"Meet The Press" Mean-Sprited David Gregory Not In Sprit of Tim Russert

I just saw the headline reporting that MSNBC's David Gregory was selected to be the next host of "Meet The Press ". Congratulations to Mr. Gregory, but he's not a person in the sprit of the late Tim Russert.


Every time I see Gregory I think of this Jossip headline:


"David Gregory Mouthed Off To A Waitress, Got Scolded by Tim Russert"


If you don't know that story, Gregory scolded a waitress while he and Russert were having dinner in Washington D.C., and in turn, Russert hollered at Gregory for his behavior. Jossip reports that MSNBC asked Gregory to work on changing his behavior, but it's fair to ask in the wake of Russert's untimely passing, has Gregory really changed?  (What about Chris Matthews, for that matter?  He was also featured as ill-tempered in the Jossip post.  But he's got his own show, Hardball and was not considered for "Meet The Press".) 


Russert was known far and wide as a caring, nice person who did not try to demonize people, even as he was asking his guests tough questions. But contrast, Gregory can still come off a bit rough. I can't see him as doing well in this role. Gregory is not in the modl of either Russert or the legendary Tom Brokaw who I've had the pleasure of meeting at the Democratic National Convention.


I can't help but wonder what Russert is thinking, but my guess is he has more faith in Gregory than I do.

Barack Obama On Meet The Press More Proof Mark Halperin's Wrong About The Media Being "Pro-Obama"

I'm still not believing TIME Magazine political director Mark Halperin's comment that now-President-Elect Barack Obama was given a "free-pass" by the "pro-Obama" media.  And to prove my point that Halperin's wrong, I dug up this "Meet The Press" interview done early this year where the now-late Tim Russert grills Obama about the "Reverend Wright Issue" right off the start of the show.  


No other candidate faced such a potentially withering negative PR storm and came out the better for it. Perhaps that's missing -- deliberately? -- in Halperin's thoughts on the matter.  If so, he should reconsider.  See the full "Meet The Press" interview held May 4th, 2008 and just before the Indiana and North Carolina primaries, below:


Part One





Part Two

Tiger Woods Amazing U.S. Open Performance Forcing Playoff

This has been a most extraordinary three days, and to prove it, we have Tiger Woods amazing come-from-behind-in-pain performance at the U.S. Open Sunday. I missed this because I was watching Tom Brokaw and friends of Tim Russert talk about Tim's contributions and remember the man. But my Mom kept me posted on the exploits of Tiger. This video says it all:

Tim Russert at NH Primary House Party January 2008

Tim Russert on the primary trail in NH, 2008, originally uploaded by headshotsphoto.

I found this photo on Flickr, with this explaination:

Tim Russert died on June 13, at the age of 58. He was photographed while covering a house party for presidential primary candidate, John Edwards, in Bedford NH on the eve of the NH primary in January 2008. Elizabeth Edwards speaks to Tim Russert. Also pictured are Matt Lauer, Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon.

He really enjoyed getting out there it seems. Russert will be missed.

Barack Obama and Tim Russert in 2006

Barack Obama and Tim Russert, originally uploaded by mikebaudio.

Mike Baudio went to an event at the Warner Theater in DC sponsored by the Partnership for Public Service in 2006.

There, Tim Russert interviewed Senator Barack Obama on the theme of need for young participants in public service. It was not the last time Russert would interview Senator Obama.

Tim Russert, for 20 years the host of "Meet The Press" left us yesterday, striken with cardiac arrest. He was 58 years old.

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:

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.

Tim Russert, LA Times Fixing Obama News - Media Makes Errors and Ommissions Regarding Barack Obama News

If you've wondered about those negative stories about Barack Obama and whether they were "fixed" here's your answer: yes they were. If you've ever wanted one place to see all of those errors and ommissions with regard to Senator Obama's presidential run, you've come to the right place.

It's all here. From the LA times excluding Senator Obama's specific statements on human rights and national security, to Time Russert's famous "fixed" Meet the Press questions that sounded as if they were written by the Clinton campaign, to CNN's misrepresentations of Senator Obama's statements about Hillary Clinton.

