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WASHINGTON — The crowd at Tim Russert's funeral Wednesday would have made a great panel on his Sunday morning news show.
The two men vying to become president, Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain, were there, as were members of Congress, television journalists and several generations of politicians from both parties.
Obama and McCain sat next to each other at the private service, per a request by the Russert family. Later in the day, former President Clinton and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton joined several hundred of Russert's friends and colleagues at a memorial service televised by MSNBC.
Russert, the host of NBC's "Meet the Press," died Friday of a heart attack. He was 58.
Tom Brokaw opened the memorial service by lifting a bottle of Rolling Rock beer to salute his fallen colleague.
"We are going to do it Irish style," Brokaw, who pilfered the Rolling Rock from Russert's cooler, said at the service held at the Kennedy Center. "There will be some tears, some laughs, and the occasional truth."
Speakers included Maria Shriver, Mario Cuomo, Mike Barnicle and even the nun who taught Russert in the seventh grade. It ended with Russert's 22-year-old son Luke.
"He regarded a day greeted without real enthusiasm as a sadly lost opportunity," said Cuomo, the former New York governor for whom Russert worked as an aide in the early 1980s.
Shriver, California's first lady and member of the Kennedy family, recalled how Russert tried to help get her daughter into Boston College, which Luke attended.
He told her "it's competitive," she said. "You need to know people in Boston. You need to know people in the Catholic church."
Shriver had that covered, although her daughter landed on the waiting list.
NBC News anchor Brian Williams told how Russert went to the best salons for haircuts.
"Tim spent a fortune on his hair," Williams said. "And on the day when he got it done, he looked outstanding for 60 to 90 minutes afterwards."
Russert, who also was the Washington bureau chief for NBC News, was known for conducting tough interviews of Washington's most powerful politicians, yet he evoked an everyman quality that showed his blue-collar, Buffalo, N.Y., roots. Part of that came from his sometimes rumpled appearance.
Brokaw referred to Russert as "an unmade bed of a man with an armful of newspapers and a cell phone to his ear."
The crowd entering the Kennedy Center heard music from Russert's iPod, including Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird." The memorial ended with a video tribute by Bruce Springsteen, who was touring in Europe.
Among the politicians at the memorial service were former Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan., former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
Those at the funeral included New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. Honorary pallbearers included Williams, "Today" show host Matt Lauer and former "Today" show host Bryant Gumbel.
President Bush and his wife, Laura, had attended the public wake on Tuesday.
The funeral service at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Washington's Georgetown neighborhood was private, but a loudspeaker broadcast the service to about 100 onlookers standing along the tree-lined street.
Luke Russert gave the eulogy. His mother and Russert's widow, Maureen Orth, looked on.
"My dad was my best friend," Luke Russert said, his voice strong and clear. "To explain my bond with my father is utterly impossible to put into words."
He said that whenever he did well on a school assignment, his father would yell, "Yahoo! You smoked 'em, buddy!"
He asked the crowd to imagine a special edition of "Meet the Press" this Sunday in heaven. "Maybe Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr will be on for the full hour debating," he said.
Luke Russert repeated much of the eulogy at the memorial service, confiding that his father often recycled the same speech for different civic groups.
"Tim Russert led with his heart, his compassion and most of all his honor," his son said. "I love you, dad, and in his words, let us all go get 'em!"
© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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{"commentId":1994597,"authorDomain":"pamelabalsano"}
It is so sad to realize that good men die so young. We will always remember Tim Russert for his work informing Americans what is going on in the democratic process and helping us to understand it. The most important thing is to remember that he was a good man both inside and out and that someone like him does not come around everyday and that people can recognize the gifts that God gave him and to appreciate the way that Mr. Russert used these gifts to help others. Thank you God for the gift of Mr. Russert and help us to learn from him how to live our lives.
{"commentId":1994597,"threadId":"292653","contentId":"1587188","authorDomain":"pamelabalsano"}
#1 - Wed Jun 18, 2008 12:23 PM EDT{"commentId":1994636,"authorDomain":"mackzie"}
They say that the good die young, and that is certainly true in the passing of Tim Russert. He was my Sunday morning cup of coffee, the one reporter that I depended on to ask the questions that really needed answers. And yet, he was always fair. He did his job so well that you never really knew what his own political beliefs were. That's a rarity in broadcasting today. He never shouted at his guests; he never called them names; he never made up stuff just to get ratings. He was a gentleman....a true gentleman. Every broadcaster on TV could take a lesson....or two....or three.... from Tim Russert.
To his wife, son, father, family, friends, and colleagues, I hope you realize just how luck you were to have had this man in your lives. He wasn't a "do as I say, not as I do" kind of guy. He was a down-home, deeply faithful, family-man, who led a life worth emulating. We will miss him, especially during this election season. In this day of sensationalism and bullying by television commentators, his was the only word worth listening to. We've lost a great man, and the Russert family has lost a wonderful husband, father, son, and brother.
{"commentId":1994636,"threadId":"292653","contentId":"1587188","authorDomain":"mackzie"}
#2 - Wed Jun 18, 2008 12:26 PM EDT{"commentId":1996722,"authorDomain":"bcmadden1025"}
He urged ..., politicians to avoid "low tactics," and journalists to practice integrity and honesty.
Do you think if we all prayed hard enough, this may start something new? I would so love to get back to informative news (not just on Sunday morning) and get rid of the ratings-fed programs of today. It would provide for a more informed electorate.
Good bye Tim Russert. You are already missed.
{"commentId":1996722,"threadId":"292653","contentId":"1587188","authorDomain":"bcmadden1025"}
#3 - Wed Jun 18, 2008 3:39 PM EDT{"commentId":1996841,"authorDomain":"caroaber"}
I'm afraid the hagiography has gotten a bit over the top.
Tim Russert was a fine journalist, a wonderful parent and spouse, and a beloved colleague. But I don't get the mounted police unit participating in his funeral. He was not a statesman.
{"commentId":1996841,"threadId":"292653","contentId":"1587188","authorDomain":"caroaber"}
#4 - Wed Jun 18, 2008 3:48 PM EDT{"commentId":1997422,"authorDomain":"brianford"}
There's also that his funeral was attended by both of the presidential nominees and a list of other high profile politicians.
{"commentId":1997422,"threadId":"292653","contentId":"1587188","authorDomain":"brianford"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":1997863,"authorDomain":"caroaber"}
Heck, I'm pleased to see Matt Lauer without his sunglasses on.
{"commentId":1997863,"threadId":"292653","contentId":"1587188","authorDomain":"caroaber"}
{"commentId":1997131,"authorDomain":"bcmadden1025"}
No he wasn't a statesman. He was above them.
{"commentId":1997131,"threadId":"292653","contentId":"1587188","authorDomain":"bcmadden1025"}
#5 - Wed Jun 18, 2008 4:18 PM EDT{"canLink":false,"threadId":"292653","isPrivate":false}
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