My response: Tim who?
I may be the only person in North America who doesn't know who Tim Russert is, or was. Judging by the unanimous outpouring of grief at his passing, I feel entitled to consider this fact a mark of some distinction. Conventional wisdom is always wrong -- in fact, conventional wisdom is always diametrically wrong.
Or no, that's a little too sweeping. A stopped clock is right twice a day. Better to say that betting against conventional wisdom is always a good idea. You may not win quite so often, but you feel very elated when you do. One time pays for all.
The reason for my ignorance about the newly-sainted Russert is not far to seek: I don't watch TV much anymore. Particularly TV news. Last time I watched "Meet The Press" was maybe 1972. Okay, 1973. Early 1973.
Here's some elegiac dribble on the late Tim:
Tim Russert, a political lifer who made a TV career of his passion with unrelenting questioning of the powerful and influential, died suddenly Friday.... Praise poured in from the biggest names in politics....Anybody this deeply loved by the well-known and powerful just must have been a creep.NBC interrupted its regular programming with news of Russert's death and continued for several hours of coverage without commercial break....
Familiar NBC faces... took turns mourning his loss....
"I can say from experience that joining Tim on "Meet the Press" was one of the greatest tests any public official could face," said Rep. John Boehner....
Russert was also a senior vice president at NBC, and this year Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
He had ... a Democratic pedigree that came from his turn as an aide to the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York.
Lawmakers from both parties lined up to sing his praises after his sudden death.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said [dribble]...
[Dribble], Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential contender, told reporters...
Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, Obama's rival for the White House, hailed Russert as [dribble]...
[Russert] won an Emmy for his role in the coverage of President Ronald Reagan's funeral in 2004.
Oh, I'm sure his wife and kids didn't think so -- well, no, on reflection, let's leave the wife out of it; any wife who doesn't think her husband is a creep has got a screw loose. But the kids loved him. Probably. So let's give him and the kids the benefit of the doubt and shed a tear on their behalf.
Now back to our regularly-scheduled programming.
Everybody seems to have loved this supposedly tough guy. So... one wonders how tough he really was.
For me, the Moynihan connection would be enough to cast the guy into outer darkness -- even without the emmy-winning reportage on The Mummy's funeral. Retch.
Comments (11)
He was no Edward R. Murrow. I don't think he was particularly distinguished in the field of "journalism." I believe he's about as culpable as any in the mainstream press for selling the occupations to the public. But his colleagues thought he was a bigshot, so it's a leading story. Obviously it's a tragedy for his family, but his death is no more tragic than the hundreds of people the US kills every day.
Posted by Nicholas Hart | June 13, 2008 10:09 PM
Posted on June 13, 2008 22:09
The Times is now labeling him "the chief scorekeeper."
Adding on the required note about his excellent fulfillment of Job Requirement #1 -- utter and absolute innumeracy, that's just about perfect...
Posted by Michael Dawson | June 14, 2008 11:57 AM
Posted on June 14, 2008 11:57
I saw him walking through the lobby at the Four Seasons Boston a few weeks ago. I first thought it was Peter Griffin the family guy himself and was dissappointed to conclude the reality. Another miss on my dead pool list, first Ledger now this. I agree tragic and sudden for his family, but in the grand scheme, I was more dissapointed about Moochie Welch.
Posted by Son of Uncle Sam | June 14, 2008 2:59 PM
Posted on June 14, 2008 14:59
It's interesting that anything as feeble as Russert's actual effort is viewed as hard- nosed reporting in our day. Russert was just one more journalist whose style of inquiry allowed cotton candy politicians like President Joy Boy Jr. a free ride. Too bad for his family, however, journalism hasn't lost anything noteworthy.
Posted by Michael Hureaux | June 14, 2008 7:33 PM
Posted on June 14, 2008 19:33
Yesterday, while at a friends family gathering, the news of Russert was a major topic. One quote stuck out imparticular, it was the,"feeling like I lost a good friend!" Oddly about half a dozen people agreed and began to stroke that idea for sometime. It struck me as really strange that a reporter on the air for 16 or 17 years could muster this melodramarama. As I sat there bored, considering how much I would drink to ease this annoyance, I thought,sarcastically, yeah whos gonna fill those shoes? And it hit me, DAN RATHERnot. The original Kennedy profiteer. I say resurrect him if he hasn't started to eat his own shit yet. Problem solved.
