Tim Russert, 1950-2008

Damn. That's unexpected. But I guess heart attacks usually are.

I wasn't a big fan of the guy, but he's been doing politics on TV for my whole life. He'll be missed.

Cycloptichorn

I am shocked and saddened.

Russert died on the mob
The New York Times is reporting that MSNBC's Tim Russert has died of a heart attack at the age of 58.

Russert suffered a massive heart attack and collapsed Friday afternoon in NBC's Washington bureau, according to the New York Post

Russert was in the tracking booth, recording a track, when he collapsed. He returned from Italy Thursday night.

Sundays will never be the same.

I am going to miss that guy.

Joe(he knew how to be a reporter)Nation

It seems so unfair that he was called away in the midst of the most momentous political campaign of our lives.

He was a sweet guy, a true gentleman, in a less than gentlemanly profession. He will be missed.

Sad for his family. And since this is not the time to be critical, I will just say that he was a much, much better observer of the political scene than Charlie Gibson.

Journalist Hall of Fame
Tim Russert will sorely be missed. In my Journalistic Hall of Fame there is John Cameron Swayze, Huntley/Brinkley, Cronkite, Tom Brokaw, and now Russert

Tom Brokaw is one top-tier journalist whom I admire a lot...I think that he belongs in the Journalists Hall of Fame, too. Perhaps others may opine?

Gibson is a mere talking head. His coverage of the 2008 Prez "debate" was proof of that.

That is sad. I will miss him.

he almost always looked cheerful and impish .
i really liked his style !
what to watch on sunday morning ?
i'll sure miss him .
hbg

very sad... too young.

It would be nice if the Tim Russert show could still be called 'the Tim Russert show' in perpetuity.

Cycloptichorn

Whoa, that's startling.

Tim Russert?

I had a similar thought, Roxxxanne. I never really watched him before this election cycle, so maybe he was always that enthusiastic, but he seemed to be having so much fun.

When Russert Testified Against 'Scooter' Libby
When Russert Testified Against 'Scooter' Libby
By Greg Mitchell - E & P
Published: June 13, 2008 9:45 PM ET

In the wake of the passing of Tim Russert today, some will no doubt recall that he testified at the "Scooter" Libby trial -- but few, I would guess, can now remember what he said or why he was there. So here is a refresher, in the form of a portion of an AP article we carried at E&P just after that day in February 2007.

But first: On the afternoon Russert went to court, another article at E&P this way: "One of the most highly awaited moments in the 'CIA Leak' trial in Washington, D.C. arrived this afternoon just before 2:30 when NBC's Tim Russert finally took the stand, after discarding crutches (he broke his ankle not long ago)."

Russert contradicted one of Libby's claims. He also disclosed -- in a well-publicized statement -- that he considered his chats with sources all off-the-record unless put on the record, the opposite of the usual journalistic approach.

Here is an excerpt from that AP story.

Tim Russert, an unrelenting interrogator as host of NBC's "Meet the Press," said Friday it was painful having the tables turned on him by lawyers defending former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby against perjury and obstruction charges.

The day after Russert spent five grueling hours on the witness stand in Libby's trial, the NBC newsman took questions in the much friendlier setting of an interview on the set of the "Today" show with his network colleagues. Asked how it felt to be on the other end of rapid-fire questioning, Russert said, "It's a lot of easier to throw grenades than it is to catch them. I've got to tell you.

"Sitting in that witness box is very uncomfortable because on `Meet the Press' or the `Today' show, you have a chance to finish your thought and complete your sentence. That's not the case in a court of law. The defense lawyer will say, `Yes or no, yes or no' and you're trying very hard to listen intently to the question to make sure you answer as precisely as possible," he added. "Otherwise it can be played back the next day. ... It's not pleasant, I have to say."

Russert said, though, he kept a mind a lesson learned in the 7th grade, that "if you tell the truth, you'll live to remember one story, and that's what I did."

In the "Today" interview, Russert reiterated what he had said on the stand: he did not discuss the wife of former Ambassador Joseph Wilson with Libby in a conversation they had in July 2003 and he said he did not at that time know about Valerie Plame, Wilson's wife, who was outed subsequently as a CIA operative.

"I did not know she worked at the CIA. I did not know any of that until the following Monday when I saw all in (newspaper columnist) Robert Novak's column. ... We simply did not know it. I wish we had."

Russert did say he was "stunned" when he heard that Libby said he had learned Plame's identity from him, saying, "I said that just can't be. It's impossible." Russert held to that line during cross-examination.

Tim Russert's Final MSNBC Report
Tim Russert's Final MSNBC Report
By E&P Staff
Published: June 13, 2008 3:55 PM ET

Less than two hours before word of his death, by a heart attack, this afternoon, MSNBC on its web site posted a Q & A with the "Meet the Press" host concerning yesterday's launching of an Obama site aimed at fighting rumor and gossip.

An excerpt follows. It is up at www.msnbc.com

Msnbc: Tim, www.fightthesmears.com is a web site launched by the Barack Obama campaign to combat potentially damaging rumor about the candidate and his wife, Michelle. Is this necessary? How big of a problem is this really?

Tim Russert: It's amazing how much the Internet has changed our lives. People get emails that make accusations without foundation and they are circulated around the country within seconds and suddenly become topics of conversations around water coolers or in lunchrooms.

I remember being in Indianapolis covering the Indiana primary and a man came up to me and said he wasn't going to vote for Senator Obama because he was very concerned about the comments made by Jeremiah Wright, Obama's pastor. I said, "That's interesting. As a reporter, I'm curious what comments particularly bothered you?" He said, "Well, I can't think of any that come to mind, but I also read on the Internet that he's a Muslim." And I said, "Now wait a minute. You can't have both. You can't be offended by his Christian minister and then say he's a Muslim. You've got to pick one."

But that just underscores what we're dealing with in this modern era.

Now I'm told there's a counter organization with a very similar name that is going to be positioned and posted to spread the rumors, so that people that go to the Internet to get clarification will go to the wrong web site and get confused.

It's a virus. You have bloggers on both sides, liberals and conservatives, Republicans and Democrats all trying to utilize this vehicle without any kind of fact checking and without any kind of editorial control.

this is really tragic but let's consider this. Tim Russert died on the job, doing what he loved..... instead of battling cancer or something else, puking up his teeth from chemo or wired up in a hospital bed.

He also, by all accounts... lived a life of purpose and kindness that few have equaled. Maybe at 58, he had already crammed his alloted time in..... I'd rather see "Used Up" on my tombstone than "Died after a long battle with colon cancer". This guy lived.... and might I add productively and positively, more in 58 years than many of us accomplish in 78.... so happy trails dude.