Tim Russert was a Saint!

[The Doctor.]

All over DU, I've seen literally thousands of posts celebrating the death of Tim Russert with an unholy and perverse glee. Frankly, I've had enough of it.

Tim Russert was the most Fair and Balanced Journalist the world has ever known. All of you that must spit on his distinguished career by saying otherwise are just Grave-Dancing vultures without an ounce of humanity.
Tim Russert never rested in his pursuit of facts, and as a journalist, he made certain that every person who ever lied in this administration was held accountable for it. All of you that can pretend otherwise are just crapping on the pain and loss of those of us who loved him.
Tim Russert gave every spare penny he could afford to orphaned widows of orphans just so that they could have Surf+Turf every Saturday night. If anyone should doubt that, then they are just twisting the knife in the back of everyone, alive or dead, that has ever heard the name of 'Tim Russert'.
Tim Russert was so committed to truth and justice, he went through twelve wear-resistant spandex suits with a big bright red "T" on the front while he flew from city to city (budget class no less!) and single-handedly apprehended the worst criminals of our time just to bring them to justice. If you can't accept that, then you're not just a bad person, a vulture, and a ghoul, you're as bad as Dick Cheney (who shall also be canonized upon his death, thereby relieving all those who have been associated with him in any way, including those described in this post, of any predisposition to inverisimilitude, treachery, ghoulery, vultury, or general bad personery).

Yes, we must all mourn the passing of Timothy John Russert as one of the most perfect human beings ever to have lived lest we appear to be bad people.

Or how about this;

"Tim Russert was a well-respected and accomplished journalist who, although an imperfect human being, and one who was prone to many flaws, was an asset to his community, a loving and trusted man to his family, an icon of journalism, and an indelible piece of American history who shall always be remembered."

?

Let's just remember him for what work and good he did rather than pretend he was perfect... K?

If you can agree with that, it's safe to say "RIP to a good man"... and rec it.

[Lex]

1. LOL, you must've seen that thread too . . .

before it got locked.

It was embarrassing.

[The Doctor.]

6. Actually... no, I didn't.

Where is it?

[Lex]

8. .

Here

[The Doctor.]

Oh, that one I saw.

My point is that there really aren't that many people being 'ghoulish' over his death, and those that dare to mention that he was not impartial are being labeled 'vultures' for having the gall to point out that he wasn't perfect.

[Lex]

23. I'm surprised

that pointing out he wasn't a Saint as a journalist = dancing on his grave. :wtf:

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

39. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[roughsatori]

40. .sorry, wrong person to reply too.

I was saying that the OP was delusional.

[Lex]

41. A. I didn't call him a Saint. and B. the OP was quite sarcastic.

nt

[roughsatori]

48. Please read my edited post and my reply to the OP.

Yes, I made a mistake. I would say I was sorry; but your reply does not warrant an apology.

[roguevalley]

44. my sympathies are with the man and the family. I don't care about

the rest. no one is perfect. but it is unseemly going nuts on a death.

[KoKo]

2. He was like "Reagan" ...you say....Remembered for what he didn't do...more than what he did?

:shrug:

[Swamp Rat]

3. .

:popcorn:

[SeeHopeWin]

4. Thank you!!!

Well said..

[Swamp Rat]

5. Welcome to DU!

:hi:

[peace13]

7. Tim was holier than all of the journalists killed in Iraq put together.

Holier than all soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Holier than the Iowans sweating bullets with this flood. Dear god, when will this end. I am sorry for Tim and his family, they have suffered a loss. It is creepy for me to listen to KO going on and on. This should be a private moment for those in the media, they should meet after work and share stories. The rest of us do not need to be privy to the better part of what is being aired.

[Lex]

11. Ratings.

Sadly. At this point, that's what it is, I'm afraid.

[roguevalley]

45. no. he's just dead. I don't feel good about death no matter whose

it is. I feel for the mess it makes for other people.

