched against the war; apparently much smarter than Russert (media) and the 'misguided' politicians apparently were ?

Politically I had no respect for the man. I always wanted to ask him; "Mr.Russert, your love of your only son Luke is well known - if Luke was drafted to fight on the front lines in this war - assigned to an unarmored Humvee - or assigned as a driver, of a supply truck (the most dangerous job) on the Road of Death - would you still be enthusiastic - would you stand by this debacle, as just being an 'honest mistake'? How would you feel if Luke was burned beyond recognition /blinded for this 'honest mistake'? What if Luke never made it home - and instead, was electrocuted in one of the showers that Halliburton is responsible for setting up ? Don't you agree that championing war for other's children is easier than sending off your own?"

[dafame]

I'm a person that just started seriously following politics only about a year ago and didn't know who Tim Russert was until then. Being that I didn't know this man personally I'm surprised that I am genuinely saddened by this mans death. I work out of my home and my television stays on MSNBC more than any other station throughout my day. What I had grown to love about Russert is that no matter how many people were on a particular panel that he may have joined in on or no matter who he may have been interviewing on Meet the Press, he always seemed like the smartest person in the room. Plus I can't remember too many sentences coming out of his mouth where he didn't have a smile on his face. To hear the admiration and love that his colleagues had for him is amazing. To hear the way they speak of him makes you think that this guy had one of the truly great souls. It makes me wish I could be like Tim Russert.

[El_hefe]

Tragic, a real mensch too..... hope you're having drinks w. Pat Moynihan & all the boys now discussing the race. So long.

[flabbybody]

WHY COULDNT IT BE BILL O'RILEY?!

I don't wish death on anyone but those are my sentiments too

[angie]

I think that the difficulty that people have in categorizing Tim as left vs right wing means that he was, perhaps, adhering to a somewhat anachronistic version of the press - impartiality.

I didn't always agree with his views, but he did give a balanced outlook - if you happen to agree or disagree with his guests, that may well skew your view on this.

Personally, I feel this is a huge loss, not just to jounalism, but to the American people. Civil discourse is a huge component of our freedon - like it or not, the right to one's own opinion is incredibly important, and I truly believe that Tim made a huge differencve in supporting this.

Plus, he grew up a short distance from me, and knew what real Buffalo wings were all about - got to love that guy !