Remembering Tim Russert

I was shocked, needless to say, to hear of the untimely passing of Tim Russert this afternoon.  Tim contributed so much to the national discussion regarding politics and policy and he will be deeply missed.

Looking back and reflecting on Tim and his work, many things come to mind.  For one, I didn't always like him.  I despised him for being so tough with Hillary during her appearances. But at the same time, I was glued to the television, with a grin on my face, whenever he took the Republicans to task.  Looking back, Tim was being tough with Hillary, but he was also as tough with all his other guests.  Tim didn't play favorites.  He didn't take sides.  Was he a Republican?  Was he a Democrat?  I don't know and I don't think anyone does.  

In fact, I often heard my Democrat friends complain that Russert was a blatant Republican.  At the same time, if you ever checked out any of the conservative blogs, they were constantly claiming Russert was an out of control liberal.  I suppose thats when you know a journalist is truly doing their job --- not when one side loves you and the other hates you, not even when both sides love and praise you, but when both sides think you're playing for the opposite team.  

When Sunday would role around, there was only one Sunday show I was interested in seeing: Meet the Press.  The frequent hour long interviews with only one commercial interruption were unprecedented and truly covered all the bases.  

And although one couldn't tell what political affiliation Russert had, one could clearly tell one thing: Tim Russert loved politics.  Whenever he talked about politics, Russert's face lit up.  His level of excitement exceeded that of the proverbial "kid in a candy store".  

And the work Russert put in was also unbelievable.  He was on MSNBC's Morning Joe almost every day.  Then you could catch him just an hour later discussing politics with Meredith and Matt on the Today Show.  A few hours later he would be anchoring an hour of news coverage on MSNBC.  In another few hours, he was talking politics with Brian Williams on Nightly News.  He would then be a guest on Hardball or Countdown.  On Saturday, Russert hosted the hour long Tim Russert Show on MSNBC and then on Sunday it was Meet the Press on NBC.  No one worked harder.  And it's not as if Russert had to work like that either; he chose to.  As Vice-President of NBC news, Russert didn't have to do a damn thing: he chose to, though, because he loved politics and he loved sharing his passion with the American people.   

Finally, I just want to talk about Russert's influence on me, an influence I don't think I fully until tonight.  Tim would often, on Meet the Press, read a quote that his guest made in the past and then compare and contrast it with the same guest's most recent statements and positions.  Looking back, I did the same thing many times here.  It was just while reflecting on Tim that I came to realize this.  

In conclusion, I just want to extend my heart and prayers to the Russert family.  Tim Russert will always be remembered and will be sorely missed.  

The Daily Dose---2/27

The Final Debate

I must say, I really did enjoy last night's debate.  I though the questions that NBC prepared were much more substantive and diverse than those picked out by CNN last week.  It's those questions that ordinary people don't think much about---like Kosovo, and Putin's successor---that really say a lot about the candidates running for office.  No offense meant to Sen. Clinton or Obama, but how much skill does it take to debate Iraq or healthcare these days?  They have debated them 100 times before and I think the American people get where they stand.  But these unexpected questions, which highlight the challenges facing the next President, give us a great insight into these candidates' minds.  One thing I will note, and maybe it's just me, but when Tim Russert asked about Putin's successors, he did, in fact, ask it openly---giving both Sen. Clinton and Obama a chance to jump at the question and answer it first.  The look on Obama's face said it all---he didn't have an answer, or, atleast, a decent one.  Sen. Clinton, on the other hand, paused, and then, dare I say, when Obama didn't answer, came to his rescue.  Now, if I was in Sen. Clinton's shoes, I would have said something like, "I think we should let Sen. Obama answer."  But she didn't, she took the question and then allowed Obama to, in essence, copy her answer, almost exactly, and pass it off as his own.  That could have been the moment where Obama slowed his momentum, not being able to answer a very important foreign policy question.  But she chose to help him...make of that what you will, but I find it interesting to say the least and I'm surprised the MSM hasn't picked up on it.  Other than that, the debate was, as I said, very substantive and very formal.  I thought that both Sen. Clinton and Obama performed well and both, I can confidently say, would beat McCain in a debate this fall.  

For Once, I Have Something Nice to Say...to a Republican

Yep, that's right, but I must warn you, don't get used to it.  I just want to take this time though to commend Sen. John McCain for decrying the actions and words of Bill Cummingham, a conservative radio host, who had some less than appropriate things to say about Barack Obama.  I just hope that McCain keeps his attacks up on those who engage in these type of tactics.  They are completely unnecessary and McCain needs to keep up the pressure on them.  Let's have a clean campaign based on the issues and facts at hand, not dirty tricks and falsehoods.   

Speaking of Dirty Tricks...

I'm really get sick and tired of this whole Barack "Hussein" Obama and Muslim thing.  Number one, Barack Obama is not a Muslim.  Number two though, it shouldn't matter if he was?  Seriously, does someone have to be a white, male Christian with a simple 1-2 syllable name to be President?  Maybe America should just focus on electing the right person for the job, regardless of gender, race, religion, or anything else.  Sure, Obama isn't a Muslim, but the religious right is practically insulting every person who isn't a Christian, essentially saying that they're unqualified for public office.  What's that document that says there shall be no religious test for office?  O, yea, that's right, it's the U.S. Constitution, the document our entire democracy is founded on.  Maybe the Republicans should take a look at it once and a while.  With that being said, this is my request for the religious right (even though they couldn't care less): 1) Stop lying about Barack Obama's faith and 2) stop demeaning people who might not follow the Christian faith----news flash: there's nothing wrong with that.  

