Filling Russert's Void: The Need for American Trustees

Like many, I have been astonished by the outpouring of sympathy and sense of loss following Tim Russert's death from Americans from all walks of life. What encapsulates their sentiments best is that they will miss Tim because they trusted him as an honest arbiter of political news. As much as those who knew Tim personally will miss him, the greatest loss is that Tim Russert was an American Trustee at a time when the country badly needs them.

Harvard Professor Howard Gardner introduced me to the idea of "societal trustees" last year and it has been percolating since. Gardner defines trustees as well-known people who are considered to be objective and respected as "wise" men or women, trusted by both elites and the masses alike for guidance.

Historically, Gardner says, these trustees included the likes of Dean Acheson, John W. Gardner (no relation), or Elliot Richardson - people with great integrity and purpose who could be relied upon to put the country's interests above partisanship. Examples of current American Trustees could include Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, George Shultz, Tom Brokaw, Paul Farmer, Wendy Kopp, Warren Buffett, David Gergen, or respected university presidents and religious leaders.

Tim Russert exemplified the qualities of an American Trustee, which explains why so many prominent figures paid their highest respects to him while Americans across the nation wept about losing a trusted friend.

America needs trustees now more than ever. Just ask anyone who has served in Washington over a long period of time and they will make the same argument: the atmosphere in Washington has become increasingly personal, partisan, and even destructive. George Shultz, Leon Panetta, and Tim himself have all made that same point over the past year-and-a-half. We desperately need American Trustees who can transcend that partisanship and act as honest arbiters of citizens' interests.

Whether we are aware of it or not, we rely upon American Trustees like Tim Russert to provide a steadying influence through their actions and commitments. These commitments can include civic or philanthropic endeavors, media appearances and projects, teaching or public speaking, corporate or non profit boards, affiliations with non partisan interest groups (such as the Council of Foreign Relations), books, or mentoring and role modeling to future generations of leaders.

Being an American Trustee is an awesome responsibility, but it's one that Tim Russert was acutely aware of and felt deeply. The first step to advance American Trusteeship would be to help other trustees understand the significance of their national role.

One way we can honor Tim Russert's life and impact, while beginning to fill the void he has left, is by reminding America's Trustees of the importance and magnitude of their societal roles. When these leaders think of themselves as American Trustees, their near-term commitments will not only likely change, but we will also have a reservoir of leaders who are better prepared to confront national crises, act as arbiters on commissions (such as the Iraq Study Group), or the like. Please join me in this undertaking and let us, as a like-minded and patriotic group, lock arms to identify and support America's current and future trustees.

Peter Sims is the coauthor (with author Bill George) of the Wall Street Journal and BusinessWeek bestselling book on leadership, "True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership."

Comments

[RobinSeattle]

At the risk of offending John Prine, Russert was the one of the media holes through which all the Iraq War money would go. Now THAT was a void.

Well, other than the voids mothers and fathers across our once great nation feel for their 4,000 sons and daughters killed in that misbegotten farce.

[Dandrea]

Russert a national trustee? Not exactly.
MTP is the frontline in keeping our government honest. I hope NBC/MSNBC picks a moderator equal to the task. This can be an important decision for all of us. It's America's Town Hall.
I hope they pick someone who may have a POV but can be an honest broker for the truth and by implication, someone who is not a novice.
I hope NBC is up to the task!

[Tim Berry]

Peter thanks for this post and your previous one on Tim Russert, I appreciated the warmth and humanity you put into it.

Could it be that he was simply credible as being straight with the audience, trying to be a reporter, not grinding axes? It's a sad thought that this might be unusual.

Tim

[jazzman]

Actually Russert was uneven. He could be dogged and determined but there were times when he served up soft balls, especially with folks like Dick Cheney. He also could pursue a guest like a hound from hell but then turn around and stop just one question short of asking the essential question to someone else; most often a conservative or Republican.

The old format of Meet the Press had several 'trustees' who formed a panel that questioned a guest. This 'Meet the Press' was not dependent on the personality of just one figure but put together 4 people who asked penetrating questions to whomever was being questioned. I would like to see three or four of these 'American Trustees' form the panel on Meet the Press and see the program return to the stellar interview program it was in its inception.

[hopeless277]

I think Dick Cheney would be the best person to fill the 'void' left by Russert. They have similar ideoligies and they never ask rude questions just to 'get the truth'. Or maybe William Kristol.

[wanked]

Exactly...Russert was establishment all the way. He provided a great forum for the liars.....

George Carlin you will be missed

[strifeknot]

A truly great man has just died

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

[LeftRoss]

Ah - so Russert was an American Trustee. Given the sorry state of the Union at the end of his tenure, I'll take that as damning with faint praise.

Perhaps we'd be better off if our trustees were less adored by the snakes and wolves who are running our government into the ground.

