Tim Russert A Class Act Journalist Died Today

RIP Tim Russert 1950-2008

I respected him as a journalist who covered American politics in a honest and special way. Tim Russert, whose 17 years as moderator of NBC's “Meet the Press” died suddenly on Friday. He was 58 and, not surprisingly, at work -- recording voiceovers for Sunday's broadcast -- when he collapsed of a heart attack. Russert, was a onetime aide to Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Gov. Mario Cuomo, he made the switch from politics to news in 1984. He began on the international beat for NBC, landing a prized interview with Pope John Paul II in 1985. In 1991 he became Washington bureau chief and moderator of “Meet the Press.”

Tim Russert was a class act. He will be missed.