Michelle Malkin » Reports: Tim Russert dead after heart attack; was working in NBC Washington bureau

Reports: Tim Russert dead after heart attack; was working in NBC Washington bureau

By Michelle Malkin • June 13, 2008 03:31 PM

He was 58.

Reports coming in from the NYPost and NYTimes.

He was a fixture of Beltway political journalism, good on the entitlement crisis, and by all accounts, a good-humored guy. One small personal experience: When I was a lowly videotape library aide at NBC News in 1992, I sent him a critique of the information-gathering system–and he was kind enough to send a reply.

R.I.P.

***

TVNewser reports that Russert suffered the heart attack while working on an MSNBC.com interview in the Washington bureau.

Here’s that last interview.

Here’s video of Tom Brokaw’s announcement of Russert’s passing.

More details at the NYPost and The Caucus, which quotes Tom Brokaw:

“Our beloved colleague,” a grave Mr. Brokaw called him, one of the premier journalists of our time. He said this was one of the most important years in his life, with his deep engagement in the network’s political coverage, and that he “worked to the point of exhaustion.” Mr. Brokaw said Mr. Russert was a true child of Buffalo and always stayed in touch with his blue collar roots and “the ethos of that community.”

Russert made a guest appearance on Rush Limbaugh’s radio show in 2004 to promote his book about his father, “Big Russ and Me.” The appearance came during the week of Ronald Reagan’s funeral. Here’s an excerpt:

RUSH: We don’t have guests on this program, but we made an exception here for our friend Tim Russert of NBC News. Tim, how are you, first off? Nice to have you with us. It’s a real pleasure.

RUSSERT: It’s an honor to be here, Rush. Thank you very much.

RUSH: We put this together two weeks ago before the events of last Saturday and this week took place. We decided to go ahead and stick with it because I’m sure you have some Reagan stories, and before we get into the discussion of your book, let me ask you, Tim. As a journalist, what is your reaction to what you are seeing and hearing this week around the country and in Washington?

RUSSERT: Extraordinary. What we have seen is an outpouring of affection and respect for an American president. I have not observed or witnessed anything like it since the death of President Kennedy, and I was quite taken last night, Rush, as we showed some old footage of the Kennedy funeral which was the grainy black and white and people crying and sobbing, and in shock because of the assassination — and the contrast is so striking to the mood we saw in the streets of Washington last night. It was celebratory.

RUSH: Yeah.

RUSSERT: Because there was an understanding that President Reagan had lived an extraordinarily long and honorable life. And like in so many things, I had a long conversation with my dad about President Reagan, and dad’s instincts I think, are exactly right. He said, “You know, he told us exactly, early on about Alzheimer’s. He died in dignity, and he braced us for it. He prepared us for it. He was stand-up about it,” and I think that’s what we’re seeing reflected from the American people today, an appreciation of someone who talked to them in a way that was understandable, and meaningful, and respectful of them, as well as the issues.
RUSH: You know, it’s said that the country’s “never been more divided than it is,” and I think most people’s historical perspective begins when they’re born. You can I’m sure go back in American history and find easily as ribald a period of time if not more so than today, but still that is people’s reality. Do you think an event like this can have any lasting unity beyond Friday when the internment takes place?

RUSSERT: I hope it can, and I think it might. I heard that from Democrats and Republicans. Because there was a sense that when Ronald Reagan was president, he was a conservative Republican and he was proud of it, and he was unabashed in laying out his conservative principles and philosophy — and yet he was also willing as he would say, “If I can get three-fourths of a loaf I’m going to take it, stay with my principles, and move on.” I remember when (New York Democrat Senator) Daniel Patrick Moynihan, whom I knew very well, and (GOP Senator Kansas) Bob Dole went to President Reagan with a compromise on Social Security to keep it solvent to people would continue to have it for years to come and President Reagan said, “Can we get (Democratic Speaker of the House) Tip O’Neill?” and the four of those men — two Democrats, two Republicans — sat down and fashioned a compromise, which guaranteed the solvency of Social Security for a long time to come. That’s Ronald Reagan and that’s his legacy. I think that if more people here realize that there are ways to approach government where people can keep their principles and yet be willing to find common ground and consensus, the better off we’re all going to be.

RUSH: Well, where were you in the 80s in terms of your career? Were you working in Washington yet?

RUSSERT: Yes, I had finished law school, and then I joined Daniel Patrick Moynihan in 1976 and was there through 1982. In fact, I was with Jim Brady, the President Reagan’s press secretary, the night before he was assassinated [sic—wounded, paralyzed]. We were at a replay, if you will, of the gridiron dinner where President Reagan and Senator Moynihan had spoken with and we walked out to the parking lot together and bid farewell and the next thing I knew 12 hours later, Jim Brady was shot.

