What I saw disappointed me. What I saw recently about him especially bothered me. He simply lacked the neutrality. He took sides. He did hatchet and hit work. He did political bidding for who he favored. That can be said about the entire network he worked for and most others like Steve Capps, Brian Williams, Andrea Mitchell, Keith Olbermann and others did the same attacks, spins and hit-work in the name of journalism. But these people pretend that they are "news reporters and journalists." But they are propegandists and publicists working for politicians in exchange for future favors and access. He's was much like another Bill O'Riely. And all these people are part of the corrupt, self-congratulating, self promoting, crooked American institution called Washington Media Establishment. These individuals have diminished and if not destroyed the most critical role of the "free press" must play in a democracy such as ours. Tim Russert was part of that crookedness. We all know that Tim Rissert went after Sen. Hillary Clinton with vengeance and determination cut her down, diminish her. In fact NBC's own SNL satirized Russert's nastiness!"

Another excellent, and pointedly honest account about the nastiness and arrogance of Tim Russert, masquerading as honest journalism. But of course, the Post media establishment can't see that, can they? They see themselves as hubris-filled gods of the media establishment just like Russert, overly paid, therefore thinking they are overly valuable. No one will give another thought to Russert in another week.

From the New York Times article on Russert:

"There is no shortage of politicians, beginning with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, who believed Mr. Russert could be bullying and prone to grandstanding at times, making excessive show of his top-of-the-heap position.

One of my enduring images of Mr. Russert was at a 60th birthday party for "Meet the Press" last November, held at the not-yet-open Newseum on Pennsylvania Avenue, halfway between the White House and the Capitol. It was one of those lots-of-famous-people affairs in which those who had been guests of "Meet the Press" were delineated by special blue ribbons on their lapels -- a kind of varsity letter to signify high standing in the chattering class.

There was a long and snaking receiving line at the front that ended with Mr. Russert himself. It had the strange vibe of people waiting in line to pay respects to the king, which the king himself seemed to recognize, and he kept stepping away, as if to interrupt any hint of a grand procession."

MUCH MORE TRUE TO LIFE DESCRIPTION OF RUSSERT, WHO WAS JUST AN OVERLY WEALTHY, HUBRIS FILLED MEMBER OF THE CHATTERING CLASS, RAISED TO THE LEVEL OF A GOD BY THE TV BOOB-TUBE MONKEYS-THANKS NY TIMES FOR AT LEAST A LITTLE PERSPECTIVE ON JUST ANOTHER TV TALKING HEAD!

Further troubling information about Russert's apparently showboat-y, too many outside interests to be a good doctor internist-DR. MICHAEL NEWMAN. DC:

From Wikipedia:

"Russert's long time "friend" and physician, Dr. Michael Newman, said that he had asymptomatic coronary artery disease that was controlled with medication and exercise and that he had performed well on a stress test in late April. An autopsy performed on the day of his death determined that his history of coronary artery disease led to sudden cardiac death with the immediate cause being an occlusive coronary thrombus in the left anterior descending artery, resulting from a ruptured cholesterol plaque."

FIRST PROBLEM: An internist who is a "long time friend" IS NOT WHAT YOU WANT, BECAUSE THAT CROSSES BOUNDARIES ABOUT DUTIES TO THE PATIENT AND BEING A FRIEND WHERE YOU DON'T WANT TO GET TOO INSISTENT OR INTRUSIVE WITH YOUR "PATIENT/FRIEND" ABOUT A COURSE OF TREATMENT-THAT'S TROUBLE SIGN NO. 1 WITH NEWMAN.

TROUBLE SIGN NUMBER 2: From the website www.physicians for human rights.org:

Advocate and Mentor

"Michael Newman is a practicing internist in Washington, D.C., but he doesn't confine his expertise to office hours. Dr. Newman has been a staunch supporter of human rights and PHR for nearly two decades.:

"As a long-time member of PHR's Asylum Network, Dr. Newman has evaluated, treated and assisted numerous survivors of torture and other human rights violations and provided medical evidence to substantiate claims of torture and abuse at asylum hearings.

In addition to evaluating asylum seekers himself, he serves as a mentor to health professionals who are new to the Asylum Network."

CONCLUSION? ADMIRABLE, DR. NEWMAN, BUT HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT THAT IT MIGHT BE A REAL GOOD IDEA TO IN FACT CONFINE YOUR "EXPERTISE" TO OFFICE HOURS ONLY?
I WANT A GOOD FULL TIME INTERNIST, NOT SOMEONE FARTING AROUND WITH ALL THESE OTHER ISSUES, SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T HAVE THE TIME TO KEEP UP WITH THE LATEST IN MEDICAL TREATMENTS, ETC. AND PATIENTS HEALTH HISTORIES. IT SOUNDS STRONGLY LIKE YOU WERE WAY TOO BUSY WITH YOUR EXTRACURRICULAR INTERESTS TO PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR DAY JOB PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES! DOING HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES IS FINE, BUT WHEN DOES A GOOD INTERNIST WHO CARES ABOUT BEING A GOOD DR. TO HIS PATIENTS HAVE TIME TO DO ALL THAT? THE ANSWER IS THEY DON'T. SO THIS TELLS ME RIGHT HERE THAT NEWMAN SOUNDS LESS THAN FULLY COMMITTED TO HIS JOB, WHICH IS NOT A GOOD SIGN FOR HIS PATIENTS.

