Has anyone else read something about the Big Russ story being bullshit

[tularetom]

Namely that Timmeh's daddy's pals did NOT in fact call him "Big Russ", and the nickname was totally created by Timmeh himself in order to create a folksy personna for his misogynistic grumpy father.

Apparently Tim had issues regarding his mother.

I don't think "Big Russ" would approve of a man deserting his wife so she had to be the responsible party.

I recall reading this somewhere. Anybody else?

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. You know at this point I don't give a damn

Tim helped to lie the country to war... that alone speaks volumes about him and his employer

[Kittycat]

2. OH FFS, give it a rest

At least for a week.

[TomInTib]

3. I remember back when the book came out...

guys back in the old neighborhood were saying it was pretty much news to them.

It was Russert and Imus who hyped all that crap.

[onenote]

4. "I recall reading this somewhere"?

Well, then it must be true.

[Lex]

Somewhere being The New Yorker it would appear.

"Big Russ, it turns out, is a name conferred by Tim Russert on his father, not something that his friends called him. The senior Russert’s real name is—Tim Russert. At least nominally, he’s an invention of his son. Big Russ fades out somewhat as the book goes on, but every appearance, while presented as being illustrative of his good qualities (no filial ambivalence here!), literarily performs the function of making Tim look good, by reassuring us that he’s permanently connected to a father lode of realness."

http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/05/24/040524crbo_books

[theboss]

5. Oh, for Christ's sake

He was a newsman, and a pretty good one.

There are days when I think over half of DU suffers from mental illness.

[ananda]

8. He wasn't a newsman.

He was a rightwing corporate shill... not even
close to objective, fair and balanced.

For a newsman, look to Bill Moyers.

Sue

[Dreamer Tatum]

15. OK, at therisk of being shelled...Bill Moyers ISN'T even slightly biased?

Seriously, you don't sense the slightest leftward bias in Bill Moyers?

"Unbiased" doesn't mean "biased in a direction I like." It means "without bias." Moyers is a commentator, just like
Olbermann is a commentator. Russert, I think, was somewhere between being a journalist and a commentator.

These days, because of political polarization, I don't think anyone can be called a newsman or a newswoman in the strictest
sense.

[JuniperLea]

17. Moyers doesn't claim to be unbiased

Russert did.

Simple.

[JuniperLea]

18. Moyers is biased and doesn't claim not to be...

Russert and his show claim to be strictly unbiased news... it was never that. It was every bit as biased as Moyers... biased isn't always bad.

Now, if you said "for truth, look to Bill Moyers"... I'd say... HELL YEAH!

[Lex]

19. The truth has a well-known liberal bias.

nt

[JuniperLea]

16. He was good... if you consider being a right wing tool good

I'm tired of the accolades for this BushCo enabler.

I've been pretty silent on the matter, but the fawning is getting out of hand.

[Eurobabe]

6. Go here...

http://patriotboy.blogspot.com/2008/06/because-i-cant-stand-undeserved-praise.html

[rurallib]

12. I just can't get enough of Jesus' General.

[Rick Myers]

7. Jeebus... Everybody's talking about Tim, when....

Amy Winehouse has been taken to the hospital!!!

[Eurobabe]

are you SERIES??111??

That is HUGH!!

He is SERIES!!

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1589383/20080616/winehouse_amy.jhtml

[Gabi Hayes]

13. NO, NO, NO!!!

[Lex]

9. The New Yorker has this

Big Russ, it turns out, is a name conferred by Tim Russert on his father, not something that his friends called him. The senior Russert’s real name is—Tim Russert. At least nominally, he’s an invention of his son. Big Russ fades out somewhat as the book goes on, but every appearance, while presented as being illustrative of his good qualities (no filial ambivalence here!), literarily performs the function of making Tim look good, by reassuring us that he’s permanently connected to a father lode of realness.

http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/05/24/040524crbo_books

[onenote]

10. I haven't read the book. Does it claim that the nickname was something his friends called him?

The NYer story makes it sound like its not.

[trumad]

11. He made it up for the book,,,,

and most of the bnook was about how wonderful Timmy was himself.

[onenote]

14. But does he claim it was a name that his father's friends used?

If he didn't, than what is the "bullshit" in his giving his father a nickname? Lots of people have nicknames that are used within family circles but not by others.