[mcctatas]

9. It's kind of grotesque....

The large percentage of the time, Russert was the gold standard of journalism. Did he fuck up occasionally and sometimes badly? Hell yes, but even if people hated him, Jimbo from Freeper land received better treatment when he lost a leg,,,

[laststeamtrain]

10. Correction: Tim Russert was a taint. On journalism. n/t

[The Doctor.]

19. Meh... he sacrificed some journalistic integrity... but that doesn't make him a 'taint'.

[LittleClarkie]

20. Taint the right time to talk of taints

Eh, he was okay. I coulda done without the gotcha game, though.

[LittleClarkie]

12. Death as a career move.

It's amazing how dropping dead can elevate a person to near sainthood. Ask John Lennon.

(I loved John, but he was as imperfect as everyone else. Ditto for Tim.)

Eh, we tend to do these things to the freshly dead. There are platitudes to be stated, eulogies to be made, and whatnot. Things will calm down eventually.

[ScreamingMeemie]

16. My husband was perfect.

I was lucky. That will never change, or calm down. :)

[LittleClarkie]

18. Well... immediate family is of course exempt .

My dad was perfect too. ;)

And now I feel like crying... again...

[ScreamingMeemie]

22. The amazing thing is that all of his friends, his coworkers, neighbors

everyone found him to be such.

Fathers Day is going to suck, eh? :hug:

[malaise]

13. This sure looks like a canonization is taking place

I even saw a cardinal speaking.
edit headline

[enough]

14. It's the universal human death fetish. It will pass. Give it 36 hours. (nt)

[Name removed]

17. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[The Doctor.]

24. So pointing out that Russert wasn't perfect to those who choose to otherwise think so

makes me a 'douche'?

You think that my respect for Mr. Russert requires some kind of delusional beliefs? It doesn't.

Well, I'm being a 'decent human being' by respecting him for what he was, not what he wasn't. If you think it makes you a 'decent human being' to call me a 'douche' for doing so, then you're welcome to go ahead and be a 'decent human douche' yourself.

Bet I lost you there, didn't I?

[Raskolnik]

26. I didn't say you were a "bad person." I clearly said you were a douche.

I don't think you have to respect anyone you don't want to respect.

However, your post is the post of a douche.

[The Doctor.]

29. Where did I say I didn't respect him?

You see, you haven't the capacity to even understand my post, let alone comment on my character because of it. You've made a judgement in ignorance based on your sorry lack of comprehension... and I'd be happy to explain it too you if you could somehow convince me you weren't a shithead.

Your post is the post of a shithead who thinks he knows what a 'douche' is.

Now, If you mean that I keep vaginas clean... I can't say that I haven't done my part, but I am clearly saying that you have a head full of shit.

Now, answer the question in the SL and realize your shitheadedness.


Good day.

[Raskolnik]

36. I didn't say you didn't respect him. I clearly said you were a douche.

Apparently, you like the attention that being a douche gets you, so I'll take my leave of your little game now.

[The Doctor.]

49. Just because I'm toying with you doesn't make it a 'game'.

That you think so would explain why you're a shithead. Would you care to explain exactly what about the OP you consider 'douchery'?

If you can't, I can assure you that you won't be missed by me. I won't hold my breath.

:hi:

[NashVegas]

21. Repost: He Was a Telejournalist. He Was Famous

But he wasn't Edward R. Murrow, or Walter Cronkite. He wasn't even a Dan Rather. When did Tim Russert ever risk his ass or his job to serve the public interest, necessity, and convenience?

I turned it to MSNBC for a minute. I turned to CNN. All I see is a bunch of wanking from self-important windbags & Heathers who've made the horrific tragedy of going from covering the news to making it.

Tim was an enjoyable journalist to watch and his family has my sympathy, but as a journalist, what did he change?

[AllentownJake]

25. When my Dad died

I appreciated all the people who said nice things about him. Nobody said a bad word and there were bad words that could be said.

