If it's Sunday, it's Meet the Press, and in an election year, it's guaranteed to be an especially exciting episode of this historically invaluable NBC news program. But tragically, last week was the final time that these words were ever spoken by the show's most honored and long-running host.
As I found out while vacationing this weekend, and most people have already heard, Washington bureau chief and host of Meet the Press Tim Russert died of a heart attack last Friday. Today marked the first episode of Meet the Press in seventeen years that did not feature Russert and his trademark serious-but-jovial examination of the week's pressing issues. Although this is a blog about all things Obama, there is little doubt in my mind that Tim provided some of Barack Obama's most stirring moments in the public eye have been on Meet the Press. Like all of his guests on the show, Tim greeted Barack with the same 'tough-but-fair' interview that he is reputed for, and as a result, gave Barack opportunities to shine as well as feel humble. As a small tribute to Russert and the great political legacy he's leaving behind, I thought I'd post a tribute that Senator Obama paid to his friend and critic Tim Russert on NBC this weekend.
As a young person who often turns a very cynical eye to the news media, especially television journalism, I can think of no journalist that inspires as much hope for progress and truth as Tim Russert. Rest in peace, Tim.
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