Current Article

Why I Won’t Miss Russert on Meet The Press

By Larry Johnson on June 21, 2008 at 8:20 PM in Current Affairs

Tim Russert will be deeply missed by family and friends. By all accounts he was a good husband, father, and friend. But as a TV host, he was a cheap shot artist who played a stack deck. This moment from a September 2007 Democratic debate illustrates Russert’s tendency to shill for the Bush Administration and play the role of enabler with respect to Iraq.

Hillary’s response was classy and direct, despite Russert’s lame ambush attempt. She would not back down. She would not pander. And she was absolutely right about a critical issue affecting our nation’s security. And Tim? He played the role of smug prick quite well. Count me in the minority of those who do not believe Tim was a saint or giant of broadcasting. He was a shill and did not give a damn about getting to the truth of the matter. I wish for the sake of his family he was still alive and well, but I am glad he is gone from the tube.

Anonymous

Harsh but true about him. I wish his family the best.

Mandelay

Amen on all counts. He was a ball buster but may he rest in peace.

standard

He was a pack bully.
indigo

Is it just me or is it true that Hillary looks more and more beautiful every day and the more I see her? And I love her sense of humor too.

I don’t get those who criticize her looks. She looks damn fine (for her age) to me!

Sorry nothing to do with Tim Russert, I just can’t help saying.

http://deleted AnninCa

Hillary was the least attractive in her 30′s, actually.

She’s one of those women who has grown into her beauty.

That is a fun part of nature, in my opinion. Some of us are gorgeous at 20 and it doesn’t hold. Others tend to grow into beauty.

I suppose it’s a special kind of perspective that can see an older woman’s beauty.

But in today’s age of “Cougar” loving, I can tell you……the stereotypes of the past?

Gone. LOL*

Now I’m still a staunch conservative on that personal level.

But I sure could tell a few stories that would turn aside the remarks made by sexists about the attraction of older women.

I’ll refrain.

indigo

Yep, she wasn’t a beauty pageant contestant when she was younger. She’s most attractive today. She has a great stylist these day too. Love her hair, love her smiles…love her! She just looks natural and comfortable with herself despite all the crooked things people say about her.

And even Chelsea has grown into a charismatic beautiful young woman too. If I was a man, I would want to date her (not just because she’s a Clinton) but because she has inner bauty -more than her physical beauty- like her mom.

sjc-tx

I agree. She just lights me up when I hear her speak and I LOVE it when she ‘takes no shit’!!!

http://www.law.indiana.edu/uslawdocs/declaration.html Hillary’sSimplytheBest

Thanks Larry, for stating the truth.

I miss her, She was really great in debates, She’d make a Great Commander in Chief.

standard

She’d be a nominee we could all be proud of.

indigo

Yep. And the most beautiful one we have had too.

Seeing her makes me more determined to have her all over again in 2012 if not this year. That can only happen if Obambi loses. So I guess we have to work toward that end.

I don’t mind a beautiful, smart, funny president in my lifetime at all! Do you?

ghost2

yeah.

I loved that moment in the debate. She was so classy, and the next line was cute too, “Well, I’ll talk to him later.”

As an aside, she is just beautful there too. I miss her.

Paul Arnett

These comments are touching and truthful. There must be a way to keep Hillary visible. It won’t come from the Obama forces or the MSM. They both intend to ‘dissapear’
her, quickly or slowly and surely. Add the Democratic Party to that also. Obama may offer her the VP slots so he can ‘keep his enemy close’.
She must consolidate and nurture her
hard won power from the primary so she can speak from her own independent center of power. I am thinking a lot
about where she can best do this and am growing certain
it should be from her Senate seat. What does everyone one else think?

I miss her and will look for a way to keep her visible.

Tuppence 411

I too, so much, miss hearing and seeing Hillary. She is sooo smart, on point, authentic. She honestly gives me real HOPE we can get this country back on track. We do need to keep her “center stage” as much as possible. We need to organize around her joint appearances with Nobama. Make them PRO-HILLARY events. Put her back in the spotlight where she rightly belongs. That is why his camp is being so secretive about locations. Don’t want to give us time to prepare. Stupid ‘bama! Doesn’t he realize Hillary has supporters everywhere who can come out at a moments notice?? He can’t hide from us.

indigo

Agree. As I said, we want Obama lose for this very reason so Hill can reappear. So the only effective way of doing it is voting for McCain, albeit very reluctantly.

The party elite needs to learn a lesson and it can only happen when we don’t support their nominee and work against him.

Paul Arnett

Russert was doing this 11 years ago. He was outed totally and
completely by one of the Kalb brothers who ( part of the Cronkite generation with a reputation above reproach ) wrote a book about the MSM’s immediate response to President Clinton’s admission to his affair with Monica. Good riddance!
He should have been fired long ago. And thanks to Larry for posting an example of the creep at work. I would like to see many of the others disappear. There is nothing laughable or forgiveable about the destruction they’ve wrought going back, I guess, to around the latter half of the 70′s.

Also, the MSM’s response to his death shows a degree of denial that borders on the psychotic. That is the truth. This is
our MSM- Beware!

Tyrione

I wonder how Dan Rather will be received if he dies or how is it that Cronkite who was the face of the evening news must feel seeing as Tim Russert might as well have been a dead President by the media coverage over his funeral.