RUSH: Again, somewhat of a personal connection to the formative event. As you look back on it now, Tim, from the standpoint of your age now as an adult and what you’re doing for a living and in your life now, all encompassing things as you, look back now these 20 years do you have a different recollection of the 80s now than did you perhaps when you were living through them going through them?

RUSSERT: Yeah, I think it’s much more macro, much larger. Sometimes when you’re covering and engaged in life on a day-to-day basis, or hour-to-hour basis, you don’t fully appreciate the size or scope or magnitude of an individual. And, Rush, I remember as a little boy watching with my dad when Gorbachev [sic--Khrushchev] took off his shoe and started banging it at the United Nations –

RUSH: Khrushchev.

RUSSERT: — yelling, “Your children would grow up in communism,” and my dad sat there shaking his head, saying, “No, sir. No, siree. No, sir.” This is a Big Russ, the World War II veteran.

RUSH: Yeah.

RUSSERT: And I had forgotten that imagery until, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall,” and it’s exactly the kind of resolve and determination that I saw in my dad, who is now 80 as I saw in President Reagan. You know, it’s funny because people talk about Reagan Democrats. I know Reagan Democrats. I grew up in an Irish Catholic neighborhood. People who were born Democrats and baptized Catholic, and in the 60s and the 70s, they believed deeply that the Democratic Party left them, and that’s very much the way Ronald Reagan experienced it a little bit earlier, in the 50s, and the reason people, these Democrats, these ethnic Democrats embraced Ronald Reagan was not because they had a checklist of his issues or philosophy or on a one-to-ten scale on tax cuts and so forth, not — some did. Some did, but many others embraced him because he began to talk about the United States and what it is and what it stands for — and morning again, America standing tall. That’s what my dad grew up with. My dad’s favorite expression in the whole world is, “What a country,” and that’s the language that Ronald Reagan used to explain who we were and what his vision was, and that’s why Reagan Democrats embraced them so vigorously.

***

Here’s the clip of Russert’s illegal alien driver’s license question that tripped up Hillary Clinton:

Stacy McCain: “I can think of nobody in TV news today who will be able to fill Russert’s shoes.”

Christian Broadcasting Network journalist David Brody:

Tim Russert was a principled, fair, honest and decent man.

He gave me an opportunity of a lifetime to be a regular panelist on Meet the Press in the last year — and for that, I am forever grateful. The fact that he decided to make this correspondent a regular says more about Tim Russert than it does about me. What it says is that Tim Russert is always looking for a wide range of analysis from all across the political spectrum.

The one thing you could always count on from Tim Russert is that he was fair. NBC News lost a political heavyweight and a dear family member today. The political world lost one of the most respected names in the business.

My best memories of Tim Russert were when the show was over.

If you thought the round table discussions on the air were interesting, you should have heard what talked about off the air. He had a knack for telling great stories about his beloved father Big Russ and all of the political heavyweights he had met in his life. I sat on the Meet the Press roundtable and soaked it all in like a sponge. To be in his company was an honor and privilege.

Brian Maloney has fresh reaction from Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin, and other radio talk show hosts.

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#350125

On June 13th, 2008 at 8:54 pm, malkin_fan said:

One of the good ones has left us. I don’t think I ever cursed at him and changed the channel when he was speaking. Thats a rarity these days.

I hear NBC will replace him with Keith olbermann.
#350131

On June 13th, 2008 at 9:17 pm, JT said:

He tended to lean left and wasn’t always good at hiding it, but he was a real nice guy. He was the rare lib that didn’t hate America, like most do today.

On June 13th, 2008 at 3:32 pm, oldcollegeguy1980 said:

Were there any signs of him having heart trouble?

If he wasn’t having or ignoring symptoms, He may have had deep vain thrombosis (DVT), which can be exacerbated by long plane flights. It causes clot(s) in the leg. The clot can break off and cause a heart attack. He just came back from Italy, so that may be it. I’m no expert, it is just a guess.

DVT

RIP
#350132

On June 13th, 2008 at 9:21 pm, josetheguerilla said:

I’m shocked. I watch Meet the Press every weekend. I mostly watch, for the suspenseful music, and partly because of Russert. I will miss him. God bless Big Russ. Little Rus RIP.

/s/

The guerilla
#350145

On June 13th, 2008 at 9:51 pm, right_on said:

Adieu!
#350152

On June 13th, 2008 at 10:08 pm, Ignatius Reilly said:

It is not my policy to get sentimental when people I never liked anyway pass on. I liked Russert. He seemed a very decent and fair guy. No pretty boy full of himself. Sad.
#350153

On June 13th, 2008 at 10:13 pm, Papa Louie said:

Goldwater Knight said:
The only guy with the sand to ask hillary the tough questions.

