Tim Russert is gone. I will miss him.
With that said, it’s been interesting to watch reaction to this news. MSNBC went wall-to-wall, without commercials, to talk about their amazing boss. His coworkers described an unparalleled father, son and friend.
“He always asked the right questions” became a cliche after about an hour of the coverage. “He shaped the news cycle” was another statement that said more about the speaker than it said about Russert. One person should never shape the news cycle, nor should he want to.
Tim Russert was one of my favorite journalists. But all these tributes to him from every corner of the political landscape make me all the more cynical about politics. It reinforces my belief that every politician and journalist serves as a cog in a machine that rarely keeps the public informed.
George Stephanopoulos asked John Edwards the best post-Russert question: What can members of the media do to improve political coverage? “Substance,” was Edwards reply. Tell us how politicians’ policies will affect millions of people.
The media can’t resist the urge to feast on slime. The constant probing for dirt on family and friends keeps great, smart people from serving this country. Once news organizations favor issues that matter, I’ll feel better about them going on an hours-long, commercial-free, circle jerk for someone who helped set their agenda.
I have more to say, but Amy Winehouse just fainted. G2G.
I saw Tom Brokaw get choked up and almost start crying on a special Meet The Press Sunday morning. they also showed some wierd old lady pop out of a cake on one of Russert’s b-days. That made me choked up on my own vomit.