Wow. This is a shock.

Story here.


I've always like him. Tough-as-nails journalist who hailed from a blue collar Irish Catholic family.

Shocking!! One thing that's kind of weird is that my partner and I have been watching a lot of MSNBC election coverage over the last few months and we've commented several times about how bad he was looking. It seems like not a week goes by anymore without hearing of a shocking death.

I'm very sorry his family lost him at such a young age.

He was a typical corporate-media "journalist" who sang Happy Birthday to John McCain off-camera, and otherwise asked all the unimportant questions. Another cog in the machine will be found.

Bill, Bill, Bill...

Must you always be so cynical?

Do we know where Hillary was when this "heart attack" happened?

Shocking. I watch him all the time, and to think he was all of 58. I am completely stunned. How sad. I will be watching "Hardball" in about 30 minutes. I should think Chris Matthews will be as stunned as am I.

Debbie Downer strikes again!

It seems that he had just returned from Italy, where he had been with his wife and son. The trip was to celebrate his son's graduation from college. His wife and son did not return with him. How terrible for them to get this news and being so far away.

Jan 2007:

This delicious morsel about the "Meet the Press" host and the vice president was part of the extensive dish Cathie Martin served up yesterday when the former Cheney communications director took the stand in the perjury trial of former Cheney chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby.

Flashed on the courtroom computer screens were her notes from 2004 about how Cheney could respond to allegations that the Bush administration had played fast and loose with evidence of Iraq's nuclear ambitions. Option 1: "MTP-VP," she wrote, then listed the pros and cons of a vice presidential appearance on the Sunday show. Under "pro," she wrote: "control message."

"I suggested we put the vice president on 'Meet the Press,' which was a tactic we often used," Martin testified. "It's our best format."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...7012501951.html

I always enjoyed his show for entertainment value.

I was also shocked that he died of a heart attack - he looked like he was in such great shape and took such good care of himself

I know that tomorrow is going to be hard watching " Meet the Press". I wonder who they will try to fill in for Tim, temp. or permanently. I got a feeling it may be David Gregory perhaps. I read that Russet was diagnosed with coronary artery disease and was taking medication and doing some exercising for this condition. They also said he had an enlarged heart.

Just an absolute shock. I tell ya...you just never know when your time will be up. I'm in the mall shopping and I see it on one of the flat screens that he had died of an apparent heart attack. I watched Meet the Press FAITHFULLY every Sunday. He was the man to envy in journalism and had the highest level of journalistic professionalism, integrity, and intelligence that is more and more lacking in today's political journalism world. It was Tim Russert that I turned to for the questions I know I wanted asked, and the analysis that was unlike any other could provide. In this particular and historic election for which you could see his extreme honor and excitement to be a part of and covering, I am going to truly miss his input about how it unfolds and his analysis of the final result in November. Collapsing while preparing for Meet the Press is in a way...morbidly fitting. My sincere condolences go out to his wife, son, and father. I read both of his books "Wisdom of our Fathers" and "Big Russ and Me" and they were absolutely wonderful and improved immensely the relationship I had with my own father. He leaves a legacy that will probably never be matched. Very touching was the mayor of Buffalo where Tim was from who ordered all flags to fly at half staff. Such an incredible honor for a man who has never held public office. It is a loss to the nation. R.I.P. Tim. You will be missed.



According to Matt Lauer on the Today show this morning, Tom Brokaw will be hosting the show Sunday to honor Tim.



Munson...I know you aren't the biggest Hillary fan but surely you aren't suggesting that her dragging out the Democratic nomination was somehow indirectly related to Tim's death?

Well, far be it for me to speak for Munson, but I don't think that's what he meant. I think he was referring to the Clintons "propensity" of having friends and associates die when they could cause problems for them. See: Ron Brown, Vince Foster, James Macdougal, Mary Mahoney, about a dozen past bodyguards and more. Lots of "suicides" and unexplained shootings, a few heart attacks. How much you can read into it I guess depends on what you think of the Clintons. Supposedly there is a list of at least 50 Clinton associates who "conveniently" have died during investigation, or when they were about to release information. Seems like a lot, but then again, they know a lot more people than most people. Personally, I admit it looks suspicious when you start looking into all of them, but I've seen no evidence that it's more than a coincidence either.

I too, have watched Meet the Press faithfully for years. Usually spend Sunday AM watching the entire lineup of shows on NBC, but Meet the Press was the most important one to catch. This really shocked me when I heard it, and I don't know if it was because he seemed to be in his prime, or because he was a "regular" part of my life, so to speak. I suspect it was a combination of the two. Lots of famous people die every year, but few of them really affect me in any way. This one did upset me some.

I wish more journalists would go after politicians the way he did. When a guest would give a typical non-answer answer, or side step the question, he would ask the question again. They hated it, but they also knew he wasn't trying to trap them, just get a straight answer to a straight question. Too many journalists today won't ask the hard questions, or if they do, won't keep after them when they don't answer the question. I think his demeanor (and preparation) let him get away with it... unlike some newspeople, he never came across like he was belittling the person, or trying to make them look bad. If the answer made them look bad, it was because of the answer, not how he conducted himself. He never attacked anyone... he would hold to his guns with his questioning, but he kept the emotions in check, and didn't talk down to his subject, even when he knew they were wrong, or "busted" by his line of questioning. This is a huge loss, and it will be interesting to see how this affects not only Meet the Press, but NBC News (and it's political coverage) in general.

As for a replacement... I enjoy watching Gwen Ifill, and I like her even demeanor... very much like Russert, though a little more reserved, and a little less "every man." However, I wonder if she could be tough enough in her questioning. Still, she jumps out at me as someone I'd like to see in that chair, moreso than some others that come to mind. I doubt anyone can be Tim Russert, and that's going to be the hard thing. Whomever takes over will inevitably be compared to him, fairly or unfairly. Like replacing a legendary football coach... you don't want to be the one to follow a legend. You want to be the one who follow's the legend's replacement.

You libs never fail to disappoint me, somehow.

Confusing this competent, game-playing insider (he used to be a chief aide to conservative Dem Senator Moynihan) with a "giant of journalism" is ludicrous. (I wonder what your reaction when Studs Terkel passes will be.) He did his part, along with the rest of the corporate media, to allow the Administration to hoodwink us into Iraq.

Even in a generous piece in the LA Times, Tim Rutten sneaks in some observations that would get him called names here:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/...0,4403757.story

A rather poignant article on Russert that deals with his faith and values.