It’s always weird when you cry over the death of someone famous. It’s not as if you knew them, bbut yet you still have an emotional connection. I don’t think I’ve done it too often. I remember a lot of celebrity deaths that really shook me up — Phil Hartman, Elliott Smith, Kurt Cobain — but I don’t remember too many that actually reduced me to tears upon hearing the news. Kurt Vonnegut, and now Tim Russert.
Much like the rest of the world, my love affair with Tim Russert started during the 2000 election. Nobody will ever forget him, Tom Brokaw and the Whiteboard of infamy.
Watching MSNBC is a weird sort of morbid and comforting. It’s odd to watch these journalists report on the death of their very own friend. It’s hard to turn my head away as Andrea Mitchell loses it on air when discussing how Russert always called her Mitch, just like her dad.
So here I sit, kind of crying and feeling foolish about it, mourning with Al, the cutest girl on Earth™, and, weirdly, collecting condolences from my friends and family who knew just how much I adored him.
The NY Times Caucus blog has some great coverage.
Tim Russert was one of those people who reached out to you through the TV screen. He was real. There was no act, no acting. Watching him interview someone was like watching a great cross examination at trial. He knew his facts and he knew how to get at the truth, and he smiled that great smile when the words that you were waiting to fall were finally uttered. This election won’t be the same without him.
I am not sure who is crying more, me or Keith Olbermann, dude is losing his shit every 10 minutes, which makes me cry. Olbermann said something about what a privilege it was to work with Russert, and how much he hates that he’s ever used that word before because it somehow lessens the impact of the word.
I just read that news. Major bummer. You’re right Hypster mom. Who is left to trust now? I always counted on Tim Russert to get to the kernal of truth inside all the lies we’re fed. We, the People, still needed him. Very sad.