Gawd NBC has really taken a nose dive since a certain producer became the CEO.

Jeannie Segall`

eloquent AND blunt. thanks. I’m so tired of having to explain my lack of interest in his death to people, except for feeling sorry for his family, as I would for anyone. To me he was no one special, and a lot less than that.

http://thevote.abc13.com tomabrahams

here’s an online post about media access to obama…

http://thevote.abc13.com/2008/06/access-to-oba-1.html

WasLNbutNoBamaBotsKeepStealingMyName

Yes, and here’s the link to a the NY Times article reference in the post above.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/19/america/19campaign.php

30yrdem-not any more

I wish the best for his family…I know it is a very hard time….BUT….no person in the press should have the power or the right to say when an election is over as he did the night of the North Carolina vote…I never watched him on anything after that…and I heard many ask on television after he died….”The way he called the election over…Who else can do that?”….the answer was always “no one”….I say thank god for that….the press needs to stay out of the elections and let the people vote…No one and I mean No One has the right to do what that man did…They need to report the news not make it up and that is all NBC/MSNBC seems to be able to do…make it up as we go along….no wonder they are at the bottom in the ratings..

dp

Amen!

30yrdem-not any more

I am glad you replied, I worried about being so honest about how I felt after I hit add comment…I see I am not alone here….it was wrong what he did…he helped Obama get where he is…nothing Obama has ever done qualifies him to be president..I don’t know who is/was more deceptive TR or BO.

Obama is a bum

I saw that show, he had 4 guests all in the tank for Obama and the show opens where each guess says it is over. Nobody was allowed on who did not disagree.

John

No. We need much tougher questioning of candidates, although it need not be in Russert’s “gotcha” style.

I’d love for one of Russert’s successors to begin a debate like this:

“Senator, you have proposed trillions of dollars in new spending, which according to experts will cost our grandchildren tens of thousands of dollars each.

“Why do you want to stick our grandchildren with a bill like that?“
WasLNbutNoBamaBotsKeepStealingMyName

Any indication of who the network is going to appoint as his replacement?

Deep Truths

Tim Russert clone, Brian Williams.

beebop

Why aren’t we getting an inexperienced “new kind” of journalist? All talk, no walk!

Lakota in GA

Thanks, Larry, for your post! I totally agree! He was no better than the rest, imo. I do feel for his family and wish them comfort.
Teakwood

I have watched him in no confrontational settings and some of it has been informative. Sorry for his families loss. I have been disapointed he never came forward promptly when Rove was ear waxing him.

His gotcha meme was very disturbing, and him wagging his finger at Senator Clinton was very low class.
—-
OT; Mr Johnson, I have been looking for

1) Who it was that was involved in putting Obama’s “newly-formed foreign policy panel” together. BO is not qualified to rattle of a list of names as Senator Clinton would be able to, so I have been wondering who was “driving”. Puppet strings…

2) In the articals I have read, the following was stated. Have been unable to see which militay peeps he was “talking too”, do you have any ideas who they might be?

After the foreign policy meeting, Obama met separately with a group of about 40 retired admirals and generals about military affairs and Iraq and Afghanistan. There has been speculation that he may be looking for a vice-presidential running mate with a military background.

Thanks

peter pentagram made too many enemies

Well, then, he should go with Merill McPeak.

Genereal Mcpeak would make a fine, fine, fine, VP, wouldn’t he?

Teakwood

Thought about that but McPeek doesn’t dance with those people.

And I wanted to know who the Marionette players were putting the BO “team” together. BO is incapable of doing it himself. He does not know these folks.

Teakwood

Besides from what I have read Boren said he was contacted in March.

WasLNbutNoBamaBotsKeepStealingMyName

Yes, I do feel very sad for his family, that he is gone at such a relatively young age. My prayers are with his wife and son and extended family.

I will not miss him on MTP.
Denise

What struck me as odd was the attention his death got for days. It shows how much the media truly loves themselves. He wasn’t a head of state, he wasn’t a religious leader, he wasn’t a civic leader. He was a reporter.

WasLNbutNoBamaBotsKeepStealingMyName

Yes…it’s the Larry King effect.

Nicole

Larry–you’re “dead on” with this one.

I thought all the worship was absolutely ridiculous. Quite frankly, the man did nothing to merit days of adulation (he often smirked, pandered, flattered, and attacked instead of doing a proper job)–there are many more far deserving men and women, whose deaths are ignored by the media.

Fred C. Dobbs

A LOW bar was set for hagiography when The Addled Puppet Reagan went to that big Craft Service Table in the sky.

Let’s hope that Tweety keeps his blood glucose and his dedication to the fruiy of the vine in check.

I don’t think I could stand more than one these post-mortem Love-ins of the sub-mediocre per year.

Best part of all this? Screw network TV.

I have now seem all of the Sopranos, Sports Night, Six Feet Under twice or thrice, Deadwood once, and am awaiting the arrival of the second season of Arrested Development on DVD.

Someone take Andrea Mitchell’s (AND hubby’s) BP.

Nicole

Loved Deadwood and Arrested Development…they’re all good shows but try to rent the DVD collection for Carnivale and Weeds, too. The great thing, of course, is: we don’t need no stinkin’ cable TV!

