by publius
Like everyone else, I'm shocked and saddened by the news. It's just hard to believe that it's real. Anyway, I think Ezra Klein has had the most appropriate words so far:
But for now, it's going to be strange indeed to turn on the TV on Sundays and not hear his voice. Presumably, he's up somewhere beyond the cloudline, hectoring God about His inconsistencies. "But Lord, in Exodus 6:12, you clearly said..."
Open thread.
I think John Cole pretty much said it best.
And I used to think that John Cole was beyond redemption. There's hope for anyone.
Posted by: now_what | June 13, 2008 at 11:50 PM
We'll all miss Sunday mornings with Tim. http://www.lynotttours.com
Posted by: Ellen | June 14, 2008 at 12:29 AM
"But Lord, in Exodus 6:12, you clearly said..."
Thank you for the chuckle on an otherwise somber evening. I will never forget his interview with Stephen Colbert a few months ago. Colbert was in character for the TV segment but they posted footage of Colbert out of character on the MSNBC web site. It was terrific.
Posted by: DrDave | June 14, 2008 at 12:53 AM
Tim Russert (no great bargain, actually) is dead. Bill O'Reilly is still alive. God hates us.
Posted by: Carol L. | June 14, 2008 at 09:33 AM
It is interesting that John Nicols, Atrios, and others respectively noted his passing, addressed regrets, and that's it.
Balloon Juice, as the link notes, provided a more mixed message. Is this somehow in bad taste? I don't think so. We don't honor people by selectively remembering them.
It's not like his family is reading blogs and saying "damn them! they said he was likable and hardworking but also that he was also part of the problem."
Anyway, I was surprised too and sad to some degree since 58 is rather young, but others have died that age or earlier, so "shocked" seems to me a bit much. I also don't think we suddenly will be that much less of a nation w/o his presence in the news. See Valerie Plame trial coverage.
Posted by: Joe | June 14, 2008 at 09:42 AM
I have a pretty low opinion of the value Russert brought to our media, but it's always sad when someone that young dies so suddenly.
Posted by: Catsy | June 14, 2008 at 10:00 AM
whatever happened to blogroll updates?
Posted by: (The Original) Francis | June 14, 2008 at 11:15 AM
Argh, Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me is targeting Kerry jokes at Obama, saying he referred to beer as "a tasty, hops-based beverage which I'm told many of the common people enjoy." We're really in for a rerun of all that stupidity if NPR is doing it.
Posted by: KCinDC | June 14, 2008 at 11:28 AM
Change of topic: Summertime reading.
The practice of law has been especially aggravating recently (although I did help get a workforce housing project get a key permit without needing to install cost-prohibitive mitigation measures -- that was nice). Who's reading what this summer?
Mysteries? Fun fiction? Sci-fi?
Posted by: (The Original) Francis | June 14, 2008 at 11:29 AM
God. I must be the most heartless guy because I simply can't bring myself to think good thoughts about Russert. From his racist attacks on Obama to his philosophy of conversations with G'ment officials being presumed to be off the record he seems to be representative of so many things that are wrong with America rather than anything good and right.
Posted by: Jay | June 14, 2008 at 12:54 PM
I simply can't bring myself to think good thoughts about Russert
Well, who asked you to? Simple respect for the dead for one day is too much for you? The man was by no means the journalistic saint MS-NBC has been describing for the last 24 hours and counting, but let's put things in perspective. There are plenty of people who have done far worse damage to democracy than Russert. My wish is that the "gotcha" question would die along with him, but it will live on as his legacy. Beyond that, the vitriol can wait until the body cools.
Posted by: Ken | June 14, 2008 at 04:05 PM
Ken,
Well put. This is a time to be classy, and find something nice to say about Tim Russert, or remain respectfully silent IMHO. There will be a time to voice a more critical attitude towards his legacy, but later on, not now.
