If it’s Sunday, It’s Tim Russert
For more than 16 years, Sunday mornings were special - no matter where most of us lived, or what we were doing - If you love politics, you spent an hour with Tim Russert. If church was on the calendar - you went early or late, depending on which time zone you live in. Because Tim Russert mattered. His opinion mattered. The questions he asked delivered an ”every man” sensibility and had an insider’s acute sense what was really happening behind the scenes.
His guests were challenged to tell the truth. To explain policy. To justify their opinions. And Russert distinguished between their opinions from facts. Russert made sure that his viewers, still in our pajamas with that first cup of coffee, knew that he was in our corner.
Russert came to the set armed with briefing books and a mind that was one part encyclopedia, one part BS meter, and one part steel trap. From presidents to senators, no one was treated with reverence. Only with respect. He kept them human and taught us all a little about our nation along the way.
What are we to do with our Sunday mornings now? Meet the Press is the longest running television program anywhere in the world. Mr. Russert would want us to keep learning, to strive for truth, and remember that maybe, just maybe, the Buffalo Bills will pull it out this year.
The next anchor of Meet the Press must meet Russert’s standards. There are only a handful of folks who love politics as much, know the American people so well, and are true believers that can heartily say, “What a country.”
—Media Lizzy
Here are a few suggestions, in this - the Father’s Day edition of the AOL Hot Seat:
Chuck Todd, NBC News Political Director
Chris Matthews, Hardball host
Mike Allen, Politico
Andrea Mitchell, NBC Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent
June 15th, 2008 at 8:24 am
[…] This column was originally posted at the home of Heading Right Radio. […]
June 16th, 2008 at 6:40 am
Katie Couric should be considered for the Meet the Press job.
She desperately needs to get out of the void that is CBS news and get back with the NBC family where she belongs.
This could be her opportunity to get back to her native network and take on a more serious journalistic roll
like she wanted to, demonstrated by her move to CBS in the first place.
June 16th, 2008 at 6:46 am
In the short term, particularly in the middle of this historic election season there should be a caretaker. Tom Brokaw would be the perfect option until after the election, giving the network time to find and prepare the eventual heir to the seat in January.
June 16th, 2008 at 10:33 am
If a woman replaces Tim Russert, let it be Andrea Mitchell. She is infinitely more suited to the role of Moderator at Meet the Press - she is not driven by her own partisanship, and she is not a complainer. If fame were the key, then Couric would deserve consideration. But what we need is someone with a much deeper, and more comprehensive understanding of American and geo-politics than Couric possesses.
My choice would be either Chuck Todd or Mike Allen - because both are fair minded, brilliant men who have earned the respect and trust of politicos on both sides of the aisle. Both men have a command of the political landscape. Both men have unparalleled contacts in the current - and next - generation of elected officials, strategists, senior advisers, and key operators.
This is not just about replacing Tim Russert - it’s about putting someone in the anchor’s chair that may serve there as long as Russert did. 16 years is a very long time - and we need someone driven by facts and a love of politics - not just a pick that makes us feel good for the moment… and we definitely don’t need someone who is so driven by self-aggrandizing and politically expedient ideology that folks turn off the TV.
Chuck Todd and Mike Allen are my picks.
June 18th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Katie Couric??? Absolutely no way!!! I’m not sure who CAN
fill Russert’s shoes, but I know who can’t.
I like the temporary Brokaw fill-in idea. Let’s not rush it.
June 19th, 2008 at 8:58 am
K E I T H O L B E R M A N N.
Let the countdown begin.