My father had his faults as did Tim Russert. Right now my thoughts are with his son. The time in your life you really get to know your father as a human being and not as the superman you saw when you were a child or the person you battled with in your teens is in your 20s. I had 7 years of that with my father. Sadly Luke Russert didn't get as much of that time.

[The Doctor.]

27. Right, but then nobody claimed your father was perfect, right?

You see, that's the point... not that people are pointing out his flaws, but that they are doing so in response to people pretending he was flawless.

He was a good guy, it's not necessary to pretend that he was an unbiased journalist to think that.

[AllentownJake]

35. Actually

Yes they did. Perfect Friend, Perfect Dad, etc, etc.

Its a reaction to someone dying. The people on NBC are grieving right now and so are the people who like him.

Real analysis of anyone's life doesn't happen the day or even the week they died.

[ananda]

28. The media has its own deranged personality.

That's for sure.

I mean, think about it.

The so-called reporters in the media have
all closed ranks around their own self
created media personality.

It says we're better than everyone else
because we're on tv and you have to watch
and listen to us. Many of us have been
plasticized and dyed to have a look that's
designed to make you think we're better
looking, and therefore better than you
so you will feel that we are superior and
should therefore watch and listen to us.

Now that you are our slaves, we can take
on our own cult and say things designed
to make you think a certain way and to
act a certain way.. mainly like us.

We even call ourselves, with a cute wink,
the mainstream media and pretend to be
journalists.

Tim Russert was one of us, one of the
mainstream media that you love to watch.
We have decided to apotheose him into a
media god worthy of so much reverence
that we are devoting nonstop eulogies
and reminiscences of his sainted life.

We are gods on the Mount Olympus where
the altar of cable tv sits. Bow and
worship.

[Berry Cool]

32. Oh, please.

Some people here think way too much of themselves. And they show their worst side when someone dies.

[kath]

33. wow. good one.

:applause:

some people are just so good with words. I don't have that gift. :-(

[The Doctor.]

57. Pretty...

In all the appropriately twisted ways of course.

[bonito]

30. I hear ya

heh, well put.

[unkachuck]

31. hasta la vista, timmeh....

....I hate to see you go, but better you than I....

"...the most Fair and Balanced Journalist the world has ever known."

....surely, you jest?....potato head was a corporate shill of the first magnitude....he'll mainly be missed in corporate board-rooms everywhere....he was the corporate agenda personnified....

....rest in peace timmeh....I wish I could say better things about you....however, you won't be missed by me....

....was that too harsh? I don't think so....

[Malikshah]

34. That is a lie and this thread is an abomination.

Shame on you.

Go back under the bridge from whence you came.

Begone.

[The Doctor.]

51. Uhhh.... yeahhhh. Ummm... Re-Read it s-l-o-w-l-y...

Then decide if you forgot the ":sarcasm:" smiley.

[Malikshah]

55. Who forgot what? The first line is vile-- try a little harder next time.

Not much help with folks falling over themselves trying to be the cleverest at the fair.

:)

[The Doctor.]

60. The first line is righteous if innaccurate... but not 'vile'.

Ego te absolvo. ;)

[Malikshah]

67. Willful innacuracy is anything but righteous. It's hyperventilating

hyperbole.

So there.

Watch your phraseology.... you...you...penitential popinjay. ;)

[MedleyMisty]

37. It's a pattern you see on DU every time someone dies

OMG, you are not mourning more for some stranger you never met than you would for a sibling or a parent! You aren't human! You have no compassion! I want to see rending of garments and tearing of hair! Prostrate yourself with grief for this one stranger or I will call you vicious names!

And then there will be lots of new threads with people preening and showing how much more moral they are than others and how their grief for a random stranger is so much more human than other people's and admonishing us all for not thinking it's the end of our lives that one guy we had no personal connection to died a natural death and they'll get a lot of recs and K & Rs as people keep beating the straw man.