Masslib

Spot on. I’m too young to have watched the original “Meet the Press” but I have seen the reruns, and he absolutely ruined the show.

On a side note, how on earth did we get stuck with a hack instead of this extrodinarily qualified woman?
Mandelay

And Hillary looking so qualified and classy, as always!
HARP

Hillary was bang on of course.
Sean

Larry, if you died; I am sure no one in the world would be giving a damn.

WasLNbutNoBamaBotsKeepStealingMyName

I would.

30yrdem-not any more

Me too.

Nicole

And me.

dp

and me.
Hiro

Same here. Please keep working for our future, LJ!!

Teakwood

Me too, but Larry would be standing next to Obi…

There is another.

http://hyper-educated-uppity-woman.blogspot.com Uppity Woman

Funny Sean, nobody would give a damn if you died either.
athena

me too – boy you are a schmuck!
beebop

Are you projecting again, Sean? Such an undroll troll you are!

http://www.hillaryclinton.com/contribute/IJ97 Colin

I will miss Tim Russert. Hillary handled herself well in the video.

Lou

good bye..good riddance..fat head..his family prolly feels the same. He was a skank. He had a good life and was taking up too much space..so off to hell he goes..
Yeah that’s cruel alright but he was a cruel man who deserves it.

http://www.hillaryclinton.com/contribute/IJ97 Colin

No, absolutely not. Whether the question was tough, and brough in Bill Clinton, at the time the speculation was is this going to be a “co-presidency”, Hillary stopped that dialogue in less than 30 seconds. It was clear she was her own woman and was not beholden to the politics of the 1990s.

Tim Russert was a good man. Hillary and Bill were at the service; and had a long conversation with Luke Russert.

If you believe Hillary is the best candidate, you believe she can handle herself with tough press. Hillary wasn’t robbed by the press; The press formented her.

Hillary was robbed by the DNC and Chicago Machine. Hillary was not robbed by Tim Russert or Chris Matthews.

Olbermann is not a newsman, he’s a sportscaster.

The bigger they are the harder they fall. Obama has a long hard fall ahead of him.

Deep Truths

Russert and Matthews are the gatekeepers. You are full of shit. Their hatred towards Bill and Hillary was palpable. No one could call them on it because they are the MSM. The MSM needs to be taken down.

His death is an omen.
MEchelle Hates America!

Chris MatTinglelegews is a an ass of a political pundit – not a journalist.

There isn’t anyone writing and investigating stories.

http://www.villarrealsports.com Paul F. Villarreal

Amen, Larry.

I won’t miss Tim “Let’s go Bills!”, “I’m Scooter Libby’s biotch”, “My wife and I hate the Clintons” Russert.

I’m sad he passed away, but will not miss his hackery on MTP.
It’s Not Me

Couldn’t agree more. He was nothing but a shill. I stopped watching his Sunday show after I heard Mary Matelin and Cheney were connected to him. Absolutely sickening.

During the endless media coverage of his death, they kept showing pictures of him at parties with POLITICIANS. I’m sorry, but News people should not be partying with politicians! Is there any wonder why our MSM is useless now? NO! They are all cut from the same damn cloth and it’s all so unseemly.

Russert sucked. Period.

I feel bad for his wife and son, but that’s as far as my compassion goes.
db

I never thought Russert was a good host. He reminded me of a frog on the verge of a fart.

Next to his family’s loss, is the horror of the sexist Chris Matthews taking his place.

PUMA
WasLNbutNoBamaBotsKeepStealingMyName

Impeachment talks swirl around Illinois gov:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-illinois-impeach-bd22jun22,0,4000302.story

http://home.comcast.net/~vincep312 Vince P

The President of the IL Senate, Emil Jones , is protecting the Governor. In a past story Jones says since he (Jones) is a Democrat , he has the obligation to protect a fellow Democrat (the Gov).

Emil Jones is the Kingmaker who we can call thank for the installation of Obama as IL Federal Senator.

Republicans controlled the Illinois General Assembly for six years of Obama’s seven-year tenure. Each session, Obama backed legislation that went nowhere; bill after bill died in committee. During those six years, Obama, too, would have had difficulty naming any legislative achievements.

Then, in 2002, dissatisfaction with President Bush and Republicans on the national and local levels led to a Democratic sweep of nearly every lever of Illinois state government. For the first time in 26 years, Illinois Democrats controlled the governor’s office as well as both legislative chambers.

The white, race-baiting, hard-right Republican Illinois Senate Majority Leader James “Pate” Philip was replaced by Emil Jones Jr., a gravel-voiced, dark-skinned African-American known for chain-smoking cigarettes on the Senate floor.

Jones had served in the Illinois Legislature for three decades. He represented a district on the Chicago South Side not far from Obama’s. He became Obama’s kingmaker.

Several months before Obama announced his U.S. Senate bid, Jones called his old friend Cliff Kelley, a former Chicago alderman who now hosts the city’s most popular black call-in radio program.

I called Kelley last week and he recollected the private conversation as follows:

“He said, ‘Cliff, I’m gonna make me a U.S. Senator.’”

“Oh, you are? Who might that be?”

“Barack Obama.”

Jones appointed Obama sponsor of virtually every high-profile piece of legislation, angering many rank-and-file state legislators who had more seniority than Obama and had spent years championing the bills.