[westcoastsc]

What is up with people? Tim Russert had the power to do much more to oppose this administration in all of its missteps and misdeeds. I honor all people who die, but we should honor history and the million people who died in Iraq since we got there. He failed us. Perhaps, it was his time. We need journalists who honor this country and its people more than their job security. To be completely fair, the pressure from the corporate owned media must be very immense and must be removed.

[Dadoodaman]

Hear, hear.

Have respect for the dead, but let's be honest about who this guy was, too. He is as much to blame as anyone in journalism for the fourth estate's huge role in helping the adminstration sell its corrupt, unnecessary war.

[Prism]

I agree. Notoriously easy on the administration in the run-up to war. Often smug, precious. A shameless self-promoter. Displayed personal animas towards candidates (obscene behavior toward Clinton in debates just one example, which left many of us breathless and shaking our heads in complete dismay) Charm over substance. Created a cabal of Catholic insiders who are by their Jesuit foundation, hard-wired, cultivated through the "Classics" education to be hostile, dismissive toward women. I grew up in this culture. It's freezing out of women for top jobs is well documented. Attacks on Clinton as emblematic of women's aspiriations were beyond the pale by any objective measure.But to his male, Irish-Catholic cronies he was the Big Unit. They massage each other in a way so intimate the Jesuits would be proud (not to mention titillated). To quote Harvey Fierstein, "I just want to be loved is that so wrong?"

[LeftRoss]

Exactly. The "void" was in Russert's chair long before his passing.

[ObserverinVancouver]

My first impression of Tim Russert came years ago when I turned MTP on midway through Russert's interview of Jimmy Hoffa, Jr. and watched Russert making fawning references to Hoffa, Sr. I was never able to get that image out of mind (even though I always acknowledged to myself that I hadn't seen the whole interview). However, one has to recognize that a man who inspired so much love and such an outpouring of grief was on balance an admirable person. But "American Trustee"? Maybe not so much.

It might not be possible to find anyone who really meets your qualifications. For one thing, everyone has biases. All I would like would be to know what the biases are. For example, watching Mark Shields and David Brooks on the News Hour, I know Shields is left and Brooks is right (but reasonable) and apply that filter to what they say. The frustrating thing is listening to someone unfamiliar and not knowing their agenda.

[JBCinSD]

What made Russert an interviewer apart from the rest is that he could listen to an answer and formulate a substantive follow-up question. Lots of people can write the questions; few have the knowledge and analytical minds to pursue the answers.

All I know about Brokaw is that he can read the news (and write about WWII guys). I have no reason to think that his analysis is even above average.

David Gergen has the knowledge of Washington, the intelligence, the connections and the analytical skills to host Meet the Press. I hope NBC will look outside its own small circle and bring in Gergen.

[Daisy1111]

I can't forget how Russert shilled for Mr. Bush's rush to war.

We don;t need to fill that particular void.

[breakfast]

"One way we can honor Tim Russert's life and impact, while beginning to fill the void he has left,"...........

You can't be serious. There is no void to fill.

[Tubby]

Trustee-- what an apt description! Mr. Matthews comes to mind as someone seizing the torch from the tired hand of Tim and marching on!

[NABNYC]

Great. It's been about 235 years now since this country was founded on a commitment to democracy, equal rights, equal participation, so how about if we have women holding 50% of the top positions in this country, just for starters. No one can say that any news TV guy is a "trustee" for the country when women continue to be excluded from most of the top TV news positions. I don't want to hear some male TV guy say he'll be sensitive about women's issues. No thanks. Put women into 50% of the positions, and we'll go from there.

As far as trustees go, every single politician only has authority to act as trustee for the people, only to act on behalf of the people, to give all benefits and advantages to the people of this country. Yet the politicians spend most of their careers getting money for themselves from special interests, acting essentially as lobbyists for foreign countries, and telling the U.S. citizens tough luck.

The trustee/fiduciary laws should be enforced by prosecutions for bribery and corruption for every member of congress who has taken money. How much did the telecom industry pay to get this grant of immunity? Trustee my ass. We have a government, media, all major institutions which are mired in muck and dirt and corruption. So let's not spend too much time bragging about what good trustees we've been, because we've done a terrible job.

[RedDogBear]

I've had enough of the Russert deification. Its sad that he died at a relatively young age but the amount of attention paid to his passing by a press corp that virtually ignores every dead Iraqi civilian is too much. Alexander Cockburn wrote a great column on this recently: http://counterpunch.org/cockburn06212008.html

And Bill Gates -- the guy who tried to single handedly destroy innovation in the PC world so that his company could dominate the market -- an American trustee? Give me a break. I don't begrudge what Gates did, he was just being a good greedy capitalist, but don't make him out to be anything more just because now he gives a few bucks back.