Posted by Son of Uncle Sam | June 15, 2008 9:51 AM
Posted on June 15, 2008 09:51
Dan Abrams or Chuck Todd.
But I'm going with Abrams.
Posted by angryman@24:10 | June 15, 2008 3:19 PM
Posted on June 15, 2008 15:19
You're probably right. I was thinking Randy Orton would do OK though.
Posted by Son of Uncle Sam | June 16, 2008 4:35 PM
Posted on June 16, 2008 16:35
to angryman:
You're thinking Dan Abrams?
Are you serious? D'ahh ha ha ha ha haahh.
Man, that'd be a total hoot -- Dan Abrams, host of the MSNBC Abrams Report, where lurid murder trails are discussed as if they were important; the "Chief Legal Correspondent" on the Today Show, where he was dragged on-camera nearly every day for weeks on end to discuss the latest developments in the Lacey Peterson soap opera as if it were the goddamn' Chicago Seven trial; a guy who looks as if he had to skip out of homeroom to do his Today appearances -- really, man, the guy looks like he's about seventeen.
So, you're guessing Dan Abrams, NBC Chief Legal Correspondent who somehow is never heard discussing things like the recent Supreme Court decision on Guantanamo, or the Mumia Jamal trial, or the Lynne Stewart trial, or the Mukasey nomination -- basically, we're talking about a guy who's the journalistic equivalent of John Grisham.
Sure, he'll work. (;^>
--------
to Nicholas Hart:
"He was no Edward R. Murrow"? No shit, Sherlock.
Not only was Tim Russert not Edward R. Murrow, he wasn't even Ted Baxter.
Posted by Mike Flugennock | June 17, 2008 8:06 AM
Posted on June 17, 2008 08:06
Mike,
I'm going with Abrams for those very reasons.
However I noted that yesterday my picks were also high up on Ezra Klein's comment section as well.
It's just a guess at how they think. BTW, I think Dan Abrams is some sort of VP/Manager at MSNBC. Tells about the way they work.
Posted by angryman@24:10 | June 17, 2008 9:36 AM
Posted on June 17, 2008 09:36
From my vast* VHS collection, containing more MTP episodes, news footage and movies taped off of cable than you can possibly stand, comes my all-time fave MTP moment: (with a moment of respectful silence, please)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMEw3q0h6tE
We're watching then-Secretary Of Snake Colin Powell, in May of '04, attempting to tap-dance his way through meaningless answers to some slightly-tough questioning by Russert re the then-recent scandalous revelations from Abu Ghraib Prison; an assistant or intern thinks it's just being taped, not going out live and, on seeing that the Secretary's schedule has filled, causes hilarity to ensue. After the telecast, an indignant Russert could be heard raving "I said I wanted an interview WITH Bush, not A BUSH!"
*according to my DW, a little too vast.
Posted by Mike Flugennock | June 18, 2008 9:59 AM
Posted on June 18, 2008 09:59
From my vast* VHS collection, containing more MTP episodes, news footage and movies taped off of cable than you can possibly stand, comes my all-time fave MTP moment: (with a moment of respectful silence, please)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMEw3q0h6tE
We're watching then-Secretary Of Snake Colin Powell, in May of '04, attempting to tap-dance his way through meaningless answers to some slightly-tough questioning by Russert re the then-recent scandalous revelations from Abu Ghraib Prison; an assistant or intern thinks it's just being taped, not going out live and, on seeing that the Secretary's schedule has filled, causes hilarity to ensue. After the telecast, an indignant Russert could be heard raving "I said I wanted an interview WITH Bush, not A BUSH!"
*according to my DW, a little too vast.
Posted by Mike Flugennock | June 18, 2008 10:04 AM
Posted on June 18, 2008 10:04