News organizations normally write obituaries for prominent figures far in advance so that they are ready to go live the minute they pass on. I doubt many had one ready for Tim Russert. As I clicked on Drudge this afternoon to learn of Russert's death, my eyes welled up with tears. It was such a shock.
For political junkies, Tim Russert was an indispensable part of life. Watching Meet the Press was and is a positively uplifting experience. For me, it was the only reason to wake up before 10am on a Sunday. As a journalist, I also felt a connection to Russert and his incessant drive to get to the truth and hold public officials to account. When you work as a journalist in Washington, you must watch Meet the Press and report on what happened on the show for Monday's paper. So when I worked at the New York Sun, I never missed an episode.
Seeing him interview his guests was like the political Superbowl, because he was the best and got the best guests. That is indisputable -- no one else was even close (Steve Paikin might be considered a Canadian equivalent). Russert knew how to put people on the spot and needle them with terrifying questions. I always loved how he would make a guest defend something they said 10 years ago by reading the quote back to them. It was thrilling.
Despite his Democratic party past, Russert was the toughest yet fairest interviewer in the business. I often marvel at the quality of the questions on Meet the Press and wonder how long and hard his research staff must work all week long to prepare those questions. Russert was also known as one of the hardest-working people in town. His passion for politics came through in his questions; you could just tell he was loving every minute of it. You could feel it coming right out of the TV screen. On a few occasions I have thought about going into broadcast journalism in no small part because of him. But I always realize I would be so inferior to him that I would inevitably embarrass myself.
There are so many facets to this sadness; not only his youth but also the timing -- at the beginning of what is likely going to be one of the most exciting presidential elections in decades. His primary coverage was phenomenal.
We are somewhat prepared for the death of many great public personalities -- William F. Buckley, Arthur Schlesinger, etc. -- but not for Tim Russert. No one has ever thought about what political coverage will be like without him, because such a thought never crossed anyone's mind. Shocking.
