Today is one year since Tim Russert died, and although I never knew him, he was still a part of my life. My interest in politics meant that I was destined to get to know his TV persona with the intelligence, clear-headedness and humor that cannot be tought, but is pure talent. Tim really understood the world of politics and could explain it to the rest of us. Probably because he understood the world outside of politics just as well.
Meet The Press is no longer the same without him. Don’t get me wrong, David Gregory is a good journalist, but he doesn’t have anything close to TIm’s talents. Actually, the only one I see at NBC with the deep, intellectual everydayness that Tim had is Chuck Todd, and I think that he would have made the best possible Meet The Press host, rather than have him sit at the White House and try to trip up Robert Gibbs.
But that is not what I was going to write about, and I’m sure that Tim Russert would have been a big enough man to accept any role and then make it into something extraordinary. Tim, when I doubt myself and find the going tough, I think of you, your enthusiasm and the enourmous warmth you spread around you, and it inspires me. I’m sure you continue to inspire and influence other people too, so in a way, there is no reason to miss you. You are always here.