What will we do without Tim Russert?

Someone just came into my office 1 minute ago and told me that he died! What a shame…his kid just graduated from college.

probably continue on with our lives as normal

Wow… I really liked him. Thanks for making us aware, ccatron.

sad day for his family.

oh my! i did not know this. my parents love him, they think he is one of the few smart pundits. this is truly sad, he was only 58 :(. R.I.P. thanks for letting us know about this ccatron.

In a few days I won’t remember who he was. And I watch the news all the time. Nothing personal against him. I don’t think I would notice if any pundit vanished. They all blend together.

i don’t know. i thought he was better than majority of them. one of my favorite ones right now is fareed zakaria. he’s on CNN, new show, on Sundays. He’s smart.

@ jp – btw, I just finished watching the movie you recommended

Tim Russert will be missed. In today’s world, 58 seems young to die. He was a rare, high-profile individual who made a point of balancing family with work. He is also credited with saying that Florida would turn out to be the deciding factor in the 2000 elections. Many pundits never get anything right.

I will survive…....

I think it is sad that he passed away so suddenly. He had a great personality.

@cheeb: Rude as usual.

he was so great at keeping things even and playing devils advocate but in a non-confrontational road. He also made politics accessble for me.

oh I’m sorry, I didn’t realize the world was going to stop turning because Tim Russert died…...oh the humanity!!!

I feel bad for his family, I really do!
Millions of people die everyday…..but you don’t hear about them on every news channel and radio station, so what makes Tim Russert better than everyone else? Because he was on tv???
Think about all kids in the world who lost a parent today….think about all the parents who lost a child…..think about the people who lost a brother, sister, friend, wife, or husband

The world will remember tim russert, but the world won’t even hear about anyone else who died today.
Now, am I just being rude as usual?

I don’t think your being rude. you have a valid view point. Your way of stating things is to the point. For me, once I got the gist and understood your style I adapted and no problem. Some people have trouble adjusting to the tone of others. I am like that at times. I will admit that at times I do think your rather caustic but thats up to you. Your the one who deals with the results.
I also think you are a great reality check.
In this case I don’t think your second point or breedmitchs is to relevent. Your first point is valid, it won’t effect you. Your second point, while explaining your first and defending yourself to Breedmitch isn’t pertinant to the question. Breedmitch’s commentary is not relevent in that they didn’t comment on the question and their statement is incorrect in my opinion.

@cheeb, i agree with you and with Bri L. so yeah thats why i posted what i did. i hate that people make a big deal about all those famous people but i mean people die every day when my family members die there is no new about it no special comments on fluther

@cheebdragon I agree that all deaths diminish us equally in the human family and that it is not fair that some deaths are memorialized publicly while others, just as devastating to family and friends are not. I have held this politically incorrect view for some time regarding large-scale disasters like plane crashes and 9/11. Yes, those deaths are horrible and devastating, but no more so than the murder of an individual or a death by cancer, which get no press and no public mourning.

That said, people who watched Tim Russert on TV felt like he was a part of their lives (whether that was a fallacy or not is a different topic). That is why there is a public outpouring of grief. The same I think holds true for the disasters (I am thinking of the Lockerbie Scotland Pan Am crash for one), the Colorado school shootings, and 9/11 in that the public feels itself a part of these events and able to express grief in ways they can’t or don’t for each individual death.

So, like all grief, I think it is personal and that any feeling or non-feeling in the faceof it is valid and should not be judged.

As I said, he was so great at keeping things even and playing devils advocate but in a non-confrontational road. He also made politics accessble for me. I really enjoyed him. My dad mentioned that he was voted as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Millions of people do not die each day. The number is closer to 150,000.

@breedmitch~ well that changes everything, your right…..fuck everyone else who died!

What a great link breedmitch, im sure that took you a very long time to find! and i really like the disclaimer link in the corner!
but if you really want to know the death rate, just for kicks

Can you please tell me where on your link it gives the number of deaths per day. I’m not seeing it. Does it say “millions” like you asserted? Your responses have gotten ruder (if you care to read them objectively), so thanks for helping me make my original point; to blithely state that you “will survive” added nothing to a question that clearly came from a person in mourning. I truly hope many were fortunate enough to see today’s tribute to Tim Russert on “Meet The Press”. This was a man who rose to greatness in his field. Reporters like Mr. Russert (he was no pundit, johnpowell) come along once in a generation. This man spoke truth to power. He never shied away from asking the questions that needed an answering. He held all those in power, of every political party accountable. Tim Russert was a voice for all of this country. We are all, even the most flippant, snippy, snotty, self concerned, self obsessed of us better for having had the privilege of his impact here.
Tim Russert once said that the greatest exercise for one’s heart is to bend to help one in need.
You will survive.
I wish he had.

The first post was pertenant. It showed how the loss effected her. Others reactions to it, show how the loss effects them. Technically your first post didn’t add anything to the question as you just posted a comment on hers.

pertinent

Thank you. I believe my post was still valid. Nice of you to help however. I await an arrogant and conceited retort a few hours/days from now. That is what we do now right? Based on your posts here? Name calling? I know I am not your favorite person, not being an intellectual and all but your one of the bigger hypocrites on this site.

I’m sorry you feel that way. In the future I’ll post my spelling corrections to you privately.

I guess I just wish we could all get past the manner in which we post our opinions and try to get to the message. We are dealing with people from all over the world of all different backgrounds and history and education and social backgrounds. You consider the way cheebdragon puts things to be rude etc. and I at times agree as I stated. But I believe that there are times where you make people feel bad with out need because of your obvious education. Isn’t the point the discussion? Shouldn’t the point be the discussion. Shouldn’t it be a global effort to tolerate the manner in which we communicate along with the problems like spelling ect. so we can discuss the greater issues? I am sure there are things I could take you to task with the way you choose to point out my spelling (which you did in private) but can’t because this is where we are. I also, wouldn’t, because I was raised differently. But I am ok with that because I also know I will get better at spelling because of it (see “How do I become a better speller?” and Gailcalled helping me). I don’t think you are sorry I feel that way. Honestly, I think you are sorry I am part of the collective. You sent me a message with a vailed threat before and barely responded to my attempt to apologize and start fresh, showing your maturity. Also, vecause viewpoints like mine, make viewpoints like yours seem, not so nice.

You’re right. The purpose here is the discussion. I am sorry. I was clouded by my grief and ended up responding instead of replying to the flippant remark of a caustic girl.

Well, you didn’t point out “vecause” in my reply either here or in private. Thanks for that. Maybe someday I will be on your good side.

For now, has anyone read Tim’s book about his father? What are your thoughts?