Goodbye, Tim

It was with absolute shock that I realized that the man that I invite into my home every Sunday morning has passed. I can be in my jammies, with a hair horn from sleeping, eating our traditional weekend breakfast scramble, and sitting down with a political wonk makes the morning feel complete.

Being from a struggling town, with a dad who passed on a blue collar work ethic, I highly respected Tim Russert. He had a gift for taking something complicated and boiling it down to its essence. In addition, he didn't argue with those he was interviewing-- he put their words up on the screen and let them respond.

I really want to focus on those last three words-- he let them respond. What bothers me most about modern journalism is that journalists will throw out a question, wait three seconds when the guest is five words in, and then they will jump in with another question or will cut them off.

Not Tim Russert. He asked a question and wanted an answer. And if you didn't answer his question, he'd tell you just that and demand the answer.

Goodbye, Tim. We will miss you on Sunday mornings.