The Discerning Texan

It surprised me how saddened I am by the death today of Tim Russert. After all, I didn't agree with the man often, and I resented that the experts he most often chose as guests to debate political "counterpoints" on Meet the Press were: one liberal Democrat and one liberal Republican. (But not always..) Still, there was little question where his loyalties lay (he was an aide to the late Democrat Senator Patrick Moynihan-NY); but unlike his contemporaries over at MSNBC--who on this day I regret even mentioning in the same sentence--Tim did his best to hide the bias. He always asked very pointed questions on both sides of an argument. And it set him apart.

And--here's the thing--lefty bias and all, you couldn't help but like the guy. I always got the impression from afar that--politics aside--he would be a heck of a guy to have a beer with. He always treated his guests respectfully and with dignity. He wrote a great book about his relationship with father. You might disagree with his views, but you couldn't deny that he was great at what he did. He was a real professional. NBC News (at least the cable side) is already sinking like the Titanic--but its going to be a lot worse off without Tim Russert. He will be missed.

And like I said: man could the guy ever ask a pointed question.

RIP