“I took all the beatings and insults and endured all the racist comments over the years from nasty Republican committee chairmen,” State Senator Rickey Hendon, the original sponsor of landmark racial profiling and videotaped confession legislation yanked away by Jones and given to Obama, complained to me at the time. “Barack didn’t have to endure any of it, yet, in the end, he got all the credit.

“I don’t consider it bill jacking,” Hendon told me. “But no one wants to carry the ball 99 yards all the way to the one-yard line, and then give it to the halfback who gets all the credit and the stats in the record book.”

During his seventh and final year in the state Senate, Obama’s stats soared. He sponsored a whopping 26 bills passed into law — including many he now cites in his presidential campaign when attacked as inexperienced.

It was a stunning achievement that started him on the path of national politics — and he couldn’t have done it without Jones.

Before Obama ran for U.S. Senate in 2004, he was virtually unknown even in his own state. Polls showed fewer than 20 percent of Illinois voters had ever heard of Barack Obama.

Jones further helped raise Obama’s profile by having him craft legislation addressing the day-to-day tragedies that dominated local news headlines.

For instance. Obama sponsored a bill banning the use of the diet supplement ephedra, which killed a Northwestern University football player, and another one preventing the use of pepper spray or pyrotechnics in nightclubs in the wake of the deaths of 21 people during a stampede at a Chicago nightclub. Both stories had received national attention and extensive local coverage.

I spoke to Jones earlier this week and he confirmed his conversation with Kelley, adding that he gave Obama the legislation because he believed in Obama’s ability to negotiate with Democrats and Republicans on divisive issues.

So how has Obama repaid Jones?

Last June, to prove his commitment to government transparency, Obama released a comprehensive list of his earmark requests for fiscal year 2008. It comprised more than $300 million in pet projects for Illinois, including tens of millions for Jones’s Senate district.

Shortly after Jones became Senate president, I remember asking his view on pork-barrel spending.

I’ll never forget what he said:

“Some call it pork; I call it steak.”

JS Ruby

I once thought Tim Russert was the top of the media pole, but this last year of him drinking the BO kool-aid left me cold. I rarely watched MTP anymore or any show he was a part of, because I knew there would be strong bias for BO and anti HRC. I am sorry for his family that he is gone, but I will not miss him. Actually you would think the pope died the way the media is dealing with Tim’s death.

granny

I did not watch TV for days because I did not want to see the “state funeral” for Tim Russert…..I just left it off until I thought it might be all over with.

I have been annoyed with him since he was everywhere talking about that book he wrote about his father…..what about honoring his mother? That was what I thought at the time. And then the awful way he was so obviously pro-BO and anti-Hillary. Disgusting.
dp

Agree.

Susaninbosque

And once again, I am so pleased you have had the graciousness and generosity of spirit to share this website with us along with the cost and hard work. And once again, you speak for us. You could not have said it any better. I learned to deeply dislike him over the last few months or so but I know he was better than that and I believe he knew it too. I believe (or like to believe) that his heart would not let him continue to do what his head and his wallet wanted him to do and so his heart attacked him. I have seen it so often before and if you believe in min/body connections, this was it.
HARP

Has Obama no shame? His first OFFICIAL ad claims credit for a vets healthcare bill he did NOT vote for.

Oops! Obama Did It Again

So Obama’s new ad, the first of the general election, “cites Public Law 110-181 when he talks about his efforts to extend ‘health care for wounded troops who’d been neglected.’” The problem? Obama never showed up to the vote. He was actually too busy campaigning to make it back to Washington to vote for the bill, but wants the American people to think he deserves the credit. Sounds a lot like the 2005 Energy Bill, which Obama has the gall to attack John McCain on even though the junior senator from Illinois voted for it and McCain voted against it.

http://obamawtf.blogspot.com/2008/06/oops-obama-did-it-again-so-obamas-new.html

30yrdem-not any more

He always does that …claims someone else work for his own…smears McCain for things he (obama) voted for and and McCain voted against…he did it to Hillary…and now he is keeping McCain busy defending himself against Obama’s lies….just like he did Hillary….we spent all of our time on line fighting his lies…defending Hillary we had no time to tell people how good she was and what kind of real change she would make…always fighting obama’s lies…I hope America is on to him by now…

http://hyper-educated-uppity-woman.blogspot.com Uppity Woman

Typical mediocre man prancing around taking credit for everybody else’s work.

beebop

He’s just begging for the 527′s to get busy. And then it will be racism. He apparently doesn’t think that he should be held responsible for anything?

Laura

i just wasn’t a fan of Mr. Russert.His role as debate moderator in particular was distasteful.The Buffalo one with Rick Lasio when Hillary first ran for the senate comes to mind. The october one in Philadelphia was downright outrageous.Then his final shot at her in Cleveland.He set the political tone at msnbc and it was not professional or pretty.

