The Russert Send-Off

http://www.counterpunch.org/


Now Russert had the power, the clout and the venue to ask tough questions in the run-up to the war in Iraq which began in March, 2003. There were plenty of serious people with informed views about whether or not Saddam Hussein really had nuclear missile to level London and bio-weapons to kill millions. But Russert was part of the Amen Chorus for a war that sent countless men, women and children to their deaths. When it mattered, he entertained no dangerous differences with the White House line. Was this a performance worthy of “a true American patriot”?

Did this “true American patriot” commanding the attention of millions every week not open his mouth to lament the fact that the U.S. government has been trashing the Constitution and tossing the Bill of Rights in the toilet? Negative on that one too.

We’ve had seven years of craven, culpable journalism - across the mainstream board. No one honors the reporters at Knight Ridder newspapers, who were among the few ones in the mainstream press, pre-war, to hammer away at the WMD lies. They never led off Russert's or anyone else's show. Russert was managing editor and host of Meet the Press, host of The Tim Russert Show on MSNBC, senior vp of NBC News, NBC Washington Bureau Chief, and regular political analyst on the Today Show, The Nightly News. So he was as responsible as anyone for the press collusion with the Administration. But now that the administration is looking bad, he's not a collaborator but a tenacious knight, jousting with them, 'truth-telling', getting 'the bad guys' for 'we, the people.'

Final question: Since NBC had a huge stake in Tim Russert’s future (“Meet the Press” brought in $50 million a year and they paid him around $5 million a year) you’d have thought the network’s executives would have taken a look at the tv screen and raised the alarm. Across the past three months he looked in increasingly awful shape, bright red in the face, overweight and sometimes with a slightly glazed, sad look. I told people I thought he was set to die of a heart attack right there in the studio, which is exactly what happened. On one sighting recently he didn’t take his loafers off in the gym, and when pressed about this casual approach to vitally needed exercise, gave a wink.

It's time to Let go, Let Tim, and move on....

And even if he was the knight in shining armor that they are making him out to be, he was certainly infective at it, wasn't he.

Homage to Dan Quayle, whom Russert thought was a great mind.

really bothered me. I stopped watching him ages ago.

When the only source of your success stands to make billions at the expense of a few hundred thousand meaningless lives, you don't dare say anything that might upset that.

He and Mathews were the twin water boys for the consummately evil Jack Welch.

Kinda surprised NBC didn't spring for that. It would have been in keeping with their behavior that week.

:eyes:

Gheez, I wish I'd said that!! :sarcasm:

Great article.

:kick: & Recommended