Missing Tim Russert

I walked into the bedroom this morning when Maureen Orth was on CNN talking about her article about Carla Bruni in "Vanity Fair." Orth is the widow of Tim Russert, NBC's Washington Bureau Chief and Moderator of "Meet the Press."

At the close of the interview, the host offered his condolences to Orth. As they cut to a commercial, I said to Mark "I miss Tim Russert."

I miss Tim Russert for a lot of reasons but especially because he wore his passion on his sleeve. His zest and his energy and his enthusiasm was palpable -- I could feel it through the screen -- and I miss that.

I know only a few people whose sense of joy is magical to behold. They dig life. They dig people. They get it. They fall in love with sorbets, new books, thatched roofs, seeing other people succeed. They're not waiting for life to be handed to them.

One young man comes immediately to mind. He exudes purpose. He's delightful to spend time with. He makes a visit something worth savoring.
He's giving everything he's got to the encounter, holding nothing back. I wallow in the richness of the experience.

It's not going to be easy to replace Tim Russert. Sure they can find someone with a fantastic memory for facts and statistics and polls and follow-up questions. But that wasn't what made Tim Russert remarkable. Russert's love of life, his thirst for engagement, his delicious and delightful sense of wonder was the reason we found him compelling and now irreplaceable.