Tim Russert (1950-2008)

Many people have mentioned Tim Russert's use of a whiteboard to calculate potential Electoral Vote outcomes during the first night of the 2000 Presidential Election. Few, however, probably know that Russert appeared on the "Imus in the Morning" radio show a short time before Election Day and speculated that the polling was so close that the media might have to resort to this type of device when the returns started coming in. Russert was in a way nostalgic, almost salivating over the possibility that he might get to observe and report on an election that would require old-fashioned techniques.

I never saw much of Meet the Press, but I always found Russert to be a highly informed, entertaining and, most importantly, nearly prejudice-free commentator on a subject which he clearly enjoyed greatly. He is one of the last of his kind, and he will be missed, particularly this election year. RIP.