Before anyone takes umbrage I want to say my father was a newspaper reporter in NY in the fifties and sixties. He carried a manual royal typewriter with him everywhere he went. He passed in the early 1970′s(I was younger than Mr. Russert’s son is). While I feel empathy for his son I’m thinking what my dad’s reaction would be to the travesty news reporting has become today. His last writing was on Nixon during the watergate hearings. I feel Mr. Russert did nothing to enlighten us in fact he was quite cozy with the political establishment. Sad though his passing was it does not change the fact that he very much was part of the problem we see in the media today. Notwithstanding the self-congradulatory bloviating of the press 24/7 for days after his sudden death.
30yrdem-not any more

I know this is OT…but…this picture makes me mad…

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb-staff/2008/06/21/weekend-captionfest-ii

It seems so wrong to take that seal and change it!

PUMA POWER!
Tricia

Off topic when I went of the http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/frameset_search.asp site Utah’s family seach center (big I went there)

Any his father death shows up in the 1980′s showing Stanley as his wife. (She was already remarried right?)

Also Obama sister said she is 9 years younger than Obama it sounds like to me that when she was born he was shipped back to the States (I wonder what that means you do no want keep your children together?)

Tricia

What was it Sophies choice?
KarenAnn

In an interview Rep. James Clyburn said that ‘because Obama was abandoned by his mother at a young age and shipped off to his grandparents because she could not care for him, AAs can relate to him.’ In several printed interviews it has been stated that (1) Obama’s stepfather was an oil company manager in Indonesia, therefore, Ann Dunham would not have had a problem ‘caring for him’. (2)When he was 10 years old he REQUESTED of his mother that he go to school in HI and stay with his grandparents. (3) At the end of grammar school/jr high he told her that he wanted to stay in HI to attend High School. His ‘abandonment’ is a falacy.
This was in a Time or Newsweek article about Stanley Ann Dunahm a few months ago.

Elizabeth

You read a different article than I did then….his mother felt he would get a better education overall in the U.S. than in Indonesia, so he went there to live with his grandparents. Looks like his mother was right, no? What is so wrong with this? in a way his mother did abandon him, but it was for a positive reason and for his benefit -

db

And oh, I forgot Larry, you have the best site, current updates, & most of your bloggers are top notch!

PUMA
http://Reddragon62.blogspot.com/ RedDragon62

I’m sorry, but I detested that man with every fiber in my being!
Yes, I am sad for his family. Having your husband and father taken like that must have been devastating. My sympathies go out to his family. That being said, Tim Russert was a HACK! He was full of himself and he was arrogant! The man drooled all over Bush and his lap dog Cheney and his Man-Crush on Obama was disgusting! He NEVER had a guest on his show that disagreed with his warped views of the Clinton’s and he relished in his attacks of the same!
I never respected the man, I never agreed with the man and I will never miss the man! I was called a piece of shit on this thread the night he died by some Obama Troll because I spoke my mind about this hack! To bad! This is what I felt about him then and I still feel this way today!
This man helped set the agenda for the Bush agenda’s push to war with Iraq.
Russert did enormous damage to this country with that show of his. He was in a unique position to challenge those in power with the show he moderated but instead he chose to cozy up to them and by doing so was a accessory to the wrongs committed by Bush and his gang!
Russert was not a good man! A good man would have spoken out against the wrongs committed by those in power rather than jumping in bed with them!
No, I will not miss Russert!
He was no friend of mine!

30yrdem-not any more

I think a lot of people feel this way…and Larry gave us a place to vent here…I mean no disrespect to his family but the media has let us down and Russert was one of the biggest let downs…I hope no one ever has that kind of power in the media ever again.
Dee

I agree. Tim is from a working class background and held a public microphone for 20 years and instead of doing something good with it he selfishly become a multi-millionaire and even more amazingly, he believed his own press.

That makes him a complete and utter ass.

He will probably make sainthood before Mother Theresa.

http://dakiniland.wordpress.com/ Dakinikat

I always thought he was definitely one of the enablers of the Iraq war too … he and cheney were always just a little too comfortable together for my comfort. I also think we have to respect individual practice of faith, but I think his ubercatholicism also came into play FAR too many times for him to be called an objective ‘journalist’ per se. His patronizing manner towards Hillary betrays a jesuit upbringing with a ‘lordship’ attitude over women. I’m not putting him exactly in the same class as Limbaugh, but I wouldn’t put him in the same class as Ed Murrow, Walter Cronkite or any of the truely great reporters of our time either. I’d take Wolf Blitzer ANY day of this guy. Russert became the story a few too many times to earn my respect and he enjoyed when that happened WAY too much.

But again, this was a tragedy for his family and my heart goes out to them.
socalannie

I agree with you Larry. I never liked his biased hosting duties on Meet the Press or elsewhere; and he was certainly part of the misogynist boys club on msnbc. I do feel for his family, but they will be well taken care of and TR is being venerated like he was a saint.
http://edgeoforever.wordpress.com/ Robbedvoter

Tim Russert is a criminal.
In 2000 he put Florida in Bush’s column (at Jack Welch’s request) thereby helping the election theft.
He then insisted that Gore concede.
After 9.11 he asked Laura Bush and Giuliani if they think God put Bush there to protect us.
He played an active role in Plamegate – and it was obvious that he was always getting his talking points directly from the White House.
That would be BESIDES what he did to Hillary this campaign (or to Bill Clinton for 8 years)
http://hyper-educated-uppity-woman.blogspot.com Uppity Woman

I wonder what his conversation with God was like.

db

She probably said Out Damn Spot!

http://hyper-educated-uppity-woman.blogspot.com Uppity Woman

I think the quote is “I knew you not”.

