Did Tim Russert Get the Memo?

This past week, NBC completed its Green Is Universal campaign -- a week-long effort to educate and engage the public by infusing its programming with environmental themes. The effort resulted in everything from Matt Lauer reporting from the Arctic circle to Al Gore making a cameo appearance on 30 Rock parodying himself. Throughout the week, global warming was front and center. And then there was Tim Russert.

As the network's Washington Bureau Chief, Mr. Russert was surely alerted to the broadly publicized campaign. The emerald green tie he donned in Sunday's Meet the Press interview with Senator Barack Obama would seem to confirm that. But if you watched the interview, you probably noticed that Tim Russert didn't actually get the memo. Instead, Russert continued his long-running pattern of ignoring an issue that the American voters, the international community and the world's scientists have all identified as one of our most pressing challenges. Not to mention one of the most consequential.

How bad have Tim's interviews been? Over the past ten months, presidential candidates have made 16 appearances on Meet the Press. In the nearly three hundred questions he has asked the candidates, not once has he uttered the words "global warming." Not once.

At the two debates Mr. Russert has moderated, he has found time to discuss a national smoking ban, the drinking age, Bible verses, baseball, and even UFOs but not once did he ask how candidates would address the climate crisis.

His lack of coverage of the issue has been so glaring that one can only wonder whether he still needs to be convinced that global warming is a problem.

Of course, this failure is not his alone, but he is certainly the worst and most prominent example of it.

As a result, it is not surprising that the majority of the Republican candidates have coasted through the primary without having to outline any specific policies to address global warming. And while most of the Democrats have detailed plans, there has been little effort to compare their policies and gauge who is best prepared to tackle this historic challenge.

So here we are at the tail-end of an unprecedented year-long primary campaign and the media has largely failed to ask difficult and direct questions about one of the greatest challenges humanity has ever faced.

In light of this failure, several groups have partnered with Grist to host a presidential forum -- Global Warming & America's Energy Future -- this Saturday in Los Angeles. This will be the first event exclusively devoted to questioning the candidates on their policies and vision for tackling our growing energy problems. But with dozens more candidate forums, debates and interviews, the real question is this:

As interesting as it is to ponder whether we are alone in the universe, when on Earth will Mr. Russert cover global warming as a political issue?

To learn more about the event or to watch a webcast of it, go here.

Comments

[Tommymac]

Tim Russert is bought and paid for.

http://www.makethemaccountable.com/coverup/Part_04.htm

"Welch was absolutely determined to make his employees at NBC News finally genuflect to the most sacred words in his vocabulary: GE bottom line.

He perceived that there was a widely believed American myth of well-intended journalists selflessly seeking the truth, and that there would be hell to pay if a business leader like him were to overtly force reporters to be good corporate soldiers. So, being a very bright guy, he largely left the journalists at NBC alone.

Publicly.

In private, Welch was proud to have personally cultivated Tim Russert from a "lefty" to a responsible representative of GE interests. Welch sincerely believed that all liberals were phonies. He took great pleasure in "buying their leftist souls", watching in satisfaction as former Democrats like Russert and MSNBC"s Chris Matthews eagerly discarded the baggage of their former progressive beliefs in exchange for cold hard GE cash. Russert was now an especially obedient and model employee in whom the company could take pride."

[prochange]

There is a simple solution to the Russert problem. Do not watch any shows with him anymore. If the ratings go down, he will disappear and it is about time for him to vanish.

[BushisLiar]

One of the main problems with this country, perhaps the most important problem undermining democracy, is that the same corporations that own the media also own the republican party, much of the democratic party and the political process itself, including the machines used to count our votes. They are also the owners of the very companies that profit obscenely from the war machine and the "defense" budget at large. This county has sold it's soul and the multi-national corporations have bought it at a cut rate. Our system of government is now more corrupt than the USSR was at it's worst.

[Kane]

Tim Russert has never been an issues kind of guy. He is far more interested in finding out what someone said twelve years ago or what side of an issue a politician was on in the 1980's. In the guise of searching for clarity, Russert lives for the "gotcha", often taking words out of context to score points.

[Stevelagain]

In my opinion he gave global warming all the attention it deserves.

The sun heats up, the sun cools down, the earth heats up, the earth cools down.

Better get used to it, it's been going on for millions of years and it will continue to do so.

Of course, sometimes suns blow up....do you think greenhouse gases cause them to blow up?

