Tim Russert 1950-2008

For as long as I've been interested in politics and journalism, I've always been interested in Tim Russert. Meet The Press is always a big part of my Sunday, and during every Tuesday night this primary season and for every other I can remember, I was tuned to NBC. I was shocked to learn he had died today. Right now MSNBC is running a sustained eulogy delivered by friends and colleagues of his, all of them commenting on his importance as a public figure, and as a man. I will say of Tim Russert that he proves the American dream: we live in a country divided between high and low brow, red state and blue state, conservative and liberal, rich and poor and here was a working class kid from Buffalo that proved smarts, integrity, persistence and objectivity are all American things.

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