R.I.P. Tim Russert 1950-2008

For those of you that are not already aware, Tim Russert, NBC's Washington Bureau Chief and moderator of Meet the Press died of an apparent heart attack today in Washington today while recording promos for this week's show. While I was often worked up into a frenzy over the way Russert conducted himself during interviews with his particular brand of "gotcha" journalism; there is no question that the man was an enormous talent and truly dedicated to covering American politics in the way he saw fit. In no way can I, or anyone else, hold that against him. According to many of the articles I've read in the past hour or so, Russert was an exceptional father and husband to his family, as well as a committed mentor and friend to his colleagues. There is no doubt that the political world will be remiss without him, and I can't imagine what it's going to be like this fall watching general election coverage that doesn't feature him prominently. Please keep Tim Russert's loving family and many, many friends in your thoughts and prayers.

Sebelius Follow Up

I just wanted to call everybody's attention to two posts by Chris Cilizza outlining the pros and cons of selecting Kathleen Sebelius as Barack Obama's running mate. I think that I will outsource my critique of Chris Cilizza's arguments to fellow Sebelius supporter Ezra Klein.

Photo used courtesty of Flickr user glennia June 1, 2008.