I remember the Clinton camp being very angry with Russert after he asked her some pointed questions she was not expecting. The rest of the MSM, who had been treating Hillary like royalty up to that point, also turned on her after that. Hmmm, maybe it isn’t such a good idea to cross the Clintons. Anyone checked his coffee mug for traces of Polonium 210 or other suspicious substances?
#350163

On June 13th, 2008 at 10:33 pm, d1carter said:

I am shocked and saddened by the death of Tim Russert. I did not agree with him on many things but I respected him deeply. How can you not respect a man who loved his family, did his job, and will be missed by many. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends. God speed, Tim Russert.
#350166

On June 13th, 2008 at 10:42 pm, malkin_fan said:

NBC had his doctor on. Tim had heart disease.
#350171

On June 13th, 2008 at 11:00 pm, almeehan said:

It is a shock. Prayers for his family.
#350179

On June 13th, 2008 at 11:08 pm, meatpieandtatters said:

All our lives are marked by set-backs, commercial interruptions, and loss. In the media, perhaps a bit more visibly than the rest of us. Because there, events are real-time and fast-breaking. Thus, Mr. Russert, RIP, left the scene very much the way he lived it every moment. Cheers!
#350185

On June 13th, 2008 at 11:32 pm, Azygos said:

Prayers to his family.

If I had to guess I’d say pulmonary embolism not heart attack. However young people fair far worse when they have heart attacks than the old folks do.
#350188

On June 13th, 2008 at 11:45 pm, mattm said:

RIP. He will be missed. He was one of the last fair journalists in the MSM.
#350195

On June 14th, 2008 at 12:19 am, thefoundingfathers said:

Every Friday morning he came on WBAL in Baltimore with Dave Durian to talk about the upcoming Meet the Press. I listened to him this morning and he sounded very jovial and excited about Sunday’s show.

He always seemed very genuine. May God bless him and his family.
#350242

On June 14th, 2008 at 6:56 am, sfcmac said:

I’m going to be the party crasher here and remind everyone that Russert was part of the liberal MSM conglomerate.

I stopped watching him years ago.
#350244

On June 14th, 2008 at 7:09 am, love2rumba said:

Tim Russert is the last of his kind in the MSM …
#350245

On June 14th, 2008 at 7:10 am, love2rumba said:

I hear NBC will replace him with Keith olbermann

Yick!
#350292

On June 14th, 2008 at 10:32 am, ArizonaNeanderthal said:

I did not watch his shows very much but did appreciate his demeanor–he was about the only TV personality without the phony indignation and patronizing manner so prevalent today.

Here’s the clip of Russert’s illegal alien driver’s license question that tripped up Hillary Clinton:

I know the Clinton camp is still mad, but I thought is was a legitimate question honestly put.

My condolences to his family and friends.
#350304

On June 14th, 2008 at 11:26 am, nbarry said:

Tim Russert was a consummate pro in a field where the prevailing standard is not to let the truth get in the way of a good story. His passing reminds me of Groucho Marx’s reaction to the death at 37 of his favorite producer, Irving Thalberg: “Only the good die young. The schlemiels live to a hundred.”
#350305

On June 14th, 2008 at 11:28 am, Wade said:

Thanks Tim. As Big Russ may be of the last of a great generation, so is Tim, possibly the last of the great journalists. How can NBC possibly replace him?
#350316

On June 14th, 2008 at 11:51 am, MrOlympia said:

My sincere condolences to his family and friends.

Now, I have NO doubts that Tim was a good guy. However, he was a partisan liberal Democrat. Lets face it, when you are compared to Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann, and any number of other partisan liberal news people, its not very hard to be judged as “fair” compared to them. Its a matter of perspective.

Tim had some class and conducted himself in a professional manner. I sure wish there were more of him on the left. He did ask some tough questions of liberals, but he also served up openings for them to “clarify” ie: spin, statements that should have gotten them in big trouble whereas Republicans never get that chance.

His agenda was to help liberals without making it too obvious. He was tougher on Republicans and never let them off the hook. I personally believe Scooter Libby rather than Tim Russert. Remember….liberals are very, very good liars.
#350351

On June 14th, 2008 at 1:42 pm, thegreatbeast said:

My condolence to the Russert family. It is awful when one expires at such a relatively young age.