[truthyguy]

I spoke with a friend who lives in the mountains of Spain. This is the first year there has been no snow, and the temperatures are noticeably warmer than usual.

[Galvestonians for Dr. Ron Paul]

They are misinforming us and trying to evade issues....Please wake up and see this for what it is.
We must debate "real issues" and speak on our economy, Iraq and foreign policy....I still can not say where any Democrat stands on all the issues. Why arent they screaming for impeachment? Ron Paul is. Dennis Kucinich and Mike gravel are. Why not the others?

Three times this weekend I have heard a Senator and 2 award winning talk show hosts explain that America is in a prime position to impeach this bullshit we have laying up in the peoples house.
The Republicans, up until one week ago, have been saying it would be too un-nerving for the American people to go through another impeachment.
The Dems have gone along with this.
Consistently.
Last week everything changed when Republicans started switching their votes on impeachment and "mocking" the Democrats and causing trouble...
John Conyers has said "this has changed everything."
Please call him Monday morning and request impeachment proceedings begin IMMEDIATELY.
These Republicans must pay for their arrogance and bullying...
Bernie Sanders has said "your calls DO matter."
This war will not end unless these people are impeached or "IF" Ron Paul wins the presidency. Thats too long to wait on an "IF".
Please call.
313-961-5670
202-225-5126

http://metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=12025

[Joeseo]

Mr. Russert is bought and paid for by Corporate America. General Electric and the Bush/Cheney gang continue the lies and myths about the environment and our Russ lines his pocket fostering their lies.

UFO reference was, to me, Russ' method of boot-licking
the same gang. Kuchinich,after all, just called for Impeachment.

Good job Russie!

[elkabong]

If we do as they suggest, and Laurie David, Gene Karpinski, Al Gore and all of the peer reviewed scientists are wrong, the idiots will still get to breathe cleaner air and bathe in, fish in and drink cleaner water.

If we don't do as they recommend, and they are right, what will we get from the idiots? "It's Clinton's fault!" or better still "It's Gore's fault!"

[kittycago]

Tim Who?Is he that guy that is on the once great news program that I used to watch on Sunday Mornings?Meet rhe Something or another ......

[thatvisionthing]

Russert's employer NBC disappeared my candidate Mike Gravel from the Philly debate for reasons they made up at the last minute, like not having raised a million bucks, which by the way is one of Gravel's strengths, he hasn't been bought by corporations. Next Gravel was disapeared by CNN from the Las Vegas debate. The corporations have decided to run The Hillary Show and Gravel just doesn't fit in even with the other potted plant roles where they have cast Kucinich, Dodd and Biden.

Gravel's got spine and has put up his own alternative debates which you can see on ustream.tv. His Philly alternative debate was covered here on HuffPo: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jon-kraus/gravel-turns-debate-exclu_b_70811.html.

Why wouldn't the Hillary corporatocracy want Gravel there? From the Las Vegas alternative debate:

http://politics.lasvegassun.com/2007/11/outsider-looks.html.
The former two-term U.S. senator from Alaska watched the debate on a large screen in the Bordeaux Room in the resort's convention area. He paused the live telecast when he wanted to make a comment, such as when New York Sen. Hillary Clinton said: "The American people know where I've stood for 35 years ... fighting for universal health care, women and children."

"Freeze that," Gravel said. "Analyze what she just said." The silver-haired candidate was sitting in a chair left of the screen wearing a microphone and earpiece headset. "She's saying she's qualified. What's she done? So she slept in the White House for eight years. What's she done in the Senate? Can anyone who hears my voice find one issue she's shown leadership on? All that is pablum."

[forgiveus]

GE is making billions off the war, and billions more from electricity. When the ole USA is finished, you won't be able to screw in a light in Iraq unless it is sold by GE. Imagine a world where expensive medical scan equipment was not made by GE.

The no. one way to go green - according to NBC's green week - is to use GE energy saving light bulbs.

Never forget--it's ALWAYS about the $$. Tim's job is to please his bosses--not to be fair.

[splashy]

I hope Grist is prepared to have a MASSIVE number of people watching online! I certainly will try!

[spectator27]

Tim Russert never dwells on serious issues. His programs are full of such fluff as the influences of "Big Tim" on his morals. He is another draft dodger, unlike Big Tim, who has never opposed this war.

[thatvisionthing]

Why ask the candidates when we all know Al Gore is the best guy for the job?