I just watched Tim Russert’s memoral service. Although he left us one year ago, closure lay waiting within my DVR. I had to work the day of his memorial service, so I set four hours of MSNBC to record. I kept telling myself I’d get to it later, not wanting a tremendous dose of sadness. I caught highlight bits, and I’d heard about the rainbow, but I’d not watched the entirety — until today.
I was hit by the tremendous dose of sadness, but not for the same reasons as I would have been a year ago. Then, I wondered how NBC would make it through the coming historic campaign and election without its man of many roles; indeed, how America would survive the election with its trustee practicing his journalistic judo. I also wondered if I would ever again look forward to Sunday morning. I still look forward to Sunday morning, but only once a month for Visions. My sadness of course also extends to the Russert family, but it also reaches those who graduated from Wake Forest last month, who had Joe Biden as a replacement for Tim Russert at their commencement.
NBC made it through the election. But on such a tremendous night, Tim Russert’s undeniable amazement and enjoyment of the American Democratic process And today, my sadness is for those who tuned into that process for the first time November last year; they didn’t get to share in Tim’s delight. Nor will those not much younger than me remember him at all. How early, I wonder, would his dry erase board have calculated Obama would be our next president?
- Justin Gillenwater