That said, I must say that I am taken aback by the coverage that Mr. Russert’s death is engendering. He was one of the better of a bad lot of Washington/NY national media personalities but he wasn’t about to join the Pantheon of great newsmen.
#350354

On June 14th, 2008 at 1:51 pm, Alphonse said:

Now, I have NO doubts that Tim was a good guy. However, he was a partisan liberal Democrat.

Amen.

What’s with this “outpouring of public grief” nowadays? Seems a bit too “Oprah” to me, i.e., pride in display of your sensitivity and tear flow. If you know the family, give them your condolences, but national grief over a lib reporter?
#350367

On June 14th, 2008 at 2:13 pm, Straight_Talk_Luigi said:

My thoughts and prayers are with Mr. Russert and his family.

I will say I never watched his show once, though.

Amen.

What’s with this “outpouring of public grief” nowadays? Seems a bit too “Oprah” to me, i.e., pride in display of your sensitivity and tear flow. If you know the family, give them your condolences, but national grief over a lib reporter?

Well, I think it caught a lot of people by surprise, but it’s sad to see someone die like this.

We all know that you’re a tough conservative, Alphonse, and to be fair, I’m not so sure that MSM would be so kind if the same thing happened to Rush.
#350394

On June 14th, 2008 at 3:23 pm, corona said:

You can’t make this stuff up:

While politicians in both parties praised Russert as a fair-minded inquisitor, some liberal critics complained that he reserved his toughest questions for Democrats.
#350441

On June 14th, 2008 at 5:47 pm, normsrevenge said:

The left will miss him and his abilities to pinch-hit for the left and subtly stick it to the right as if they are the only money-grubbing power-mad party around.

Oh yeah, he will be missed. (but the ‘Wellstonian’ response to his passing will not.)

RIP and Condolences to the family.

–

PS.. maybe NBC can grab Katie for his slot. She asks the same kind of questions he did, with the same intent.
#350493

On June 14th, 2008 at 9:28 pm, Die Hippie, Die said:

My condolences to the Russert family.

Russert and Britt Hume were the only hosts whom I could picture as ever having been reporters.
#350497

On June 14th, 2008 at 9:40 pm, Mookie said:

The most vile comments I’ve seen towards Tim’s passing have been from Democrats. There’s a website called Hillaryis44.org that is filled with the most disturbing comments I’ve seen online in a long, long time.
#350588

On June 15th, 2008 at 5:40 am, Straight_Talk_Luigi said:

The most vile comments I’ve seen towards Tim’s passing have been from Democrats. There’s a website called Hillaryis44.org that is filled with the most disturbing comments I’ve seen online in a long, long time.

The frustration of Hilary supporters is understandable. I heard Russert gave Obama a very light interview compared to what Hilary got.

Yet, your post doesn’t surprise me. You should have seen what the left wrote when Ann Coulter’s father passed away. I read one article and the guy thought it was a joke.
#350610

On June 15th, 2008 at 9:13 am, DarkKnight said:

On June 14th, 2008 at 9:40 pm, Mookie said:
The most vile comments I’ve seen towards Tim’s passing have been from Democrats. There’s a website called Hillaryis44.org that is filled with the most disturbing comments I’ve seen online in a long, long time.

Mookie, that’s not entirely fair. Although some of the things said on that particular blog (that many people haven’t heard of?) are disturbing, that is not representative of many of the posting on Democratic/liberal websites.

For example, if you go to the Huffington Post posting on the topic, you will see that there are 1,784 comments on the topic.

Granted, some comments are discussions about what would happen to Meet the Press and NBC in general, some comments are disturbing in nature, but a vast, vast majority of these comments (on this very prominent liberal website) express heartfelt sympathy and condolence to the Russert family.

Finding a small website and saying “see? see?” isn’t entirely fair IMHO.
#350614

On June 15th, 2008 at 9:19 am, DarkKnight said:

On a side note, I want to say “Thank you” to Ms. Malkin for keeping this thread on the main page through Father’s Day.

Mr. Russert had a great deal of love and respect for his father and had a special connection to his son.

Though some may examine the political side of the issue, I think that it is so important to recognize that Mr. Russert’s relationships with his father and son are emblematic of what Father’s Day is all about.

Happy Father’s Day everyone, and Mr. Russert, may your soul rest in peace.
#350753

On June 15th, 2008 at 3:00 pm, Mookie said:

Finding a small website and saying “see? see?” isn’t entirely fair IMHO.

