Tim Russert - 1950-2008

The tragic passing of Tim Russert has resulted in a veritable flood of statements praising his political passion and journalistic acumen. Sometimes such a passing results in hyperbole. That such encomiums are justified is indicated by the praise that Time Magazine gave him when they recently chose him as one of the top 100 most influential people for 2008.

UPDATE: There's so much good material online and on tv now about Tim and his life. I just noticed a particularly insightful piece on USA TODAY's site by Michael Gartner, who was President of NBC News from 1988 to 1993 and persuaded a particularly reluctant Tim Russert to take on the Moderator role at Meet the Press.

Newsweek Editor Jon Meachem has also posted a piece on Russert's religiosity.