Respect For Russert

I'm not a overly politically minded person and tend to get on the bandwagon when it suits me. When I learned that Tim Russert of NBC had passed away suddenly late last week, I was stunned like everyone else. I'm a big fan of the Today Show on NBC and watch it every morning while I eat breakfast and get ready for work. It was through the Today Show that I was introduced to Tim Russert. Subsequently, I only recently become a "fan" of his throughout this past primary season. I can't stand "talking heads," the political analysts who all feel they have something important to say. Each one gets on their soap box, trying to out do the other and while some cloak their biases, other "heads" reveal their support for certain candidates. Granted it is only their opinion, but I prefer a neutral tone. Tim Russert fit what I liked and much more. He was fair and balanced. He was the only analyst I would listen to. The way he explained politics, his attitude, his love for the job really impressed me. After a segment on Obama or Clinton aired, they would turn to the analysts and if Tim wasn't among them, I immediately tuned out. While I never watched Meet The Press or caught his show on MSNBC, I had great respect for him and it saddened me to hear of his passing. It definitely won't be the same.

On a side note, I don't know what's wrong with me (hormones maybe?!) but I actually got misty-eyed this morning when they showed this picture.

Luke Russert came to the Meet The Press studio and placed his hand on the chair his father usually sat in and for some reason, I was close to breaking down. I've only cried a few times in life in reaction to something on TV. (1) the last scenes of Philadelphia and (2) The Laramie Project on HBO. That's it. Not much brings me to tears. Even watching the horror of 9/11 didn't bring me to tears. Maybe having a boyfriend is really causing the ice walls of my heart to melt!