I’m going to respectfully disagree about this particular site. This isn’t an obscure blog. The Hillary supporters on that site have been actively recruited by McCain’s campaign and have participated in McCain conference calls and are fundraising for him. They also participated in many conference calls and events with Hillary’s campaign.
#350801

On June 15th, 2008 at 7:37 pm, terrig said:

Of course not Dark Knight, you think this is the blog of those who worship Satan don’t you? Please, get off your sanctimonious horse for once. I agree with Mookie on this one. My cousin is quite active on that Hillary site and it’s gaining popularity.
Dark Knight, you can see there’s been nothing but kind comments towards Tim Russert. We all respected the job he did at NBC and know his likes won’t be seen there again. The all knowing MistressJustice misconstrued the posting of Jen of the Jungle but of course she saw what she wanted to see because like you she thinks this is the den of Satan.
It never ceases to amaze me how you liberals think you’re so above the fray when you’re really the worse. I would recommend that you and your pal MJ as well as the rest go back and look at the blog postings when Tony Snow’s cancer returned or when President Reagan died. You should be ashamed of yourselves by coming over here and telling us how hateful we are. There is no hate on this thread but you think there is because you misconstrue a posting.
The rest of us are for the most part shocked at this news even a few days later. It won’t be the same, as his and Chris Wallace’s show (at the 6 p.m. news time) were the only Sunday shows worth watching. Sorry your hatred had to seep through again.
#350808

On June 15th, 2008 at 9:05 pm, Bob in Myrtle Beach said:

NBC News is sorely hurting now, they’ve lost their most solid newsman.

Despite his personal politics, I always admired Tim Russert, he served NBC News as a comsummate pro, without agrandizing any particular personal opinions, unlike the majority of talking heads on NBC and MSNBC who seem to thrive on a strongly left-leaning bias, and worse yet, seem incapable of operating away from their bias. Tim always seemed above a shock & awe approach of presenting the news. He never seemed to persent himself as a “star”, when actually he was.

My sympathies to his family, his friends, and his co-workers for their grevious loss.
#351699

On June 17th, 2008 at 12:20 am, DarkKnight said:

On June 15th, 2008 at 7:37 pm, terrig said:
Of course not Dark Knight, you think this is the blog of those who worship Satan don’t you? Please, get off your sanctimonious horse for once. I agree with Mookie on this one. My cousin is quite active on that Hillary site and it’s gaining popularity.
Dark Knight, you can see there’s been nothing but kind comments towards Tim Russert. We all respected the job he did at NBC and know his likes won’t be seen there again. The all knowing MistressJustice misconstrued the posting of Jen of the Jungle but of course she saw what she wanted to see because like you she thinks this is the den of Satan.
It never ceases to amaze me how you liberals think you’re so above the fray when you’re really the worse. I would recommend that you and your pal MJ as well as the rest go back and look at the blog postings when Tony Snow’s cancer returned or when President Reagan died. You should be ashamed of yourselves by coming over here and telling us how hateful we are. There is no hate on this thread but you think there is because you misconstrue a posting.
The rest of us are for the most part shocked at this news even a few days later. It won’t be the same, as his and Chris Wallace’s show (at the 6 p.m. news time) were the only Sunday shows worth watching. Sorry your hatred had to seep through again.

Wow terrig… let’s start from the beginning.

Contradictory of your comment, I do not think people on this blog worship Satan. I will not resort to insulting you or anyone else with a “high horse” argument. I never said there was hate here. Ever. This was a discussion between myself and Mookie… and a quite civilized discussion at that. He feels that the site he quoted has a large following and felt that the postings on there expressed a point of view of more than a few Democrats.

I did not misconstrue his posting. I did not know how large that blog is that Mookie was citing in his post. It could represent many people, or it could represent just one person’s point of view. That’s what we discussed. Quite calmly and without personal insults.

The point that I was saying was that on this particular topic concerning Mr. Russert’s death, the postings on liberal blogs including the Huffington Post were overwhelmingly positive and sympathetic. This thread cannot (and will not) turn into how blog commenters react to other people’s tragedies (or else we would have to discuss comments on here about Sen. Kennedy’s situation as well).

I was simply saying that the vast reaction to Mr. Russert’s death from liberal and Democratic websites was mostly compassionate, and to point out (to, at that time, the best of my understanding) a small blog, was not fair.

He disagreed, and it’s good to at least to have had the discussion. That’s what blogs are for.

If you would like to bring up things that are said during other tragedies, that can be another discussion. I’d be happy to have that discussion with you.

I feel that we can at least disagree that when people do make vile postings about tragedies, that is most unfortunate.
#351701

On June 17th, 2008 at 12:21 am, DarkKnight said:

EDIT: I feel that we can at least AGREE that when people do make vile postings about tragedies, that is most unfortunate.
#374599

On July 13th, 2008 at 2:09 pm, Turbodog said:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Q7FtV-tG0wo
this says it all