TROUBLE POINT NO. 3-NOTE WHAT DR. NEWMAN (WHO BY THE WAY, SEEMS TO REALLY LOVE AND WANT TO BE IN THE SPOTLIGHT, LIKE HIS FAMOUS "FRIEND" RUSSERT)-SAID AFTER RUSSERT'S AUTOPSY-HE SAID "HE HAD PERFORMED WELL ON HIS STRESS TEST."

UH, DR. NEWMAN, DID YOU EVER THINK OF ORDERING A HEART SCAN ON RUSSERT, GIVEN THAT HE HAD CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE? OR WERE YOU TOO BUSY WITH SEXY HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES TO NOTICE YOUR PATIENT' NEEDS? WELL, READ THIS, SINCE YOU SEEM TO BE TOO BUSY TO CARRY OUT YOUR JOB RESPONSIBILITIES PROPERLY!

From the book "Track your Plaque"

Can cholesterol tell you whether you have hidden plaque lining your coronary arteries?

No. Cholesterol does not tell you whether or not coronary plaque is present. It's just one among many causes of coronary plaque. Can you have a heart attack with low cholesterol? Absolutely. Can you have high cholesterol yet survive to age 95 with 18 great-grandchildren and never have a stitch of heart disease? No doubt about it.

How about stress tests? Don't they detect hidden coronary plaque?

No, again. Stress tests are a measure of blood flow to the heart, abnormal only when flow is substantially reduced. Blockages occupying 80-90% of the diameter of arteries are detectable on a stress test. The problem is that 90% of people with hidden (asymptomatic) coronary plaque will have entirely normal stress tests--yet are still at risk for heart attack. In fact, most people fated to suffer heart attack in the next year have normal stress tests.

That's what heart scans do--DETECT CORONARY ARTERY PLAQUE better, faster, and easier than any other test available.

"We now know that 95% to 99% of the heart disease occurs at sites WITHOUT artery narrowing. Thus, the old tests we perform to detect narrowing and blockages have really misled us. We miss over 95% of the heart disease that causes heart attacks."

Dr. Steve Nissen
The Cleveland Clinic

IN SUM NEWMAN SOUNDS LIKE ONE LOUSY, MAYBE EVEN NEGLIGENT DR., AND IF I WERE THE RUSSERTS, I'D BE GETTING TR'S MEDICAL RECORDS FROM HIS "FRIEND" AND HAVING A GOOD MED MAL LAWYER LOOK IT OVER FOR LEGAL ACTION. RUSSERT SHOULD BE ALIVE TODAY, AND IF HE HAD a REAL INTERNIST, I KNOW HE WOULD BE, BECAUSE THE FIRST THING A GOOD INTERNIST WOULD DO WOULD BE TO ORDER A HEART SCAN FOR RUSSERT, WHICH WOULD HAVE DISCOVERED ALL THE CORONARY PLAQUE.

JUST GOES TO SHOW YOU THAT YOU SHOULD CHOOSE YOUR DRS. CAREFULLY...

I was a regular viewer of Tim Russert's Meet the Press. He was indeed one of the country's best journalists. But this does not justify the "hoopla" the media made on the occasion of his death. Journalists think much too highly of themselves, and so they inflate the importance of the best of them beyond recognition. Of course, Russert had earned a law degree and also had had extensive experience as a Democratic apparatchik in Washington. Few journalists today go into their profession with serious background in anything. Just look at the curricula of even the most prominent schools of journalism.

I was a regular viewer of Tim Russert's Meet the Press. He was indeed one of the country's best journalists. But this does not justify the "hoopla" the media made on the occasion of his death. Journalists think much too highly of themselves, and so they inflate the importance of the best of them beyond recognition. Of course, Russert had earned a law degree and also had had extensive experience as a Democratic apparatchik in Washington. Few journalists today go into their profession with serious background in anything. Just look at the curricula of even the most prominent schools of journalism.

Nobelone wrote:

"Enough already with this sentimental mush about Tim Russert. Yes, he was a good reporter but he was also a colossal boor. Remember he wrote that book about his father Big Russ & Me or whatever it was. He shamelessly used NBC to shill this thing. It is just like seeing someone in the supermarket line and they want to show you their kids pictures. Really, who gives a s h i t !! Couldn't Russert have spared us all of that. Further, was this guy ever in the service. He came of age during Vietnam, where the hell was he in uniform. Yes, he could be a good reporter, but he was also too often a full of himself blowhard. Enough!!"

I COULD NOT AGREE MORE WITH THE ABOVE SENTIMENTS-RUSSERT, A COLLOSAL BOOR, IN LOVE WITH HIMSELF AND HIS WEALTH-SUCH HUBRIS DOES INDEED CATCH UP TO YOU!