Lou

God sent him to hell.
Deep Truths

I doubt he made it.

http://edgeoforever.wordpress.com/ Robbedvoter

And how could I forget – propagated all the lies leading to war – fully knowing the truth.
http://theheraclitanfire.blogspot.com/ craigdp

Larry:

Absolutely correct. TR used his position and authority to promote his own agenda. He was shameless and shameful, definitely not a journalist and unfortunately just another blowhard political hack.
Frankly, he won’t be missed.
Craig Della Penna
Whitey

“He was a shill and did not give a damn about getting to the truth of the matter.”

9 am, 9 am. Whatever happened to 9 am?

Deep Truths

Coronary?

30yrdem-not any more

Thank you Larry for this post….you always come through just at the right time…

Did a post go up that I didn’t see on Obama’s new presidential seal for his campaign? I think it will backfire on him…I was reading a piece and read some of the comments and people don’t like it…I guess this is Obama style change..the kind that pisses everyone off….I guess we will “get over it”..the sob..
Ellen Tenn

Watching that clip of Hillary reminded me how much I miss seeing her. She is so smart, intelligent and witty. She has the knowledge to make our country better than ever and I’m still so pissed that she didn’t get the nomination.

athena

Well now……neither has he ….officially.

Regina

The family will miss him; the media will show respect and loyalty to him and mourn him publicly. As far as myself, I can only say that Tim Russert did his job well. That means that he saw himself as an attack dog….but he chose whom to attack….and he decided to make Hillary his victim. However, I was always in awe as to how she rose above all the attacks. That is my memory of Tim Russert!

Lou

We miss out on prolly the best president ever..Hillary Clinton. It’s been 2 weeks today since she was forced to suspend her campaign. If the elections were fair, she’d be the nominee. How in the world they got away with giving BHO delegates in a state he wasn’t even on the ballot is beyond me. His dead people votes, pet votes, and votes from “would be voters” got him across the delegate line. He is the illegitimate candidate and always will be.

jdona

I had not seen that particular video. Kudos for Hillary, shame on Russert. That was low beyond low. I know they didn’t like each other. She was very gracious in her message to the family. I really don’t understand the animosity towards Hillary Clinton. I never will. She is the best of the best. I’ll be an ardent fan of hers forever. And never for Obama.

HankinPA

I agree with you. If Hillary were still in the race, she would have had 2 major policy meetings in the last few weeks. Obama seems pretty boring without Hillary to keep him on his toes. She is the best of the best. She is not a media persona but very much the bet possible president. Too bad that everyone does not agree with us, ehh??? You and I are smart!

Ai1een

WOW – Larry – I wholeheartedly agree, especially when Hillary ran for President – Russert showed his true colors more than ever and look at the “tribute” he received. Deserved?…I think NOT.
GA Moderate

Today I read an article in Time on Russet by Joe Klein where he stated, “The only real differences we had in 30 years of friendship were over his treatment of both the Clintons, which I thought was occasionally too sharp–and had its roots, I believed, in the strict lessons about sex and probity he’d learned from the nuns (which he often joked about). So it is nobody’s imagination that Russet was unfair to the Clintons. Personally, I lost respect for him during the primary when he treated Hillary in his sexist manner. I also feel that a true journalist is independent and he was not in this primary.

Another thought for a Saturday night. I have often wondered how college students and poor AA could be giving so much money on the internet to OB’s campaign. I also saw today that he did not raise the big bucks in May. I have to ponder if the credit card crunch is hitting his Kool-Aid crowd. The next thing I will hear is that we have to bail out the card companies because of all the bad debt made by the contributions to his campaign. I guess that insult won’t be any worse than the way we have already been treated by the Democratic Party.

Lou

His big money backers are getting cold feet? Buyers remorse? Prolly.

beebop

Republicans? Now that they have the weakest link, they are giving their real money to McCain? Just a thought.

karen for Clinton

Agree with you about Russert fully. I posted a link for an obamadroid last week that proved he was a Bushie pocket man. So-called “progressives” seem to have forgotten all about media manipulation and things like that.

Love Hillary’s wit. Damn, I miss her so much. Rocky.
Deep Truths

Tim Russert’s sudden death is an omen to the MSM who don’t play fair. How he loved dissing Hillary.
And that fake boyish glee. The Minister of DisInformation. Stacking the deck for Bushm and Obama-Manchurian. He had something against women too.

That whole over the top memorial: “Chuck (Todd), what is it that you will remember most about Tim?” ‘sigh’ “Well for thing he was FAIR.”

Puh-lease!

Deep Truths

That should be “well for one thing he was FAIR.”

What is it about devout Catholic guys like Russert and Matthews and women. Is it anti-Mary thing going on.

Lou

Rocky had it going on. What a fantastic fighter she is. She didn’t lose. America lost.
JoeCHI

BINGO!

My sympathies to his family and friends, but, ultimately, good riddance!
Danny

Russert was a corporate blowhole. Plain and simple he did the dirty work for the man. RIP timeh.
jwrjr

I saw the “interview” with Scott McClellan (sp?). I thought that Russert sounded like he got all of his lines from the bush regime. Although I get no pleasure in how it happened, I am glad that TR is off the air.
stateofdisbelief

My friend’s little 8 year old daughter has a saying for why people like Tim Russert die young…she says “God don’t like ugly.”

