As the pundits who showed up to vent their grief upon Tim Russert’s sudden death went on about his many qualities that they found affecting,I wondered what it was about Tim Russert’s work that was so extraordinary.In a time in which erudition is frowned upon and even considered nerdish, none of the pundits could provide a shred of evidence for Tim Russert’s knowledge base.
His knowledge was limited to a few square miles around Washington, D.C. and quite possibly also around the posh island of Nantucket where men of his means flock to get away from the riffraff.By his own admission he had given up on his idealism which he developed during his internship with Senator Moynihan.He was bent on acquiring wealth and he realized that idealism is for paupers.Acquisition of wealth required that you make the wealthy comfortable.Russert did it better than anyone in the NBC menagerie by cozying up to the neanderthal Chairman,Jack Welch of GE/NBC.
Welch realized that he had an eager lapdog who will do his bidding and gave him the chair at Meet the Press.As the moderator of that show, Russert managed to carry out the edicts of Jack Welch and, by osmosis, those of the Republican Party.He managed to produce a show titled “A Day in the Life of President Bush”, which outdid all others in dressing up an idiot in philosopher’s clothes.Welch was so impressed by that performance he made Russert a very wealthy man by showering him with salary, bonuses and stock options.Russert, not content with this, decided that he would reap even greater benefits by becoming Jack Welch’s neighbor in Nantucket Island.
It is this that the network mourners of a few days ago were regretting.Now that Russert was gone, and Jack Welch is out of the picture, how do I cozy up to Jeff Immelt(current GE CEO) and come at least close to the harvest Russert reaped?This was a thought on everyone’s mind.
In our society, money occupies a central place.If you have it you are good.If you have it in plenty you must be very good.And if you have it in incalculable amounts, you must be wiser than Solomon.Russert showed through his ability to decipher the ways of corporate titans that the purse strings could be loosened to one’s benefit by saying the right things.And even more importantly, not saying the things your corporate masters don’t want said.
This is why shows like Meet the Press cannot examine why there were no WMDs and why Judith Miller’s piece of trash was quoted on the show by Cheney during the run up to the Iraq War.Russert made sure that MTP was a sanctuary for corporate and administration criminals as they lay waste to civilians, nearly a million of them, for the crime of being brownskinned Iraqis.
That the pundits would mourn such a man for more than fourteen hours does not give one hope that the times they are gonna be a-changing any time soon.
Okay, I know the etiquette, really I do.
This brave post is the only reality-write I have seen on Tim Russert since he died– and all news ceased for one Full day of TV network reminisce.
I remember when my grandfather died and a preacher who did not know him performed the eulogy…. a fellow near me in the pew whispered, loudly, as the praise became extreme, “…uh, WHO is he talking about?!!!!?”
I resented Russert’s power to dillute or dismiss the enormity of crime and death fosted upon the world by men in suits. That he became one of them and gave faux cover to the lies and deceits with his own little MTP bully-pulpit will not cancel out what is considered Most Important: that he was personally decent to friends, family, and remained well-mannered and likable.
I hate the gloss over of eulogies and salute this little piece o’ truth. Russert did A LOT of harm and gave credibility to liars and worse.
RIP.
And a silent blogswarm makes me wonder-worry about rare sacrosanctity against speaking ill of the dead.
I don’t get it.
Actually, on MSNBC, all (other) news ceased for over 48 hours. I don’t think I’ve ever witness such self-indulgence by a "news" operation.
And if all those people really believed everything they said about how tough Russert was on politicians, then we are in way more trouble than I thought.
Thanks for the reality check.
I think they were genuinely upset–at least as far as his NBC colleagues are concerned. He just literally dropped dead.
I also think it was timing: Father’s Day. And since he wrote those two books as an homage to is Dad and fatherhood in general, I think it played into feeling sympathy when a child, no matter how old s/he is, precedes the parent in death.
Having said all of that, this was less about Timmy than about THEM and the sorry state of journalism. All of this talk about the “regular guy” from Buffalo–please. They want to believe they are fair, objective, “serious,” egalitarian, hard-working and above all, are serving the public instead of a Washington elite or heck–themselves. And we know that none of those things applied–or at least, they didn’t come first, when serving a Washington/corporate elite dovetailed with doing the right thing by providing needed information.
After a while, Mr. AP and I had to just shake our heads: He “did his homework.” He was “prepared.” He researched “for hours.”
Well, to paraphrase Chris Rock–if you call yourself a journalist, then that’s what you’re SUPPOSED to do! They are giving him hosannas because he met minimum standards?
And then there was something that Chris Matthews said about Russert’s “everyman” persona and the Iraq War: “If they (“they” being the Administration) could fool Russert, they could fool a nation.”
But that doesn’t make sense if he always prepared; if he always did his homework; if he was a journalist with the lawyerly training; if he was a blue-collar guy trying to make his way through in his white-collar world.
That excuse in itself is cover. Russert wasn’t fooled; Russert went along.
I feel so sorry for his family, I really do. And I am personally just shocked by his sudden death. But there’s what folks say about him, and then there is his record. Judge that.
Of course, our kind words immediately after one dies, and the reason we build statues, are often not for the dead but for the living. It is about us; who and what we wish we were or could be.
Most certainly, judge that, too.
I think they were genuinely upset–at least as far as his NBC colleagues are concerned. He just literally dropped dead.