Puzzled - you should be puzzled, because you have little understanding of the job.

I listened to the morning rebroadcasts on C-Span this afternoon. Chris Wallace led off with a question that assumed the answer (that opening ANWR would reduce oil prices). Tim would never have done that.

Tim was the best. THE BEST. I've known some bull-slingers in my field (including a Nobel lauriete). He dedicated himself to learning everything he could and was a stand-up guy.

Just go away. And don't come back.

BB

Oh F Blade, I beg to differ! I understand that YOU hyper-exaggerate the importance of a florid faced average intellect TV personality like Russert, whose wealth and hubris is really one of the prime factors that he's dead at the embarassingly early age of 58, but aside from that, he was a TV PERSONALITY-THAT'S IT, WITH A HYPERINFLATED EGO-did you not read the NY Times article excerpted above? Even the Times recognized that! So don't give me this BS that he was some sort of mini-god-he's got NOTHING on Cronkite or particularly Ted Koppel-Koppel particularly who truly is intellectually oriented, and never panders to the lowest common denominated by being biased and playing "gotcha" journalism like Russert-I thought he was trashy and extremely off-putting purely as a TV personality-he was a BIG FAT ZERO!

Russert is gone, baby, and NO ONE WILL GIVE A DAMN WITHIN A WEEK-THAT'S WHY YOU SHOULDN'T GET TOO TAKEN WITH YOURSELF AS A JOURNALIST, SO FILLED WITH HUBRIS AND INSULATED BY WEALTH THAT YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE THE DANGER SIGNS-HE WAS TOO NON-INSIGHTFUL TO SEE THAT.

All --I do not agree with the comments posted about Tim Russert but I am not going to enter that fray. I once saw Tim Russert with his son and he was obviously a devoted dad. I have to tell you on father's day of all days, you should refrain from using blogs to advance political points and just be human and realize that he has a son who just lost his father and that is really the only point.

What a great lost to our civic discourse. At this moment when our political conversation is becoming coarse & banal. . . and in this historical election season. It was unreal to go through what has been my appointed MTP hour for years & hear of him in the past tense.

Russert died, in part, because he was a victim of his own self-importance, just as his wife, was too self-absorbed to see he was a walking coronary thrombosis, and his attention-seeking dope of an internist, all self-absorbed, wealthy Washington media insider types, where in the end, all that hubris and self absorbtion and wealth just got in the way-and he died, at an exceedingly early 58.

And let me say this, if CHRIS MATTHEWS were to kick the bucket anytime soon (although, admittedly he doesn't look like a walking coronary, because he probably does have a good internist, unlike Russert) THE EULOGIES WOULD BE SAVAGE, BECAUSE CHRIS MATTHEWS IS ONE HAIRY NASTY SOB, AND HE WILL BE REMEMBERED THAT WAY WHEN HE IS NO LONGER AROUND, AS WELL. WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND, WHEN YOU ARE NASTY AND VICIOUS AND HARM PEOPLE OVER AND OVER THROUGH YOUR WORDS IN THIS LIFE, YOU CANNOT EXCEPT THAT PEOPLE WILL DO YOU ANY DIFFERENTLY WHEN YOU ARE DEAD-SO LET THAT BE A LESSON TO THE HYPERINFLATED EGOS OF THE WASHINGTON MEDIA ESTABLISHMENT!

I am deeply saddened and sickened to read the mean spirited self important (capital letters no less-go shout at someone who cares) diatribe that some have posted on this site.

I watched Tim Russert on a regular basis. He was tough, he was thorough, he held his guests accountable for their actions and statements and he worked relentlessly to be prepared for his interviews.

Whether you loved Russert or hated him, the least you can do is be respectful of his life, his work and his family.

RIP, Tim, my Sunday morning coffee won't be the same without you.

Those of you who have written hate-filled posts here should be ashamed. A man has died! Your comments are hideously inappropriate.

Words cannot express the shock and sadness I felt when I heard that Tim had died. I'm still in a state of disbelief. I never met Tim, but he was family. He and I spent countless Sunday mornings together; me in front of the TV with a cup of coffee and Tim on the set of "Meet the Press." Oh, how I loved and trusted that guy! His word was gospel to me.

I can't imagine how "Meet the Press" will go on, or how this country will elect another President without Tim. He was a national treasure and he is irreplaceable.

I offer my heartfelt sympathy to his beautiful family, his coworkers and friends. How lucky you were to have had him in your lives!

God bless you, Tim Russert!

I am one of those who admired Tim Russert and his work. I am glad that his work at NBC wasn't restricted to just MTP; he was regular on election night eoverages and I always enjoyed his insight. I shall miss him greatly and as wrong as it may seem, the next moderator(s) of MTP will be held to the same high standards set by Tim Russert.

To the doubters and those who didn't like him or his style of reporting, I only have one thing to say...why even bother reading stories about him and write long hateful comments. Whether you like it or not he will be long remembered and many current and future journalists will emulate him.

I'd like to see how many people have lumps in their throats when Bill O'Reilly or Sean Hannity go. If nothing else Tim Russert at least let his guests finish their sentences.