They're all here for you. Share this with a friend and tell them how the mainstream media's unfairly fixing news against Barack Obama. They can't laugh at you; it's all here!

Check it out.

• 
  LA Times claimed Obama was "less than definitive" on human rights vs. national security, but omitted his specific statements
  
  
  Friday, November 16, 2007 5:07PM


• 
  Malveaux misrepresented Obama's statements about Clinton on Meet the Press
  
  
  Friday, November 16, 2007 2:19PM


• 
  On CNN, Gergen distorted Obama's response regarding U.S. deaths in Iraq
  
  
  
  Friday, November 16, 2007 1:40PM


• 
  GMA, NY Sun, Politico cut out part of Obama sentence in claiming he "stumbled" on driver's license question
  
  
  Friday, November 16, 2007 12:10PM


• 
  AP falsely suggested Obama said his state Senate records do not "exist at all"
  
  Thursday, November 15, 2007 6:11PM



• 
  AP claimed Obama's "mining lobbyist ties" are "raising questions" but did not say with whom
  
  Thursday, November 15, 2007 5:45PM


• 
  On O'Reilly, Newsmax's Kessler misrepresented Obama and Clinton vote on FISA, Edwards statement on "global war on terror"
  
  
  Wednesday, November 14, 2007 3:34PM


• 
  Russert misleadingly cropped Obama comment to claim he wasn't "firmly wedded against the war"
  
  
  Sunday, November 11, 2007 4:43PM


• 
  Politico claimed Dems' energy plans "set[] goals so distant that they won't be met until most of these contenders might be dead"
  
  Friday, November 9, 2007 5:19PM



• 
  Return of the "rookie mistake": Politico's Hearn blamed Obama for "flag flap"
  
  
  Friday, November 9, 2007 2:38PM



• 
  Citing NPR story, Wash. Post's Kornblut falsely claimed Obama was "unresponsive to a voter in a campaign stop"
  
  Thursday, November 8, 2007 4:49PM



• 
  Dobbs falsely claimed that Obama's "relationship with his faith [was] heretofore ... unexpressed"
  
  Wednesday, November 7, 2007 4:33PM



• 
  ABC News still ignoring O'Reilly's Obama/GMA falsehood
  
  Tuesday, November 6, 2007 1:21PM



• 
  Time's Halperin didn't check with Sun-Times columnist before falsely claiming that column was product of Clinton campaign opposition research
  
  Monday, November 5, 2007 6:23PM


• 
  CNN's Situation Room ignored McCain's missed votes in back-to-back segments
  
  Monday, November 5, 2007 5:35PM

"Meet The Press'" Tim Russert Misquotes Senator Barack Obama

Recently, NBC and MSNBC have been agressively working to change the terms of debate in the 2008 Presidential Race. This video's a great example. According to MediaMatters..

-- During his November 11 Meet the Press interview with Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (IL) on NBC's Meet the Press, host Tim Russert asserted that "critics will say you've not been a leader against the war," and then read a quote he attributed to Obama: "In July of 2004, Barack Obama: 'I'm not privy to Senate intelligence reports. ... What would I have done? I don't know,' in terms of how you would have voted on the war." After quoting two other Obama statements on the war, Russert concluded: "It doesn't seem that you were firmly wedded against the war and that you left some wiggle room that, if you were in the Senate, you may have voted for it." However, in citing Obama's comment "What would I have done? I don't know," Russert did not quote the very next sentence of Obama's statement, which was, "What I know is that from my vantage point the case [for authorizing the war] was not made." --

In other words, Tim Russert Misquoted Barack Obama, and perhaps deliberately. I think NBC's new approach is based on the idea that all politicians tell "less" than the truth about their beliefs. But it's easier to approach a line of questioning following that idea with Senator Clinton than it is with Senator Obama, who's quite authentic in his views -- that is, he's not always changing his stance, if he ever has, or has had to. This consistency of message damages NBC's approach, and results in this situation where Russert should appologize to Senator Obama.