Condolences, but not missed
Well, Mr. Potato Head himself made news this weekend, taking a break from merely talking with and about those people who actually make the news for a change. At the tender age of 58, Tim Russert keeled over of a heart attack at work, busy preparing for whatever he actually did on Meet The Press.
The fawning over his passing my his pals ion the media has been awful. It really just shows how insular and self absorbed the mainstream media can be.
And amidst the misplaced fawning by his peers at NBC (and all across the news dial), we had to endure the transparent jockeying for Lil’ Russ’s old job at Meet The Press. Most obnoxious was the ever-loathsome David Gregory, who seemed unable to contain himself this weekend of Lil Russ stories - no doubt in his warped mind, honoring a friend and peer takes second seat to getting that cushy desk chair at MTP.
Loathsome.
A close second is that chubby political hack, Chrissy Matthews, who still feels that tingle running up his leg when Barry Obama enters the room. His own personal demons and man-crushes notwithstanding, I have no doubt that he wet his pants when he heard that the Meet The Press job had suddenly opened up, and he could campaign for it much like Gregory has shamelessly campaigned.
Lets not forget that Lil’ Russ was a democrat political operate in the finest tradition, spending part of his early years carrying Pat Moynihan’s bag in between Pat’s (frequent) mad dashes to the tavern. Not to be outdone, Lil’ Russ actually topped himself by spending a while carrying Mario Cuomo’s bags in between Mario’s (frequent) self important exhales. Make no mistake - for all the talk of his ‘fairness,’ Lil Russ was always a good liberal footsoldier, carrying water for the cause and masquarading it as impartial commentary.
There are several examples of his favoritism, but I think Lil’ Russ’s wide eyed, slow witted dropping of the ball with New Orleans political hack Aaron Broussard is a standout. Lil’ Russ just lets the chronic excuse maker (and evidently fantasist) Aaron Broussard spin a tall tale and cry a river, blaming everyone under the sun - except himself and his pals in charge of NO.
Aaron Broussard is a wall to wall embarrassment, but the real story is that flat-footed, slow witted Tim Russert allowing Broussard to whiz clumsy pitch after clumsy pitch right by him and not calling him on any of his BS.
Condolences to Lil’ Russ’s family - a passing at a young age like 58 is a sad event, but Edward R Murrow he was not. The media overstating his passing is embarrassing. It reveals volumes about them, and less about Russert. And it’s not flattering.
hahahah…I thought he said Barackcracy was to blame.
What a crock of bs this Broussard dished out. Sad that so very, very few in the media had the courage to tell it like it is, Vinnie Vegas style.
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Thelma, watching Mr Potato Head sit there wide-eyed and befuddled as Broussard spins excuse after excuse, and lobs shallow and baseless accusations to others, sums up this ‘fair minded’ man’s run on Meet the Press.
Maybe he was a nice man, maybe he wasn’t. I don’t know him and never cared to. But Lil’ Russ isn’t missed in my household. I’m sure he is looking down from the great beyond and watching all those professional peers crawling over his still-warm corpse in order to get his cushy gig.
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I don’t know if he deserves this much rancor, but I do have one problem with Russert, which is that he was the apotheosis of the poltical operative posing as a journalist. He was an excellent interviewer, but given his resume you could legitimately question his objectivity. Finishing what Pat Buchanan and Bill Safire started, he made it OK for political operatives of both parties to bounce back and forth between the White House (or campiagn trail) and the moderator’s desk. We have been thereby subjected to CarvilleMatalinStephanopoulosMatthewsblahblah for decades longer than necessary.
Russert may have been no Murrow (nor even Bob Schieffer!), but his would-be successors are so weak as to make Russert comparable.
Can you put in a good word with Jeff Zucker for Commander Craig as the new MTP host?
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My dislike for Lil’ Russ goes back a long way, so outside of a few token condolences, I can’t bring myself to say anything nice about him. The Borussard interview is a classic - he just lets Broussard spit up his bile to his heart’s content, calling him on none of his BS.
I don’t think he was an excellent interviewer, by any standard. Compared to others on the landscape he was good, no doubt. Compared to those who want his throne, you are 100% riught - he is a giant. Relatively speaking.
I’d love to see you get the chair at MTP! Break a leg!
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If I get the gig, I will call you every day and say, as Timmy would, “Hey, Vinny B, whaddaya know?”
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Where in green acres did Russert dig up this unenlightened dim-witted whining, (and oh, wow, he is crying now!) Borussard feller??? Oh, I’ll bet Chris Matthews sent him over to “Meet the “Press-ert.”
Please be reminded all you good folk that not one, not once have our Great American flooded out Midwesterner’s; Iowans in particular at this point, made one bad call for Uncle Sam and all his relatives to get all their forces and bags of gold out there and save them from all this strife they are enduring and will endure for a long time to come.
Praises be upon to those who help themsleves, neighbor helping neighbor by the thousands, Volunteering, undaunted! It’s the Real American Way!
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Broussard crying reminds of of Dick Shawn in ‘It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World’ crying that he is coming to save his mamma! Except somehow, Broussard crying is funnier!
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Vinnie Vegas; finally I have pegged sissy Chrissy (chill bumps up his leg over Barack) Matthews speech impediment; he is Elmer Fudd in the real, have a listen-to Elmer Fudd.
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Chrissy as Fudd! Perfect!
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I have one deserved huge applaud in my opinion for the late Tim Russert. Russert set him up then nailed David Duke to a stake! The world has been a better place for that interview. I don’t believe David Duke has practiced using burning stakes/crosses and wearing “white dresses” since.
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To be fair, outwitting David Duke is not a Herculean feat. I think the typical 8th grader could do that!
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