I think it’s appropriate to mention the tragic passing of NBC’s Tim Russert on this blog. I truly appreciated his coverage of the swing contests during the 2006 midterm election for the Senate on Meet the Press. Tim did separate interviews for each battleground state for Senate with both candidates: Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Minnesota, Tennessee (those are the ones I can remember). In case anyone forgot I’ve listed some clips below:
Here’s Tim grilling Jim Webb on his views of women in the military. And then moving on to George Allen about “Macaca”.
Here’s Tim taking Rick Santorum to town on his voting record, his residence in VA, and other stuff.
And on the Minnesota Senate race with the two candidates.
But personally on a pure intellectual level of conversation about America’s direction, I think his interview with Newt Gingrich was one of the all time great ones. Follow the links here
Rest in Peace, Tim Russert. American politics, as well as America, would never be the same without you.
P.S: CAN SOMEONE TELL ME HOW TO POST YOUTUBE VIDEOS DIRECTLY ON DIARY ENTRIES AND POSTS HERE?
RIP Tim. I never understood why many bloggers weren’t too fond of him because I always thought he was the fairest guy out there. He was equally tough on Dems and Repubs alike. As many have said elsewhere Sundays will never be the same again. He will be missed.
A very love/hate relationship with the media. When he excoriated our guys, they trashed him. But when he trashed GOP guys we loved him. If blogs existed in 92 in the same way they do today Russert would’ve become a hero of the blogs because of his interview with the most vile politicians I’ve ever seen, David Duke.
Tim Russert was the most balanced television host ever on television. Of course each side is going to say that Russert or any other host “grilled” them more than the person who has the opposing view, but many people who say this are hiding the fact that they do not know how to answer the question. Russert did his homework each week to find out information about his guests and would use their statements to hold them accountable. The guests on Meet the Press may have felt like they were being attacked or “grilled” but in my opinion, they are just using that argument to say that I really don’t know the answer but this will help be hide my ignorance. Russert made political tv what it is today!
I know Tim Russert often spoke about how his father was his role model and made him the centerpiece of one of his books. Isn’t his father still alive at like 80+ years old? It’s especially sad if that is the case.
I think many people, both on the right and left believe Russert didn’t “grill the other side” and ask the tough questions enough because he didn’t want to be accused of being labeled a partisan. For the most part I’ve always admired Russert for his independence. He was one of the few people in Washington who seemed to have a passion for politics while trying to remain objective. He will definately be missed and I can’t see anyone who can fill his shoes on Meet the Press.
What a man.