Tim Russert is Dead

Filed in National by on June 13, 2008

Tim Russert has died of a heart attack at the age of 58.  The long hours of this campaign season can’t have been healthy.

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  1. independentgeek says:
    June 13, 2008 at 3:55 pm

    One of my favorites. I’m going to miss him.

  2. Dominique says:
    June 13, 2008 at 3:58 pm

    Stunned. He will be sorely missed. Nothing else to say.

  3. Nancy Willing says:
    June 13, 2008 at 4:44 pm

    LG, that is what I wrote but a bit more…I don’t know.

  4. June says:
    June 13, 2008 at 5:24 pm

    He really loved this campaign. He said he was so excited to be covering it and looked forward to all the months ahead.

    Goes to show, folks, we never know when our time is up. We should live it like each day is our last one – and be kind to each other.

  5. Graniaclewbay says:
    June 13, 2008 at 6:16 pm

    This is a very sad day. Tim Russert was an amazing father and husband. I bought his book to give to my brother for Father’s Day a few years back. It was a treasure to read and share. His enthusiasm, vigor and commitment to excellence is one that will be missed tremendously. We should all be grateful to have witnessed his wit, charm, affable and cut to the chase way. God, November just isn’t going to be the same.

  6. Sagacious Steve says:
    June 13, 2008 at 7:55 pm

    I’ll really miss the twinkle in his eye that showed just how much he enjoyed covering politics.

    Knowing his long-held affinity for New York State politics, I intend to read a William Kennedy novel in his honor, as nobody has written about the ins and outs of the Albany scene like Kennedy.

  7. Dana Garrett says:
    June 13, 2008 at 9:03 pm

    I never cared for him as an interviewer. Too soft on his guests for me.

    Age 58 is too young to die. What a tragedy. I feel awful for his family and colleagues.

  8. David says:
    June 14, 2008 at 3:02 am

    Too soft on guests…Dana must be trying for a touch of irony.

    I agree that he was one of the best. He was a great person, family man, ground breaking journalist, and a devote Christian. He will be missed. May God comfort his family.

  9. Brian says:
    June 14, 2008 at 5:53 am

    He was a kind man who took care of his father and son.

  10. Nancy Willing says:
    June 14, 2008 at 8:20 am

    A lot of people are super sons and fathers. Russert enjoyed his work but he largely eenabled the Bush administration’s march to fascism. His biggest flaw was in reporting on the Plame outing without revealing his involvement. Meet The Press recycled the same old pundits, rarely had women and soft-balled politicians for the most part.

  11. jason330 says:
    June 14, 2008 at 8:28 am

    I’m with Dana G and Nancy. Sad, for the family – but he will not be judged kindly by history.

    He is part of a generation of journalist/media “stars” who cared more about bumping up thier speaking fees and being in the “club” than they cared about getting to the truth.

  12. Al Mascitti says:
    June 14, 2008 at 9:00 am

    Jason: This generation is no different in that regard than those that preceded it. Washington journalists have always been co-opted into the establishment; it is no accident that Watergate was uncovered not by national reporters but a couple of scrapping-to-get-noticed metro-beat guys, the desk that was the Siberia of the WaPo.

  13. Sagacious Steve says:
    June 14, 2008 at 11:06 am

    Al: I think you paint with too broad a brush. Edward R. Murrow and Seymour Hersch are two journalists who never got co-opted and worked for large media. Of course, in those days, the line between the corporate side and the journalistic side were clear. Today, it’s clear that the corporate side at least in part drives the news coverage.

  14. Von Cracker says:
    June 14, 2008 at 1:36 pm

    Didn’t care either way about Russert, though I understand that, personally, he was a good man. Can’t say anything more than that.

    But all this fawning of the legacy, just proves what is the matter with the 4th estate….They think THEY are part of the story, and like to believe they’re inside players…part of the DC “Club”

    They are not the news.

  15. Frieda Berryhill says:
    June 15, 2008 at 11:34 am

    I traveled though Buffalo NY yesterday while listening about Tim Russert’s death. Strange coincidence. Brought a tear to my eyes. I will miss him

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