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June 15, 2008 – Tim Russert Dies at 58
On Friday, June 13th Tim Russert , host of Meet The Press and Washington Bureau Chief of MSNBC died of a heart attack while doing voice overs in a sound booth at work. He was 58. This entire weekend colleagues as well as those who were interviewed by him flooded the airwaves with remembrances. His life story was told many times and by many people over the weekend. Regular programming was interrupted. The flooding in the mid-west and the general election took a back seat to everything Russert.
What made this man truly iconic on television was not only his astute political analysis and journalistic homework, but that huge Irish grin that greeted viewers every Sunday morning for the past seventeen years. One may have disagreed with him occasionally or often but when an astute and knowledgeable opinion was needed we all turned to Tim Russert, because we knew that he always did his homework and his opinion counted for something. His Irish working-class roots and Catholic faith played a major role in his work as a journalist because that's who he was without any apologies. He was indeed our Everyman.
We remember the night when Senator Barack Obama became the presumptive democratic nominee and how Russert reacted. He talked about the historic significance of our time when a black man and woman were nearly tied for the nomination of a major political party. Russert used the word “breathtaking” while flashing that big Irish grin. The passionate gleam in his eyes was clearly noticeable while announcing the results of that night. One could tell immediately that he was looking forward to the fall general election with the same excitement as a child in a candy store. It probably was going to be the pinnacle of his professional career. It almost seems wrong that fate took him away just as history was about to be made over these next five months.
Even though many of us will miss his face on Sunday morning television and election night specials, let us not forget who he really was. He was indeed the ultimate Washington insider and a huge spoke in the wheel of the mainstream corporate media. And let us not forget that with all of his professional skills and gifts, good character and the best of intentions, he chose the coward's path when it came to exposing the Bush Administration's role in the illegal war and occupation of Iraq. We can forgive him of this and should, but we never should forget!
Copyright © 2003-2008 by Ben Douglass
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