Tim Russert "lived, breathed politics"

WASHINGTON — Tim Russert, the NBC commentator who revolutionized Sunday-morning television and infused journalism with an unrelenting passion for politics, died Friday. He was 58.

Russert was recording a "Meet the Press" introduction in an NBC sound booth in Washington when he collapsed.

Russert's internist, Michael Newman, told MSNBC that an autopsy showed the journalist had an enlarged heart and that cholesterol plaque ruptured an artery. He said Russert had been diagnosed earlier with coronary-artery disease, but that it was controlled with medication and exercise and Russert had performed well on an April stress test.

News of the death shocked the capital, with colleagues, rivals and President Bush remembering Russert as a superb practitioner of political analysis and an irrepressible son of blue-collar Buffalo, N.Y.

His influence was such that an appearance on the top-rated "Meet the Press" could boost or sink a candidate, and when he declared after midnight May 6 that Barack Obama had wrapped up the Democratic nomination, that was treated as a news event in itself.

Russert wore many hats — one-time Democratic operative, Washington insider, NBC bureau chief, MSNBC commentator, sports fanatic, committed Roman Catholic, biographer of his father, known as "Big Russ" — but his greatest legacy was his sustained style of interrogation.

Grounded in prodigious research, he would press his guests on past statements and contradictions, often for a full hour, spawning legions of imitators.

Friends were stunned by his death.

"I just loved him," said Bob Schieffer, host of CBS' "Face the Nation." "When I scooped old Tim, I felt like I'd hit a home run off the best pitcher in the league."

"He was made for Washington because he lived and breathed politics," said Judy Woodruff, a former NBC correspondent now with PBS. But more than that, she said, he was remarkably empathetic. "When our son was sick about 10 years ago, he was right there, calling, coming over, bringing him back gifts from trips."

Proving it could be done

The thread of Russert's career is laced through recent political history. His whiteboard from Election Night 2000 — on which, early in the evening, he scribbled "Florida, Florida, Florida" — became a symbol of the disputed tally. Days after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Vice President Dick Cheney chose to appear on "Meet the Press." In late 2006, Obama used the program to say he was considering a White House run.

More recently, he drew criticism for his sharp — some said disproportionately sharp — questioning of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in her pursuit of the Democratic presidential nomination, most notably in a debate between her and Obama in Cleveland in February. But he asked tough questions of Obama, too, as well as of any number of Republicans, including a memorable confrontation in the late 1990s with Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., who was a vocal critic of the Clinton administration.

"He really was the best political journalist in America, not just the best television journalist in America," said Al Hunt, Washington executive editor of Bloomberg News and former Washington bureau chief of The Wall Street Journal.

Russert's political analysis was born from experience: The graduate of John Carroll University and the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law worked as a counselor for Gov. Mario Cuomo of New York from 1983-84; for five years before that he had been special counsel to Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York. He had been tapped to run Moynihan's New York City office before he turned 30.

"He absolutely set the standard for moving from politics to journalism," said Hunt, a close friend who first met Russert in his days working for Moynihan. "He proved it could be done. He proved it could be done with extraordinary skill and integrity."

Russert moved his father, a former sanitation worker, to a nursing facility last week and had escaped for a brief vacation in Italy with his wife, Vanity Fair writer Maureen Orth, and their son, Luke, before returning to Washington Thursday. Luke Russert, a sports commentator on XM Satellite Radio, had just graduated from Boston College.

A strong, clear voice

Former anchor Tom Brokaw gave MSNBC viewers the news Friday afternoon. "He worked to the point of exhaustion so many weeks," Brokaw said, adding: "This news division will not be the same without his strong, clear voice."

Within minutes, all the cable networks were airing nonstop remembrances of Russert, as if a head of state had died, and tributes poured in. Bush called him "an institution," a "tough and hardworking newsman" who "was as gregarious off the set as he was prepared on it."

Obama told reporters he considered Russert "not only a journalist but a friend. There wasn't a better interviewer on television, a more thoughtful analyst about politics." Sen. John McCain, the presumed Republican nominee, called Russert "the pre-eminent political journalist of his generation."

In a statement, NBC News President Steve Capus called Russert's death "a loss for the entire nation. Everyone at NBC News is in shock and absolutely devastated."

Russert's position as a power player was confirmed by his role in the perjury and obstruction trial of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Cheney's former top aide. Libby testified that he had learned the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame from Russert, but the newsman, on the witness stand for two days, said they had never discussed it. The jury believed him and convicted Libby.

A ratings turnaround

"Meet the Press" was languishing in the ratings when Russert took it over in 1991, later expanded the program to an hour and grabbed the ratings lead a decade ago. It has become the top-rated public-affairs program on television and is viewed by nearly 4 million people each Sunday, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Russert became so valuable to NBC — "Meet the Press" is said to have annual profits of $50 million — that executives signed him to an extraordinary 11-year contract that was to expire in 2012. Industry insiders estimate he was earning more than $5 million a year.

He won an Emmy in 2005 for his role in the coverage of President Reagan's funeral, and this year Time magazine named him one of the world's 100 most influential people.

Brokaw is scheduled to host a special edition of "Meet the Press" on Sunday, which will pay tribute to Russert's life and career. With Russert's unexpected passing, NBC will soon be forced to confront an important question with no immediately easy answer: how to replace its lead political analyst with the presidential election just five months away.

In a statement, Bush described Russert as "an institution in both news and politics for more than two decades."

Leaving a void

Russert wrote two best-selling books, "Big Russ & Me" and "Wisdom of Our Fathers," which brought fame to his working-class dad and enshrined Russert's reputation as a man of modest western New York roots.

CNBC's John Harwood said Friday that he and The Wall Street Journal's Gerald Seib taped an appearance Friday morning on Russert's MSNBC talk show. As they left about 10:30, Harwood said, "Jerry observed that he didn't think Tim felt well."

Among his shaken colleagues Friday, the consensus was that his death will leave a void in the campaign that may be impossible to fill.

"Nobody enjoyed covering 2008 more than Tim," said Democratic pollster Peter Hart, who works with NBC. "How many times did I hear him say, 'It doesn't get any better than this.' "

Staff writers Lois Romano and Patricia Sullivan contributed to this report, which also includes information from The New York Times.