Tim Russert is dead.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Wow... news just broke that he had a heart attack. 58 years old. Rest in peace... I always liked him. :(

[sabotai]

Nothing on the news sites yet, but Wikipedia is already updated.

Edit: Turned on MSNBC and they are talking about it now.

[Joe]

http://www.suntimes.com/news/obituaries/1004634,russert061308.article

[QuikSand]

I really think he breathed a lot of life back into the Sunday morning pol/news circuit. He's the best at that stuff I've ever seen.

Damn.

[Kodos]

Sad news. One of the more likable news guys.

[Racer]

Sad indeed. He was great at what he did.

[molson]

I'll never forget his marker board coverage of the 2000 presidential election. He was a likeable guy.

[Fonzie]

Very, very sad. Since my kids were born it's been nearly impossible for me to see Meet The Press, and I was looking forward to regularly watching it again once the kids got a bit older.

Having such a talent taken from us at 58 is simply unfair. Damn.

[King of New York]

One of the few journalists for whom I had great--or really any--respect, and he kicks the bucket at 58.

Not fair.

[Galaxy]

Wow...He didn't seem like he had health problems.

A likable guy who really seem excited more then ever about his job (with the elections).

[Dutch]

Very sad indeed. Very good at what he did. RIP.

[DaddyTorgo]

his son was in my sister's graduating class at BC this year.

[lordscarlet]

One of my few "celebrity sitings," I saw him with what's-his-name-the-bald-democrat-guy at a Nationals game in '05.

[Honolulu_Blue]

One of my few "celebrity sitings," I saw him with what's-his-name-the-bald-democrat-guy at a Nationals game in '05.

Carvell?

He used to sit a few seats down and just across the row from the Washington Wizard's seats my old firm had. I saw him there on a few occassions.

Always seemed a decent fellow.

[CleBrownsfan]

:(

[path12]

Wow. Ms.Path is a Meet the Press fanatic. Very sad.

[Swaggs]

Sad news.

I wonder if Brokaw will take over Meet the Press up until the election.

[lordscarlet]

Carvell?

He used to sit a few seats down and just across the row from the Washington Wizard's seats my old firm had. I saw him there on a few occassions.

Always seemed a decent fellow.

Yes, Carvell. Thanks. :)

[oliegirl]

Wow, how sad. If I recall he was very close with his father and wrote a really moving book about him, or maybe it was just about fatherhood in general.

Anyway, RIP.

:(

[Zelig]

damn it.

[GrantDawg]

I hope that the Bills wins the Superbowl every year where he has gone. RIP.

[CamEdwards]

his son was in my sister's graduating class at BC this year.

I'm glad he got to see his son graduate. I'm also glad for his family that they had just returned from a family vacation. There's never a good time to go, but at least his loved ones will hopefully have good recent memories of him to carry with them.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

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[miami_fan]

Damn! RIP

[Toddzilla]

It is sad to see him go, as Russert was a ggood journalist at one point. But get ready for the revisionist history, since Russert for the last year or so has been nothing short of a hack - repeating GOP talking points as fact, failing to ask tough questions of guests or follow up on questionable answers. He seemed to get some of his spark back as the primaries wound down, but Tim Russert 2008 was a sad shell of the host he was a decade ago.

[-apoc-]

Damn that sucks.

[Young Drachma]

So sad. So so so sad. I just got home to see it on TV.

[Vegas Vic]

This is sad news, indeed. Russert was an expert in his field; tough, but fair, and always substantive. He will be sorely missed.

[cougarfreak]

Man, I can't tell you how much this sucks. I taught Current Events for 3 years at the high school I teach at, and Russert was on every Monday morning. He truly was enjoyable, and he did his job exceptionally well, never showing bias (unless it was for the Buffalo Bills). My favorites were with Carvell and his wife. RIP, Meet the Press won't be the same without you.

[sterlingice]

Have always enjoyed Meet the Press with him on. Felt like real journalism and reporting instead of what passes for it these days. I don't know what I'll watch when I'm up early enough on Sundays now. A real credit to an industry that is sorely lacking them.

SI

[SteveMax58]

Shocking...completely shocking to hear this. One of the few real journalists in the news left these days.

RIP Mr. Russert.

[Jas_lov]

Sad news.

I wonder if Brokaw will take over Meet the Press up until the election.

I wondered that too. I think David Gregory usually fills in for him and I figured he'd get the job, but Brokaw could fill in until November. I always liked MTP and Russert so this is very sad news.

[Dunleavy]

WTF :( i liked that guy a lot

[cuervo72]

Sigh.

[Arles]

Wow, that's terrible. Russert was the only thing that made Meet the Press watchable. May he RIP and our prayers go out to his family. I remember when he was talking about his book about his dad last father's day.

[boberot]

This is obviously very sad, but as a native of Buffalo, [and as someone who attended the same high school as Tim] this is absolutely heartbreaking to me. I was just reading his book "Big Russ and Me" and my affection for him was growing exponentially.

His style as a journalist was, to me, a perfect blend of toughness and fairness.

Buffalo had no better ambassador and the city will be mourning him for a long, long time. There is already work underway to rename the stretch of road running along Ralph Wilson Stadium after him.

God bless the Russert family.

[Lorena]

Aww man :(

[fantom1979]

"Are these the kind of things a governor should know? Who the largest employers are? How many people live below the poverty line?"

Russert to Duke in 1991

[RomaGoth]

Very sad news.

[molson]

NY Times on the autopsy and Russert's health

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/17/health/17russert.html?_r=1&ref=health&oref=slogin

It's always somber to have that reminder that you can drop dead at any moment, even if you feel fine.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

On my HDD I found I still have the last episode Russert moderated...

Talk about irony. The opening words of his prerecorded introduction (which one week later he died recording that week's introduction) "Our issues this Sunday; it is over..." (Talking about Obama over Hillary.) Then he intros a clip of Clinton who begins: "Life is too short, time is too precious..."

[oliegirl]

On my HDD I found I still have the last episode Russert moderated...

Talk about irony. The opening words of his prerecorded introduction (which one week later he died recording that week's introduction) "Our issues this Sunday; it is over..." (Talking about Obama over Hillary.) Then he intros a clip of Clinton who begins: "Life is too short, time is too precious..."

I caught the tail end of Meet the Press yesterday, they were doing a segment on Russert, included some very moving footage of the funeral service, and afterward, the most beautiful rainbow over DC. It would have been beautiful on any day, but it was just a little more beautiful because of the timing.

[Swaggs]

BTW, NBC did announce that Brokaw will run MTP through the '08 elections.

[Kodos]

You'll be missed tonight, Tim. :(

[sterlingice]

He's already been missed leading up to it, but, yeah, tonight for sure :(

SI

[Galaril]

You'll be missed tonight, Tim. :(

Oh man that sure is true. He will be missed by all.