AMEN.

And My Goodness…Hillary is so wonderful. WTF is wrong with this country?????? This is a brief glimpse of what we could have. It’s just wrong on so many levels that Idiot Boy is parading around pontificating and patting himself on the back for being president…OOOOPSS… he’s not yet! Someone better tell him before he embarasses himself.

Too Late.
Dan R.

Yeah, ya really gotta admire Hillary. You know, the way she voted for the Iraq War in 2002 but then turned around and wanted to cut & run when things got tough, just like the rest of the chickenshit Democrats in Congress. She’s no different than her husband. Her position on an issue depends on which way the political winds are blowing at the moment.

Her calling Gen. David Patraeus a liar in public simply because he didn’t tell her what she was hoping to hear was a really nice touch too. Remember “What you’re telling us requires a willing suspension of disbelief.”? Well, it looks now like Gen. Patraeus was right, doesn’t it?.

John McCain was one of only a handful of leaders who had the guts to stand up and call for more troops in late 2006 when it was considered political suicide to be doing so. Moreover, McCain had been calling for more troops from the start. Had Bush and that idiot Donald Rumsfeld listened to him, we’d be out of Iraq by now.

Hillary’s behavior with regard to Iraq has been no less craven than Obama’s. Not a whit. I don’t trust her to protect the country any more than I’d trust Obama.

StrawberrybitesBarky

Gawd, another she voted for the war idiot. You’re not even worth a the effort. Get your facts straight before you come here. Jesus. You make me so tired. Oh nevermind.
corage

yeah get your facts straight. same old noise.
Tyrione

Obama then must be a “vote to sustain the war finances” shill.
beebop

Any cogent thoughts? Like the new FISA stance? Wide enough for you?

mimi

It was the last debate. His eyes were literally bulging out of his sockets as he questioned Hillary. If you can, watch it.

After he sold the Iraq War, was called to testify at the Scooter Libby trial ( interestingly enough he had to hobble on cructches), and finally his treatment of Hillary during this Primary.

Yes, it is an Omen.

Obama is TOXIC!

Kennedy, Russert, the floods in Iowa, and theres’ more to come. I wouldn’t be caught dead standing next to this guy in a thunderstorm.

I had stopped watching MTP long ago. I’m sure GE is using our tax dollars to right off all of the lossess for nbc/msnbc.

And yes, my condolences to his family. Personal loss is devastating.
http://www.obama-wire.com Sam

RIP Russert

http://www.obama-wire.com
Aidyn

That moment is actually one of my favorites out of all the debates!
corage

thanks larry for your post.
my condolences to the russert family.
but i must say, that hillary, she’s one smart lady.
I MISS HILLLARY.

PUMA
athena

I am a This Week with George Stephanopoulis fan myself. They overlap each other on Sunday so MTP
dropped off my radar along time ago.

Tim was a bit smug for my taste. The coverage of his death and funeral were a BIT OVER THE TOP!

Regrets to his family for their very sad personal loss.
jackie

Thank you.

I disliked his gotcha style tactics. He was very biased as well. When Hillary was on MTP for an hour, she was grilled endlessly for the whole hour. No softball questions, no humor, nothing. Months later, he did Obama for an hour and it was very different. Friendly, softball questions, laughs. Whatever.

I hated him in the debates. He was, I thought, unprofessional. And totally biased. Thank you for your comments. I totally agree.
Jeff in Columbia, SC

My biggest memory of Russert from this year was him playing the truncated clip to Hillary, during her aqppearance on MTP, of Pres. Clinton saying, “Give me a break. This whole thing is the biggest fairy tale I’ve ever seen,” and not the context where the president was talking about Obama’a evolving stances on the Iraq war.

Russert along with the Obama campaign and most of the media deliberately pushed the smear that the Clinton’s were playing the race card. He was not the great, fair journalist that he’s eulogized as being.

Nevertheless, my condolences to his family especially Luke, he’s a very impressive young man.
Scully

Wow, I miss Hillary. Everything is so boring since she left.

She is truly a great debater!
Susan1968

I have empathy for his family but the six days of Russert eulogies were too much. He wasn’t a head of state.

Russert had been blatantly anti-Clinton for YEARS! And it was reflected in any reporting he did related to the Clintons.

When he became a star he was no longer a reporter with any objectivity.

His agenda was clear in the questions he asked at the debates.

Remember when he posed the question:
“What’s the new Russian president’s name.” Obama’s face dropped so Russert turns and poses it to Hillary. Then Obama says.”Senator Clinton is correct.”

What a freaking JOKE!

The Russert-types, those who have been living in their insular worlds way too long, they’ll never understand why we connect with the Clintons.

We see their flaws. We see their weaknesses. We see their strengths. We see their talents.

And because they are such publically complex human beings, we can all see something about ourselves in them.

This is rare in a politician. Even rare to find two such politicians married to each other.
John Rigman

Bunch of fucking idiots, beat up on the dead guy because it makes your loser girl look better. She would never be able to hold a candle to that man. Damn I miss him, rest in peace Timmy.

