Tim Russert Funeral: Washington Elite Pays Tribute

WASHINGTON — The crowd at Tim Russert's funeral Wednesday would have made a great panel on his Sunday morning news show.

The two men vying to become president, Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain, were there, as were members of Congress, television journalists and several generations of politicians from both parties.

Obama and McCain sat next to each other at the private service, per a request by the Russert family. Later in the day, former President Clinton and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton joined several hundred of Russert's friends and colleagues at a memorial service televised by MSNBC.

Russert, the host of NBC's "Meet the Press," died Friday of a heart attack. He was 58.

Tom Brokaw opened the memorial service by lifting a bottle of Rolling Rock beer to salute his fallen colleague.

"We are going to do it Irish style," Brokaw, who pilfered the Rolling Rock from Russert's cooler, said at the service held at the Kennedy Center. "There will be some tears, some laughs, and the occasional truth."

Speakers included Maria Shriver, Mario Cuomo, Mike Barnicle and even the nun who taught Russert in the seventh grade. It ended with Russert's 22-year-old son Luke.

"He regarded a day greeted without real enthusiasm as a sadly lost opportunity," said Cuomo, the former New York governor for whom Russert worked as an aide in the early 1980s.

Shriver, California's first lady and member of the Kennedy family, recalled how Russert tried to help get her daughter into Boston College, which Luke attended.

He told her "it's competitive," she said. "You need to know people in Boston. You need to know people in the Catholic church."

Shriver had that covered, although her daughter landed on the waiting list.

NBC News anchor Brian Williams told how Russert went to the best salons for haircuts.

"Tim spent a fortune on his hair," Williams said. "And on the day when he got it done, he looked outstanding for 60 to 90 minutes afterwards."

Russert, who also was the Washington bureau chief for NBC News, was known for conducting tough interviews of Washington's most powerful politicians, yet he evoked an everyman quality that showed his blue-collar, Buffalo, N.Y., roots. Part of that came from his sometimes rumpled appearance.

Brokaw referred to Russert as "an unmade bed of a man with an armful of newspapers and a cell phone to his ear."

The crowd entering the Kennedy Center heard music from Russert's iPod, including Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird." The memorial ended with a video tribute by Bruce Springsteen, who was touring in Europe.

Among the politicians at the memorial service were former Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan., former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

Those at the funeral included New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Honorary pallbearers included Williams, "Today" show host Matt Lauer and former "Today" show host Bryant Gumbel.

President Bush and his wife, Laura, had attended the public wake on Tuesday.

The funeral service at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Washington's Georgetown neighborhood was private, but a loudspeaker broadcast the service to about 100 onlookers standing along the tree-lined street.

Luke Russert gave the eulogy. His mother and Russert's widow, Maureen Orth, looked on.

"My dad was my best friend," Luke Russert said, his voice strong and clear. "To explain my bond with my father is utterly impossible to put into words."

He said that whenever he did well on a school assignment, his father would yell, "Yahoo! You smoked 'em, buddy!"

He asked the crowd to imagine a special edition of "Meet the Press" this Sunday in heaven. "Maybe Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr will be on for the full hour debating," he said.

Luke Russert repeated much of the eulogy at the memorial service, confiding that his father often recycled the same speech for different civic groups.

"Tim Russert led with his heart, his compassion and most of all his honor," his son said. "I love you, dad, and in his words, let us all go get 'em!"

Comments

[strifeknot]

A truly great man has just died

George Carlin, R.I.P.:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080623/us_nm/carlin_dc

[Leda]

Times really suck so Really- people need to valourize someone -- remember plamegate- russert & andrea mitchell....?
Of course one of the most visible people at the ceremony was Karl Rove....
why do the standards just get lower and lower... in my opinion he wasn't up there with walter cronkite...
the standards for journalism have just deteriorated so much. we hardly even get photo or film coverage on the beloved Iraq war
he was fine.... but still a pretty mainstream guy.

[HannibalSilver]

Remembering Tim Russert (MSNBC) is not a distraction from the natural and man-made calamities such as the war in Iraq. Tim became a symbol of passion for truth and journalistic integrity, his DNA has been passed to others. From the Media standpoint, I see CBS and CNN expressing honest professional solidarity and FOX broadcasting its usual mean-spirited and unbelievable bias. Tim personifies humanity, faith, integrity, and transparency. These are values that we need to treasure more than ever after 8 years of secrecy, deception, and powerful weapons of mass manipulation. The focus of Remembering Tim's coverage by MSNBC has been positive with a balance of pain and celebration. In hindsight, the coverage by CNN of John Paul II dying and funeral was pathological and morbid in its core. Endless tears, images and interviews suggested a canonization process during a wake service. Pope John XXIII was wiser than his successor. He wanted his dying experience to be short to spare his church from needless pain. John Paul II and CNN did not spare millions of viewers from the morbid pictures of death and dying on air as if Christians were in need a new version of the Passion and CNN crying for higher ratings.

