Tim Russert

15 June 2008 |permalink | email article

The longtime host of “Meet the Press” loved politics and especially covering this year’s historic presidential campaign. But a heart attack at 58 while recording voice-overs for this Sunday’s program cut short his life as an affable journalist with an Irish gusto for the subject.

The tributes to Russert on the program, from fellow journalists and those across the political spectrum are almost without precedent in affection, underlining the D.C. nexus of politics and journalism.

For Russert, what mattered most were his Catholic faith and values, his wife, son and caring for ‘Big Russ,’ his aging father – and working-class roots in South Buffalo where he grew up, the NFL Bills and Boston College.

Many believe he set the standard for moving from politics to journalism. His was a serendipitous journey.

Educated by the Jesuits in high school and at John Carroll University he was trained as a lawyer. His skill at analysis before joining NBC in 1984 came from working for two New York pols – first Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and then Gov. Mario Cuomo.

When he became the tough but fair host of “Meet the Press” in 1991, he changed the face of politics at NBC where over the years it has become the top rated public affairs program of its kind in the nation.

Always well prepared beforehand in the Jesuit tradition of logical debate, ‘The ‘Russert Test’ of probing questions became a pass or fall gauntlet for both politicians of both parties and high-ranking government officials.

His coverage was sometimes the subject of intense controversy, notably in this year’s primaries, but had incredible influence in Washington and beyond.

But some liberal press critics thought he was too soft on the administration, pointing to him as a symbol of hubris and coziness between MSM news personalities and their D.C. subjects.

Timothy Rutten’s Los Angeles Times Saturday article notes that very little has been written about Russert’s role in the I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby case and his conviction on perjury and obstruction of justice charges – some of it based on Russert’s testimony.

Referring to the limitations of “insider” journalism of which Russert was an exemplar, Rutten wrote that if his legacy stands for anything, “it’s that journalists have an obligation to preserve as complete a record as possible – and to hold those responsible for that record accountable.”

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