I also think it was timing: Father’s Day. And since he wrote those two books as an homage to is Dad and fatherhood in general, I think it played into feeling sympathy when a child, no matter how old s/he is, precedes the parent in death.
Having said all of that, this was less about Timmy than about THEM and the sorry state of journalism. All of this talk about the “regular guy” from Buffalo–please. They want to believe they are fair, objective, “serious,” egalitarian, hard-working and above all, are serving the public instead of a Washington elite or heck–themselves. And we know that none of those things applied–or at least, they didn’t come first, when serving a Washington/corporate elite dovetailed with doing the right thing by providing needed information.
After a while, Mr. AP and I had to just shake our heads: He “did his homework.” He was “prepared.” He researched “for hours.”
Well, to paraphrase Chris Rock–if you call yourself a journalist, then that’s what you’re SUPPOSED to do! They are giving him hosannas because he met minimum standards?
And then there was something that Chris Matthews said about Russert’s “everyman” persona and the Iraq War: “If they (“they” being the Administration) could fool Russert, they could fool a nation.”
But that doesn’t make sense if he always prepared; if he always did his homework; if he was a journalist with the lawyerly training; if he was a blue-collar guy trying to make his way through in his white-collar world.
That excuse in itself is cover. Russert wasn’t fooled; Russert went along.
I feel so sorry for his family, I really do. And I am personally just shocked by his sudden death. But there’s what folks say about him, and then there is his record. Judge that.
Of course, our kind words immediately after one dies, and the reason we build statues, are often not for the dead but for the living. It is about us; who and what we wish we were or could be.
Most certainly, judge that, too.
Don’t quite know what happened there. My apologies!
I am truly sorry for Timmy’s family and their loss. Enough now! The next three days will be nonstop. Today is the “public” wake and oh how many will turn out to say good bye. Then the private family funeral and then the semi private….blah blah blah. You would think ol Timmy was the fucking president for Cripes sake. They got all excited because there hasn’t been anything like Anna Nicole’s death to report on for awhile.
Has anyone else noticed how every other story is now Breaking? Jeez, we have had floods and tornados every spring for hundreds of years but now it is as if it never happened before. I am so sick of the 24/7 news cycle.
Look, I admired Russert. Every once in awhile, he really nailed a guest with the question I really wanted asked, and maintained a level of journalistic integrity that was above most (although that’s not saying much.)
But the non stop pity party on television is beyond the pale. The nine hours of random interviews last week were inane. I came away with the impression that the NBC corporates had decided that this was the way that they could enhance their image.
And came away with the impression that there was a competition on television to see who could display the greatest grief–and get the big job.
Nancy, I would not downplay the disastrous condition of the the flood going on in Iowa and furiously headed down the Mississippi. It is nothing anyone has ever seen in our lifetime. The farm economy is crippled, hundreds of thousands of lives are in complete disarray, and a major Big 10 University’s campus is in shambles.
I agree the 24/7 news sucks but I would like to see MORE coverage of the floods. Where is Anderson Cooper?
I would, too. And I’d like the media to be there as after (I hope) the flood waters recede. How do you recover from this?
I am furious that shrub was chillin’ with President Bling-Bling and having tea with Liz when a state–a part of OUR United States–is literally drowning in a 500-year flood event, and he couldn’t be bothered to get his ass on Air Force One 5 minutes ago.
What kind of crap is that?
for down playing the flooding. I really am just pissed about the 24/7 breaking news. They break in now for a stupid car chase and they say they don’t even know what it is about but keep the car chase on for half a day hoping the worst will happen. The reason? People frickin watch it. AG is right. Turn off your TVs folks.
Not to take away from the suffering that his loved ones are surely experiencing, but the level of attention seems worthy of a beloved head of state. Beyond that, it is disturbing to see the praise heaped upon him by those that formerly derided him. A simple expression of condolences to his family might be better than naked hypocrisy.
I clicked on the pity parade on Sat and they had some interview Russert gave about his book. His dad was also at the table. Russert was going on and on and on about some Kennedy anecdote….. and dad was yawning away in the back ground.
The MSM media is so unaware of their self absorption that they completely missed that they were putting on a parody of themselves. A completely self absorbed week end about one of their self absorbed members.
nalbar
I know your meaning was an indictment of the cable news and their coverage of weather events like they are all so breaking and super important. Only to chase the next storm or Hulk Hogan kids’s accident in like 5 minutes.
I watch the News Hour, Daily Show, and Colbert everyday. I do not bother with any other news show. They truly make you dumber and LESS educated. The Dem primary sucked me into the Cable news watching and it was truly an invigorating activity.
I just think of all the time Russert wasted on his show with pure electoral gossipp while the USA occupied countries, soldiers kept dying, houses went belly up and thousands go to in prison for smoking pot.
Bush gave a statement about the Iowa Floods and he is supposedly coming to visit on Thursday, a week after the downtown of the 2nd biggest city in the whole state drowned. The funny part is that most people do not want him to visit. U of Iowa students majoring in arts/theater might have to either change their major, postpone their major or transfer to another school because UI administrators highly doubt they will have classes in any of these buildings this fall. They are still full of 10-15 feet of water.
The water is full of toxic chemicals, animal waste, oil, and sewage. This is still flowing all over the Eastern to Southeastern part of the state into the Mississippi. I am sure FEMA will screw them.