[schmegegy]

I am from Buffalo. I never and I mean NEVER missed MTP. I always felt that Tim was speaking directly to me.
What a tragedy.
sdavis

[Ahyoka]

His life was cut a little short but then again it looks to me like he sure lived a full and happy worthwhile time on earth. That's a lot to be grateful for,and I think the folks that were around him benefitting from knowing him and loving him are in shock and realizing a lot about life to from their sudden loss. I will sure miss him on Meet the Press...I always looked forward to that all week..that boyish prescense and level of kindness, fairness,and competence he brought to the American political discussion. Bless his heart.

[XME]

I just have to say that I have been completely impressed by Luke Russert over the past 5 days. Luke is an amazing young man... and I think that says everything that needs to be said about what kind of man Tim Russert was.

[lemontgene1]

MSNBC is going overboard with this coverage. I know he was a heavyweight for the network but the Pope did not get this much coverage. By focusing on Tim they are virtually igoring the midwest floods. fighting in Iraq, and other national stories Move on and get back to informing the public.

[conniedogs]

I thought the coverage was appropriate. That's what I love about this country, we have cable and if you don't like what's on you can always change the channel.

[longislandlol]

I loved the many references to the Kennedy's-- they say Tim was a non-partisan-- but he was practically another Kennedy-- and my God-- tell me in his big heart of hearts he wasn't for Obama...

[LuckyBlessed]

But the left extremists are demonizing him for being too light weight on conservatives.

[AlphaMutt]

To all you nudniks that "just don't get it" let me explain (and I'll type EXTRA slow). Eulogies (that's eulogies with an "E" DMcDuh) aren't really for the ones who have gone. They are for the ones left behind to express their love and buffer their loss. That Tim Russert has had this kind of a tribute these past days is testament to the effect his life had on all these people. And that effect was visceral. It broke down the barriers of party and ideology. This is the way Americans used to conduct themselves before "Me Are the World" became our national anthem. That is why his passing is so poignant. Voices like Tim Russert's are in dangerously short supply in this country and they aren't being replaced. So why don't those of you who "don't get it" just log off, get back to your Spaghetti-Os and Play Stations and leave the dialogue to the adults.

[burmajones44]

Thank you.

[DwH]

Yes, thank you for this perspective. America has become the petulant, spoiled child of the world, each citizen feeling his opinion on any subject, familiar or not, is the last word.

I wish we could return to the concept of 'the common good.'

[CrankyGal]

Haven't you ever heard the old adage: "The meaner you are, the longer God lets you live".

We all know a wonderful person who was cut down in their prime and a miserable bastard who's 90 and still kicking.

[Gericault]

Only the good die young.....now I have to suffer Brit Humes twisted mug on the tube.

Great tribute. If you don't understand why we spent all this time mourning this loss , you'll never get it.

Our big liberal media bias will never be the same. A humble man, who loved his family, cherished his roots, took joy in his work, and passionately, with facts and truth, defended this country.

I'm so proud to be a Big Liberal. When I hear words and emotion expressed as they were today and looked at all the people in the audience that I passionately share political views with ,I know I'm in the right crowd.

[larry278]

Hokay trolz, please wait till Mr Russert is burried to inflict your screeds on HP users. It won't be long now.

[johnnynyc]

Enough already.

Russert may have been the sterling human being his friends say he was for all I know and I assume he was but 5 days of coverage is baby boomer excess at it's worst.

We're all going to lose loved ones.

We're all going to mourn our losses.

Get used to it.

[bmermaid]

Yes, he was a great guy.

But would the media pay this much attention to the funeral of, say a long-term senator? A beloved Hollywood icon? I don't think so.

[rationalthought1]

I watched Tim Russert every Sunday. I thought he did an excellent job and I can tell he was really beloved by those who knew him - but 5 days of media mourning? He was not FDR or JFK or even Reagan. This is the media induging itself over one of its own. What about all those families that have lost loved ones in Iraq. Mourn and grieve in private and get your eye back on the ball.....the NEWS ....Tim would probably want that.

[hummpf]

I agree... but acknowledge that Tim Russert was clearly a wonderful, admirable individual. It's just that I can't imagine that he would think that 4+ days of eulogizing wasn't excessive. I can't imagine that he wouldn't say, "Okay, thank-you very much. I'm humbled and honored, but we're here to cover the news. Let's get back to it!" This, unfortunately, seems more like self-indulgent excess than anything else.

[Herse182]

That was an outstanding speech by Luke. You can tell he has a lot of his father in him. Tim will truly be missed analyzing what we all hope is an historical November.

[scandinavian]

you are too right. let's imagine he will steer the wheels in right direction from above...

[macintoshsauce]

What is wrong with some of you people? A man that was a great father and mentor has died and some of you are making stupid, insensitive jokes. The fact that he was on Meet The Press is secondary. He was a great human being, and God knows we could use more people like him in society.

[DMcD]

I'm a "not so young" person and I'm sure Russert must've been a good guy and all but --- I just don't get it ---- this is being treated like a head of State funeral and he's been uligized (color guard and all) for what , 6 days now ? To me, his name doesn't come to mind as being in the forefront on the biggest story of our times; questioning Bushco. I didn't see him as being any kind of Chronkite or the like. So (with all due respect), exactly what is it that warrants this kind of response upon his demise (with all due respect).