Someone linked this in a thread yesterday - is it an explanation?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_panic

As for my feelings - I'm sure it's terrible for his family, but I never knew him personally. And although I do certainly believe in an impersonal compassion for all life, it's just not emotionally healthy to grieve for a total stranger the same way you would grieve for a close friend. How many other people died today too? I couldn't function if I felt every human death the same way I felt the death of those close to me.

[jonestonesusa]

56. I don't know...

It's more important for some than others to recognize our common humanity at the time a famous person passes away.

I can't personally share in the sadness because I wasn't a particular fan of Russert's an didn't follow his career. But I would sure feel differently if it were Jim Lehrer or Bill Moyers, as another poster has mentioned.

The fawning coverage will pass, and there are certainly worse offenses our corporate media brings us than to grieve for Tim Russert.

[TahitiNut]

38. Here's the new Dashboard Jesus ...

[babylonsister]

42. ...

:spank: :spank: :rofl:

[Lex]

43. rut-roh

Now the shit is going to rain down on you. LOL.

[TahitiNut]

47. Even as we speak ...

... pilgrims are crawling prayerfully on their hands and knees to Buffalo ... seeking Abu Timmy. For the waters, ya know.

[lonestarnot]

53. Run TN run!

cause you gona git it now! :spank: :spank: :spank:

[The Doctor.]

62. You know... you're one sik critter...

And the scary part is that I get you.

(Well... just enough to keep me scared, I guess.)

[rdenney]

63. Cya L8tr, Ya Nit-Wit!!!!!

:puke:

[roughsatori]

46. A Saint? You must not know what that word means.

I think you are joking.

Though he was insufferable, I did pray for him when I heard he died.

[The Doctor.]

50. You're obviously capable of thought then.

More than I can say for some.

[Steerpike_Denver]

52. He was a mediocre journalist, at best

Wasn't it Dick Cheney who made the observation that Russert was his favorite interviewer, and that he could be counted on not to ask awkward questions, and that he would allow administration tools to get their viewpoints across in a "friendly" forum? Maybe that wasn't fair, but that was, in fact, the impression, and everyone on this board was quick to pile on whenever he failed to ask the tough questions or call the Republicans on their bullshit. For all that, he wasn't the worst one out there, by far. I would compare him to Chris Matthews. If Tweety had been the one to die, would we all now be extolling what an outstanding journalist he was? I would hope not. He has good days and horribly, horribly bad ones, just like Russert.

[Steerpike_Denver]

54. put another way:

my top-of-the-head list of journalists whose deaths would/will be tragic:
Bill Moyers
Paul Krugman
Dan Rather
Walter Cronkite
Jim Lehrer
Bob Edwards
Keith Olbermann
I'm sure you'll think of others

My list of "journalists" whose death will be cause for celebration:
Bill O'Reilly
Sean Hannity
Rush Limbaugh
Matt Drudge
I'm sure this list will be even easier to fill in

Everyone else is somewhere in the middle, like Timmeh

[Rex]

58. Political hack was he.

Nothing more.

RIP Tim.

[rdenney]

64. Bingo! Later gator!! You had more money then most of your adoring plebes. nt

[Mind_your_head]

59. No.

I didn't read any of this post.....didn't have to. NO eom (sorry that I'm giving it a kick)

[The Doctor.]

61. One doesn't mind one's head by starving it.

Really.

[rdenney]

65. I don't read too good cause I watch TeeVee. Did you write that Tim Russert was a STAIN?

:-)

[jeff30997]

66. OMG!

LOL!

[LWolf]

68. RIP to a man.

I don't know enough about him to know how "good" he was, but I'll give him the RIP as one flawed human to another.

I don't know about the "icon of journalism" part. The only concrete memory I have of him is the bullshit question he asked at a debate last fall about UFOs; not exactly substantive. That kind of journalism is not iconic.