Tyrione

Russert oversaw the direction where NBC News headed and he played the visible maestro. He treated his personal favs like gold and crapped all over anyone who didn’t fit into his Opus Dei, Catholic choir boy view of the world.

I won’t miss him. He knew his health wasn’t favorable and the network didn’t make a big deal out of it, until it came crashing down on them.

I wish his family well; and I see his son will work hard because no one can deny that Tim worked his ass off and outside of his religion and politics most certainly was a candid, warm person.

The problem was that his job was politics and he sure didn’t know the meaning of Objective when it came to Senator Clinton or anyone who made MSNBC look like a bunch of extreme left ass kissers.

Babs

Just want to say I miss Hillary, too. I just don’t know how I’m going to react seeing her on the same stage as Obama, supporting him. I think I’ll go shopping that night, too painful to watch. I respect and heart her like no other, but just can’t vote for him ever, no, no, not ever.
bushleaguer

Russert was indeed smug when he asked Hillary that question, but she gave it right back to him.

On par, Russert was an equal-opportunity player with the gotcha questions. I don’t see how he is a shill for the Bush Administration – Russert worked Dick Cheney over after the invasion of Iraq and no WMD was found.

Rest in peace, Tim.
Tyrione

Here is a clue when you know the News is being Truthful and focused on as close to the notion of pure Objectivity: the news is BORING AND HONEST, MATTER-OF-FACT AND GIVES YOU THE FACTS.

When it’s entertainment and hype it’s ON 24/7.

Raise your hand if you recall when Cronkite was doing the news and the only ones watching it were retired individuals or middle-aged men.

Now it’s Gossip 101.

The tradtional news of journalism and broadcasting mocked the Tabloid Rags for being crap, yet now they are about 90% tabloid and 10% objective journalism.

It must have been truly painful for them to realize that the Inquirer or The Star, Sun and the tabloids the world over were making a killing talking about aliens, stars sleeping around, to Jesus coming every other week while stores couldn’t keep this crap on the shelves.

Meanwhile, the traditional professional publications were slowly dying.

Call me nostalgic but I wager we’ll see an upstart News Network that comes along and promises real journalism again and you’ll see its rating skyrocket.
Elle

Hi Larry,

Thank you for what you wrote about Hillary here (and elswhere too), for standing up for her.

I am a fan of Hillary too, because of who she is and what she stands for. Her principles are what makes America respected still around the world.

Even as you are making a stand for America and Hillary, you are also making a stand for democracy and freedom all over the world because these principles are universal.

Please take heart that many like myself are cheering you and your fellow Clinton supporters on and praying for your success!

Your Aussie friend

AF catfish

Yay!

AF catfish

While I am sad for his family and his friends, learning of his death gave me an odd sense of relief that he would be off the air.

Like someone said upthread, he would not have anybody on his show who disagreed that Obama was the nominee following the Indiana and North Carolina primaries. He ran the NBC Washington Bureau and anybody who favored Hillary too much was probably frowned upon. I’ve been a reporter and when an editor or higher-up does not like your work, you get fewer assignmetns. Nobody is 100% objective and that was so very true of Russert.
silver

I think Russert should have been fired after he called the election “over” in North Carolina. That was one of the most irresponsible actions in reporting I’ve ever seen, yet he gets pats on the back for it. As we all know, super delegates could have been/and still can be swayed to go in another direction. His arrogance (or stupidity) was simply mind boggling and his statement should be printed as the first sentence in the first chapter of every text book entitled “Journalistic Ethics 101: What Not To Do”

Due to the continual biased reporting conducted by both him and his colleagues, Hillary lost an enormous amount of momentum, support, and votes she otherwise might have picked up—starting in New Hampshire. Guess they all didn’t learn their lesson in 2000 on what can happen when news channels try to call elections before they’re over.

I know that many famous people, like reporters and politicians, like to write books and talk about their religion. Then they go on the talk show circuit and spout off the morality lessons from their childhood and faith—it comes in one blow hole and goes out the other. I’m thinking the majority of these people do it for PR purposes more than anything else—because words don’t mean anything unless you actually apply the principles in other settings besides a church pew. I quit watching Russert a LONG time ago when he led the charge on the MSNBC playground to beat up Hillary with his school yard bullies. I’m sure that’s something all his nuns, priests, and spiritual advisors would have been so proud of .

As far as his family goes, I know this is a difficult time for them. I have no doubt he was a wonderful father, husband, and son. I may have wanted him to quit the business, but I’m sorry about his early passing for their sake.
http://deleted AnninCa

I simply don’t like the political shows today. Too much pretense at objectivity. Not enough objectivity.

Actually, the two guys I pay attention to (maybe not now, since we’re in the GE) were Buchanan and Rove.

I suppose that’s because they are Republicans, so they could actually comment objectively on the primary rather than just speak off of the talking points bulletins.
churl

McLaughlin is the best right now since the show has bouts of objectivity and honesty. Nothing like that comes out of any of the other shows. Russert was simply Punkinhead, nothing more.
JM

Fairness is a good indicator of character. For all the accolades that Tim received for being a good person, his record of fairness in reporting is less pronounced. The reason? Because he was a shill when required to be so. Sorry Tim, but truly decent people don’t TRY to destroy other people who don’t jive with your own belief system. Evidently, your job was to put your particular slant on the news without regard to fair and honest reporting.