In Memory of Tim Russert

It's not often that the death of a TV personality would have a profound effect on me like that of the passing of NBC political analyst Tim Russert when he died last Friday. But his death is one that I cannot shake all that easily. I guess it was about 4:00 PM on Friday when I first heard the news about his death. I was checking my Yahoo e-mail account and my eyes read the first news headline saying "NBC's Tim Russert Collapses and Dies." My heart sank and I said aloud, "Oh no." It was then when I flipped through the channels to see which stations were covering it. Nothing on NBC; they had coverage of the U.S. Open golf tournament on. Nothing on CBS or ABC, either. The next thing closest to NBC is their news channel MSNBC, so I switched it over there. Sure enough, that Yahoo headline was no lie. Tim Russert passed away from an apparent heart attack. We have learned since then that he had suffered from coronary artery disease for a short time but was doing everything in his power to conrol it. But in a matter of an instant, a clot broke off and clogged up a main artery to his heart, causing his tragic death. I don't know the man personally but just from his appearances on television. I can't imagine what this must be like for his colleagues at NBC and his family/friends. He seemed like such a genuinely nice guy that cared for everyone around him. It is truly a gigantic loss for our country.

And you can see the amazing effect he had in regards to this country's political landscape. Not only did President Bush send along his condolences to those who knew Tim, but Vice President Dick Cheney, Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama, Republican Presidential candidate John McCain, both Mr. and Mrs. Clinton, Al Gore - right on down the list. After all, he was the moderator of "Meet the Press," the longest running television show in our nation's history and host of that program for 17 years. He interviewed all of those individuals on that program numerous times and many of the comments I've heard regarding his interviewing style is that he was tough but fair. Next to Tom Brokaw, Matt Lauer, and Brian Williams, Tim Russert was one of the faces of NBC news. Unfortunately, he's gone far too soon.

I guess one of the saddest things about his passing is that it occured during one of the most historic races for president in our country's history. Only recently Barack Obama became the presumptive Democratic nominee for president after months and months of presidential primaries and caucuses across this nation. And who's to say the race between McCain and Obama prior to November won't be just as fierce and riveting? It's just so unfortunate to see a guy like Russert who has been so involved in politics for the majority of his life and who's lived for this time of year has to be taken away just like that. I can tell you one thing, during previous election years, during presidential years or not, I always tuned into NBC and it was really only for one man and that was Tim Russert.

One of the lasting impacts for me regarding Tim's coverage of elections is of the 2000 Presidential election. There he was, with that small dry erase board making out calculations of electoral votes and writing "Florida, Florida, Florida" on it. That night, coverage of the election went on into the wee hours of the morning and Tim was still there for the majority of it. It was a historic night and one of the reasons that made it all the more intriguing was because of Tim Russert. I didn't watch "Meet the Press" all that often but when I did, it was clear that the man did his research and knew what he was talking about. I'd known him for his appearances on the Today Show and NBC Nightly News. And of course, on election night, there was one place I'd have my television tuned into, and that was NBC. I just don't think politics in America will ever be the same without Tim.

Like I said, his death will be difficult to shake for awhile. And I am sure I'm not the only one who feels this way. Many of us are casual viewers of NBC who have watched Tim when he delivered the latest poll results on air or talked about the latest political candidate news. But he was such an endearing individual - how could you not like the guy? Then there's his son Luke, who just recently graduated from college and just lost his dad two days prior to Father's Day. How could you not feel bad for him? He gave an interview with Matt Lauer this morning on the Today Show and I was so incredibly moved by his answers. Honestly, I don't know how he could even give an interview like that so soon after his dad's passing. He was incredibly strong and did an amazing job talking about his father. I have no doubts that he'll be just as successful as his dad as he grows.

So with that being said, here's to Tim and may he never be forgotten from our minds. We certainly owe him a great deal of respect and honor for his year's of TV coverage and for bringing us his insight and knowledge in regards to U.S. politics. R.I.P Tim.