If someone feels the need to pushback against the hagiography taking place as we speak, I'd suggest that at this time they criticize our media culture more generally rather than Mr. Russert personally. It seemed to me that this was the thrust of John Cole's top-level post which now_what linked to.
Much subsequent discussion on the two threads (here is the other one) at Balloon-Juice centered on who would be best suited to eventually take the reins at Meet The Press.
I thought it was a revealing discussion as it became evident to me from the back and forth over various suggestions that there really aren't any good candidates who obviously fill all of the multiple criteria required. I don't want to join the "TR was a saint" chorus, but I do think despite what his critics (amongst whom I would number myself at another more appropriate time) have to say, that it is a tribute to the man and the job that he did that we are having such difficulty coming up with a plausible name for his successor.
If he shoes-to-be-filled are that big, he must have been doing something right.
I'll throw my suggestion into the ring for who should eventually host MTP when we are ready to move on:
Howard Fineman
I think he has the requisite combination of seriousness, historical knowledge of politics, and an ability to be fair and reasonably nonpartisan without being a creampuff, and a capacity to walk the tightrope between being too deferential to guests on the one hand, and too hostile to attract top level guests on the other hand. He doesn't come across on screen as having the personal warmth of Tim Russert, but I don't think you'll find anybody who does and can still match the other requirements I just listed.
Also, this ties into (The Original) Francis's question about summer reading, since I'm currently working through Fineman's book "Thirteen American Arguments", which I'm finding to be a good read. Not as griping as Nixonland perhaps, but still well worth the money spent and time devoted.
Posted by: ThatLeftTurnInABQ | June 14, 2008 at 10:56 PM
"Classy" to some seems to be to say how special of a media man he is, which in effect is to lie.
That is, if you think he is not. I don't see much "respectful silence" in many quarters in this respect. Are we to speak out a few weeks from now, when no one really is thinking about it any more? This is always useful.
Anyway, the comment was honest about what s/he truly believed. When dealing with important public figures who receive loads of slanted praise for their careers, not just them as people, there is a place for that.
Posted by: Joe | June 15, 2008 at 01:57 PM
I agreed with Avedon. So, Francis (The Original): Who's reading what this summer?
I just finished reading a novel which turned out to be a James Bond spoof with Lovecraftian elements. The Jennifer Morgue, by Charles Stross. It was quite good, if you like James Bond. (I read all the Ian Fleming novels, and I liked Sean Connery, but after that I quit. Still, I liked Bond enough to enjoy TJM.
I also re-read all the Jaran novels by Kate Elliott, which I think are quite brilliant. And after a recent Doctor Who episode, and a dive into Agatha Christie's autobiography (if you're thinking about giant wasps, you're right) I started re-reading Christie's detective novels, just as and when I find them in the library. I haven't read them in 20 years, and I'd forgotten how much fun they can be.
Posted by: Jesurgislac | June 15, 2008 at 02:38 PM
His special day having passed, I have no qualms about saying: Russert was a blowhard who helped stupefy our discourse by providing the media with the conviction that they were actually doing their jobs by supposedly Speaking Truth To Power, when they were simply juvenile shills. [His nauseating sanctification of Big Russ can also blow me.] He was a blight on our discourse and -- from that perspective, and that perspective alone -- I'm glad he's no longer in it.
That said, obviously, his death is saddening and my condolences to his family for their loss.
Posted by: Anarch | June 15, 2008 at 03:39 PM
I feel bad for Russert's family; 58 is awfully young to die. But I won't miss his pernicious effect on American "journalism," in which his irrelevant "gotchas" were somehow seen as proof of "toughness."
Posted by: beckya57 | June 15, 2008 at 04:10 PM
Well, I'd say there's a good chance he'll be replaced by someone who will make us miss him.
Posted by: KCinDC | June 15, 2008 at 04:17 PM
Well, I'd say there's a good chance he'll be replaced by someone who will make us miss him.
When you look into the journalistic abyss, etc.
Posted by: Anarch | June 15, 2008 at 05:37 PM