A lesson in life from Tim Russert's death
Doug Thompson June 16, 2008 - 5:16am.
In early 1982, my boss on Capitol Hill, New Mexico Congressman Manuel Lujan Jr., and I attended a reception at the Monocle on the Senate side of the Hill. Afterwards, we stopped for a drink at the bar where Lujan warmly greeted Sen. Daniel Patrick Monyihan of New York. Seated with Moynihan was a big beefy guy with a broad grin.
"Hi," he said. "I'm Tim Russert."
At the time, Russert served as Moynihan's chief of staff. While our bosses discussed legislation, Russert and I talked politics. He was gregarious and friendly and obviously loved both politics and his life. We exchanged business cards and went our separate ways.
Russert left Moynihan that year and went to work for New York Gov. Mario Cuomo. A couple of years later, he moved to NBC News and then took over as host of Meet the Press. I sent him a card and congratulated him on "leaving the dark side of politics and getting a real job." He responded with a nice thank you note and said "let's get together sometime."
We never did. I also left the political world and returned to journalism. We exchanged emails and talked on the phone from time to time and one of us always promised to call the other about getting together for lunch. In 1995, he asked if I was interested in appearing on Meet the Press to discuss the role of political news sites. I said no. He never asked again. We spoke, periodically, on the phone or via email. His last call came this year, just before the Virginia Democratic Primay.
"Hey," he said. "what do you hear? How will Obama do down where you live?"
I told him I thought Obama would surprise people down here. As it it turned out, Obama carried Floyd County, Henry County and some other areas of Southwestern Virginia.
On Friday, while working on a project in Johns Creek, GA, I glanced at my Blackberry when it vibrated on the table with a "breaking news" email from CNN. It read:
"NBC Washington Bureau Chief and moderator of Meet the Press, Tim Russert, dies of heart attack at age 58."
I couldn't believe it. Russert was so full of life, so happy -- the Energizer Bunny of political news reporters. His passion for life was infectious.
But that same passion probably contributed to his death. He pushed himself relentlessly, often to exhaustion. He had a heart condition and took medication for high blood pressure and cholesterol. He needed to exercise more. After he collapsed and died at the NBC News Studios in Washington Friday, an autopsy found an enlarged heart and plaque in his arteries.
Tim Russert's love of life and family should serve as an inspiration to us all. His death must also serve as a reminder that life is fragile and our time on this earth is limited. We should make wise use of that time.
He served us well. I only
He served us well. I only felt like I knew him because he was such a regular guy. He'll be sorely missed and I know he'll miss this upcoming election year.
Tim Russert
You are right Chief, Tim had a passion for politics that once it gets into one's system is hard to get out. Whether I agreed with him, was of no importance and I heard yesterday that no one knew who he voted for in the Primary.
I caught the political bug the day WW2 came to an end. The frustration of having only one or two journalists reporting from the war front nearly drove me mad. My grandfather and I would go to the Criterion Movie theater every Saturday just for the Movietone news. We read L.A. Times, Examiner and the Santa Monica Outlook to search for where our guys were the previous week. Our letters to from our family in uniform were censored and little was reported except on our International Radio.and
I'm a freak for news and frustrated that so much of the news comes from a news channel owned by NBC (G.E.) CBS and ABC are also owned by the big corporations and make money on slanted news that increases their investments.
You are my light in the closet and I will read your site without replying. I am nearly out of control with emotions with my passion for integrity in news reporting. I often wish I didn't give a damn and at my advanced age, I should give it up. Who else will even try to protect what is left of Capitalism and individuaol freedoms? My views have caused a lot of anger and I'm sorry.
passion & integrity
this is a sad time for anyone who cares about truth in packaging, politicking, and reporting.
His passion not only for politics, but for reporting on politics with integrity, set him apart from almost everyone else on the scene today ... hard to imagine an election coming up without his incisive insights & his infectious enthusiasm.
We'll miss him Sunday mornings...
Thanks for your insightful article on Tim Russert, Doug. Kinda makes us all think to be sure to call that friend we haven't talked with in ages, or to hug our family members that much more each day. One never knows when it will be the last time.
I'll miss Tim's honesty, friendliness, and devotion to journalism and politics. The world is a darker place without him holding the torch.
Tim Russert
When I turned on news and seen Remembering Tim Russert, I was in shock. He was a young man and one who everyone thought was in perfect health.
I have never met the man, but he was the kind I would have like to have met. Just seeing his son talk about his Father, was so heartbreaking.
My sympathy goes out to his wife and son. My daughter
and myself lost our husband and father to say disease
so we Knowwhat it is to loose a loved one.
Please anyone who has heart disease please Take Care of yourself.
Tim Russert
Last October, I had the good fortune of moving to Floyd from Capitol Hill. Washington is a city of egomaniacs, especially in the media. But as a press secretary in the Senate, there was one journalist who was immensely fair, personable, and a downright joy to be around: Tim Russert. But it wasn't those apprehensive Sundays accompanying my bosses to Meet the Press that stick out in my mind about Tim. Instead, I was invited to promotional party for his son Luke who was launching a sports radio talk show with James Carville on XM Radio. When I saw Tim, I remarked that he most of been very proud. Instead of the patronizing Washington acknowledgment with the quick-glance-around-the-room to see who important is there to talk to next, Tim, said, "yes I truly am." Then, he asked "and what about your dad." For 15 minutes, one of the most powerful men in Washington didn't want to talk about himself, the politics, or the issues. He was as Doug wrote, just a gentle bear of a man with a huge grin who was genuinely interested in another's story, even if that story wasn't one of power, influence, or glamour. Tim cared and that is why his death touched so many.
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