The coming presidential election, historic as it is, has just been diminished by the sudden, tragic passing of Tim Russert, everybody’s friend, it seems, and everybody’s choice as the news giant of his time. Just as the playoff victory of your college team doesn’t seem to count until you read about it in the morning paper, viewers have come to depend on Tim Russert to certify political results, such as the fact that Hillary was essentially toast and Barack would be the Democratic nominee. Others might make educated guesses, but they usually made them through the prism of their own biases. You always knew where Chris Matthews was coming from, or Sean Hannity, or Keith Obermann, and so you made a windage correction. But with Russert no correction was needed. The man was always honest and fair, and the humility was genuine. (He would have said he had much to be humble about, because that’s the kind of guy he was.)
Professionally, he had scaled the heights of television journalism, and there were awards and honors to be proud about, but he was even prouder of his family, his Buffalo neighbors, his church, and an extended family that knew no bounds. We all felt we knew him, somehow, because we all seemed to share something with him. It could have been the experience of looking after an elderly dad or the pride of watching a son graduate from college. I like to think that he was enriched by his Jesuit education, because I know I was. Whatever your background, Tim just seemed to be the kind of fellow you’d like to down a beer with, or swap funny stories with, or sit next to on a flight from LAX to BOS.
It is the evening of his death, and tributes come from everywhere: from the media, of course, but also from academia, from The President and the Presidential wannabees, from the entertainment industry, from industry, from religious leaders. The owners of the Red Sox have just inserted their sentiments into the Sox-Reds telecast. There will be television specials tonight, with a flood tide of tributes pouring in from everywhere. All deserved.
Life isn’t fair. The untimely death of Tim Russert is a major news story, and Tim isn’t there to cover it. Even worse, he will miss the 2008 elections he looked forward to with such relish. But he will not miss them as much as the elections will miss him.