Debate Moderators Wanted

Last night's Democratic debate should be the last debate for Brian Williams and Tim Russert to moderators.  They are hopeless at asking questions of candidates that reflect what a candidate would do if elected and what their Presidency would look like.  We all know what the candidates positions are concerning Iraq and Iran yet their questions are a rerun of previous debates.

 

How do the candidates plan to reverse the eight years of record deficit spending when Bush leaves office?  How do they plan to restore the moral mantle of world leadership that our past presidents enjoyed? How do they plan to once again bring accountability to our leaders?  How do they plan to restore the basic rights of Americans that have been violated in the name of fighting terror?

 

The news was out before the debate that John Edwards and Barrack Obama were going to go after Senator Clinton and her positions.  Williams and Russert made sure that happened by asking the questions those candidates said they would raise.  Williams and Russert actually enjoyed asking those questions, but unfortunately, it did nothing to further educate the people who would like to hear how the candidates will deal with the many serious problems that will be left to the next president. 

 

Brian Williams and Tim Russert.  Both are poor excuses for moderators and demonstrated journalism at its worst last night. 

Tim Russert: The Voice Of The Republican's

On "Meet the Press" on October 28, Tim Russert once again proved he is the voice for the Republican Party and George Bush concerning the war in Iraq.  Senator Chris Dodd was asked his position on the Iraq War several times and Russert then put statements on the screen that Dodd made in the past that represented only part of what he said.  Dodd had to point out on two occasions that Russert should go back to the statement he made in 2004 to get the full story.

 

It is typical of Russert to quote only part of people's statement and then try to use that to show a lack of consistency.  A few weeks ago on Meet the Press, presidential candidate John Edwards also had to correct Russert when he showed a partial statement concerning Mrs. Edwards.

 

Then Russert asked Senator Dodd, "Are we safer today...and if our men and women in uniform in Iraq have died in vain?"  The fact is we are not safer today.  We have lost almost 4000 troops in Iraq and over 2000 people in the tragic attack of 9-11.  Both events happened on Bush's watch.  Mr. Russert needs to understand our men and women in uniform are Americans so therefore America is less safe.  The Clinton administration went 7 years and 9 months without a foreign terror attack on U.S. soil.  George Bush's administration will never match that safety record for this great country.

 

Our men and women in uniform go where the President and Commander in Chief tells them to go. They do their duty, serve their country, and therefore never die in vain.  George Bush started a war and occupation in Iraq and committed our troops to an unnecessary war over WMD that did not exist.  The casualties that America has suffered are the result of his reckless behavior and incompetent decisions and not providing our troops with the proper equipment to protect themselves from the type of attacks the war has exposed them too.

 

Mr. Russert, like Bush, is careless when talking about this war and asking if our troops have died in vain. Russert should ask Mr. Bush why he did not possess the wisdom, character, or maturity to make sure his information was rock solid before starting a war and occupation over WMD that did not exist.  The best intelligence on the ground in Iraq before Bush started this war was the U.N. inspectors.  They said over and over again that Iraq was disarmed of those weapons but Bush tried to play god and disregarded their findings.

 

This is the same Russert who let Dick Cheney tell the american people on Meet the Press, prior to the war, that Iraq reconstituted its nuclear program and then never asked Cheney for proof.  And this is the same Russert who months after the war started had Cheney back on his show and Cheney said he was wrong about Iraq reconstituting its nuclear program.  This statement came after no WMD were found and many lives were lost and Russert let that statement slip by without pressing Cheney for some answers about his and Bush's incompetence.  I those those who watch Meet the Press will realize the lack of creditability on the real issues that really matter and I hope they themselves will look for the facts, because Tim Russert can not be trusted to give them. 

The Politics of Meet the Press (a special editorial by John Lucia)

Tim Russert, who moderated the Democratic Debate at Dartmouth, New Hampshire a week or so ago, had John Edwards as his guest on Meet the Press today. He asked Mr. Edwards once again the same question he asked him at the debates about all troops being out of Iraq by 2013.

Mr. Edwards gave his reply again. Evidently Mr. Russert has a problem understanding an answer. It has become a habit of Russert to ask questions of non events. He then asked Mr. Edward a question concerning a remark his wife made and put the remark up on the screen. Mr. Edwards then had to tell Russert his question was different than what he put up on the screen.

It has become evident that Russert has let his Republican leanings show when interviewing his guests. He often promotes the self serving statements of the Republican party. Now, it is the Republican hype that Senator Clinton can't win in the general election and he interjected some of those comments to John Edwards. Instead of focusing on what John Edwards would do if elected president, he talks about Senator Clinton. Tim Russert has a way of bringing discredit upon his profession. The previous moderators of Meet the Press must be holding their breath. Journalists need to start talking about the future when interviewing candidates, that is what the election is all about.