FLORIDA FLORIDA FLORIDA
Tim Russert's display of those three words on his dry-erase board to underscore the importance of winning that state to the 2000 election is a moment that most Americans remember him for, and I am no exception. I didn't really follow the goings-on of DC until the 2000 election and when Russert correctly predicted the huge role that the Sunshine State played in the contest I got it in my head - "Hey, this guy seems to know what he's talking about."
He was probably the #1 guy I tuned in to see from 2000 'til now to learn the latest from our nation's capitol. In 2004, "Meet the Press" was a necessity every Sunday morning. [Even if I was hungover as hell, I remember setting the alarm for 9:58am, sitting up to turn on the TV, and then collapsing back into the bed just so I could listen to those beautiful horns bust out MTP's theme and Tim's voice come in to say "Our issues this Sunday..."]
Meet the Press was the perfect show for Sunday morning. There was never a lot of noise, or graphics, or news crawls at the bottom of the screen--just Russert making politicians squirm by forcing them to answer for a quote they made a couple of years ago that totally contradicted their current position.
As a contributor on NBC and MSNBC he was brilliant. He knew so much about what was going on but could explain it simply enough for most Americans to understand. You gotta love a guy who was so smart and focused but still came off incredibly down to earth. And his undying love for a sports team with a woeful history of losing (the Buffalo Bills) was something that I could especially identify with. Election 2008 has been such an awesome ride already, and it really makes me sad that he won't be there to see this thing go all the way to November.
There's a lot more I could say but I'll give it a rest. I highly recommend checking out some of retrospectives on NBC. Tim Russert was to political coverage what Jordan was to basketball. The Best. Just look at him hit hard against a Clinton official. And trip up McCain. And take it to Obama.
Things just won't be the same without that dammed dry-erase board.
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1 comment:
Take it hard to Obama? It was apparent to me Russert and the entire NBC news department were in the tank for Obama, doing their best to protect the image of The Chosen One.
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