Barack Obama On Tim Russert's Passing

Senator Barack Obama released this statement on Tim Russert's passing:

I’ve known Tim Russert since I first spoke at the convention in 2004. He’s somebody who, over time, I came to consider not only a journalist but a friend. There wasn’t a better interviewer in TV, not a more thoughtful analyst of our politics, and he was also one of the finest men I knew. Somebody who cared about America, cared about the issues, cared about family. I am grief-stricken with the loss and my thoughts and prayers go out to his family. And I hope that, even though Tim is irreplaceable, that the standard that he set in his professional life and his family life are standards that we all carry with us in our own lives.

Video:

Obama VP? Zennie Asks Obama Supporters In San Francisco

What do supporters of Senator Barack Obama for President think of how far the campaign has come? Who do they want as his Vice Presidential Candidate? I asked people at a celebration event held at San Francisco's Ruby Skye night club on Tuesday, June 10th 2008.

The responses seemed to boil down to this: most of the people I talked to want or seem to think that Kansas Governor Katheryn Sebelius will be the choice. Two people, including San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, thought that the choice should be Senator Hillary Clinton. Two others said she should definitely not be the choice -- a view shared in another video by Oakland City Attorney John Russo, and others gave criteria but no names. Who's your choice for Obama's VP running mate. Chime in here.

My Mom's - Patricia Abraham Yerger- Thoughts About Tim Russert's Passing

My Mom, Patricia Abraham Yerger, 73, passed me this note:

For Tim Russert's Passing:

I am really saddened by this event the last statement I remember is "I would love to be teaching a history class now, meaning this moment of history where possibly a Black man could be president."

As a Black woman this meant the World to me. What this meant, this great man knew what effect this would have on American Youth. Plus, he was glad to see this, which makes me know that if some newscaster had his insight they would know what that event meant to America.

And that's why Michelle Obama made the statement she would make about being proud of the people of America.

This is the best country in the World. Look what it produced: a man like Tim Russert.

God Bless America!

Tim Russert Passes at 58: Rememberances

This is a hard day for America and especially for anyone who's a follower and lover of politics and the media. Tim Russert passed of cardiac arrest at the young age of 58, leaving behind a wife, son, father, relatives, friends, and millions of fans, including me.

The video above is from MSNBC and below from Veracifier on YouTube:



Senator and Presidential Candidate Barack Obama gave this speech on Tim Russert's passing:



This video is from a fan on YouTube, TRAILKIDS1:



This video was made from YouTubers tomaswk, who met Russert earlier this year:



Bloggers around America have weighed in on the news. Buddy TV reported Russert's passing; James Poniewozik at TIME Blog wrote that Russert's influence was "immense"; Futuremd informs that Russert once took MSNBC collegue Dave Gregory to task for being rude to a waitress while they were at dinner.

I check out that link.

From Jossip, I learned that Russert took issue with Keith Olbermann's activism and I learned that Dave Gregory not only had an imperious way with wait staffers at restaurants, but treated lower NBC News staff "like shit".

That stands in direct contrast to Russert's way. It's clear that he, Russert, was loved at NBC.

"Meet The Press" Tim Russert Dies Of A Heart Attack At 58

"Meet The Press" Tim Russert Dies Of A Heart Attack At 58

One of the main reasons I was so excited about attending the 2008 Democratic Convention was that I would get to meet Tim Russert, the ever-present host of the legendary show and one of my favorites, Meet The Press.

Now, I will not, because Tim Russert died of what the New York Post called an apparent heart attack today at 58 years of age.

I never met or knew Tim, but he felt like part of the American Cultural furniture and I always appreciated his on-air professionalism. In a world of "vetters", Russert was the vetter. No poitician was considered complete until they faced a grilling from Russert. Barack Obama's best presentations were on Meet The Press because he handled himself with grace and intelligence under Russerts withering line of questions.

But we always saw Russert as the person who sat as judge and jury in politics. Always fair. Always smart. Always informative. Always professional. It's no wonder Time Magazine named him one of the world's 100 most influential people this year. .

Tim Russert represented the best in media and I will miss him.

Here's Russert recently interviewing former Bush Press Secretary Scott McClellan.

John Russo | Zennie Interview | Russo On Oakland, Obama VP, Raiders

I met with Oakland's elected City Attorney and my friend John Russo the day after election day to talk about his unopposed win for a third term, how Oakland has changed, Oakland Politics and the District Three Council race, who Senator Obama should pick as his VP, what Russo's is proudest of with the evolution of his office, and the talks between the City of Oakland and the Oakland Raiders.

Russo explains that the talks are between the Raiders and the Oakland / Alameda County Joint Powers Authority and that they're going well. He also confirmed that Raiders Manager of The General Partner Al Davis is not in good health and has not attended all of the meeting. As to the possibility that the Raiders would get a new stadium, he said no, but they're in agreement on the matters of concern to the Raiders.

Given what I know from trying to bring the 2005 Super Bowl to Oakland (we lost to Jacksonville), that means we should expect to see an upgraded Coliseum at some point in the future.

What was surprising news was that the Raiders were the party that initiated the talks, and not the City of Oakland or The County of Alameda. I personally feel that's a signal of the Raiders new willingness to work with the City and stay in Oakland.

Also, we talk about why he ran unopposed and how Oakland's political landscape has changed.

The Constitution has finally prevailed

Yesterday, the Constitution won. In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court said that prisoners being held at Guantanamo Bay have the right to have their cases heard in US courts, granting them the writ of habeas corpus. Writing for the majority in Boumediene v. Bush, Justice Anthony Kennedy said, "Liberty and security can be reconciled; and in our system they are reconciled within the framework of the law. The Framers decided that habeas corpus, a right of first importance, must be a part of that framework, a part of that law."

President Bush was none too happy with the decision, saying, while on a trip in Italy, "First of all it's a Supreme Court decision. We will abide by the court's decision. It was a deeply divided court and I strongly agree with those who dissented. The dissent was based upon those serious concerns about U.S. national security. Congress and the administration worked very carefully on ... a piece of legislation that set the appropriate procedures in place as to how to deal with the detainees." He went on to say that his Administration would study the ruling, " ... with this in mind, to determine whether or not additional legislation might be appropriate so we can safely say to the American people: 'We're doing everything we can to protect you.'"

I am not surprised at all that Bush is pissed. It's hard to keep your citizens under the blanket of fear when the courts expose the "enemies," like Omad Khadr, to the light of day. But it's a huge victory for America when the Court allows the rest of world to see that our system of checks and balances can, even at the last stop, prevail. The Constitution was bruised and battered along its way through, being hit hard by both the executive and legislative branches. It then was dealt near death blows by the courts along its way to the highest court in the land. But the highest court saved it and proved that our system does, indeed, work. This was a victory not only for the Constitution, but for the framework of our government detailed therein.

Writing for the opposition and speaking from the bench about his opposition, Justice Antonin Scalia said that the decision "... will almost certainly cause more Americans to be killed." I'm not sure how. These prisoners have been held at Gitmo for years. Were any of them truly guilty, their fellow combatants would not get the message from this ruling that they could get caught, extradited to the US, have a short, easy confinement, get a fair day in a lenient US court, be set free, and return to the battlefield. That's just not the way it works and not the way it will be seen in the world. The message it does send the world, however, is that we are finally taking our role as human rights leaders seriously.

To read the Opinion and the Dissent for yourself, go here: FindLaw.com

Cross posted from The Constitution has finally prevailed at AshPolitics on WordPress.