Brokaw is another amazing guy. I was glad to hear him tear up on Sunday. I was waiting for it because he was one of Tim's best friends and I know he wanted to cry. I also have to add that Tom, at 68, is quite handsome.

Thanks for the tribute to TIM.

Ken in NC June 13th, 2008 10:58 pm ET
Campbell, it’s kind of funny in a sad way. Tim gave you your break and now you are demonstrating your strengths and abilities he saw in you tonight on the show while I am sitting in my home with tears in my eyes and thinking of how I have only had tears like this for two others. They were President Kennedy and Rev Martin Luther King Jr.

I'm not for sure this information is accurate, but I read that you can watch a public memorial on Wednesday on MSNBC @ 4pm.

I was on my way home from vacation last Friday night when I first heard the news of the passing of Tim Russert. My first thought was a true saddness and how my Sunday morning was never going to be the same again. My second thought was of how selfish my first thought had been.

Tim Russert is a rare gem in the halls of journalism these days. He always treated his guests with respect and dignity. He asked no more of those that he interviewed then he asked of himself. It always ended with a smile and a handshake.

He gave us pride of family and country. You always felt like you as the viewer were part of his extended family since he let us in on the happenings going on in his life with his dad and son.

Yes indeed, his flame has been extinguished, but his legacy lives on.

I send my deepest sorrows to his family. A fathers pain in burying a child is the worst.

Susan
Phoenixville,PA

My heart aches for his family – his wife, son and father – their loss is immense. Losing someone like Tim who loved his family, his life, his work, and did everything with zest and commitment diminishes us all and hopefully inspires us to try to reach for that gold standard he represented.

Tom Brokaw had the best quote when he announced Tim's death – "He will be missed as he was loved – greatly."

Annie Kate
Birmingham AL

I feel as if I am grieving a family member because Russert shared his adorable family with us all. Yet, while Tim Russert may have seemed like "everyman"... the man was special. Here in Cleveland, he was a student leader in his undergrad school and a loyal alumnus of his law school here. In his intellect, his curiosity and undertanding of human nature and politices, his gregarious personality, his inherent kindness and humilty and his generosity, he was extraordinary. And he shared those gifts with us. It was as if he wanted to remind us that "Hey, we don't have to lose what's best in us. Nuture and honor the really important things in life." What a man.

I will be forever grateful that he shared his family with the world. Stories about Big Russs gave me words to express how I felt about my dad and the other men in my old Akron, OH neighborhood who were all cut from the same honest and steadfast "father-cloth." God rest his soul and bless his family and friends.

Are you 12 years old? You are on a news/political site right now and you have never heard of Tim Russert?

Did you catch any debates in the past several months? Or even catch any election nights in the past few years?

That picture of Luke touching the empty "Meet the Press" chair – I had to look at that several times today. What a powerful image – Just makes you cry!

How about we try something different for a change, like say maybe report the NEWS!?

The pain will get easier to bear but will never completely go away. If it didn't hurt so bad, how would we ever know that they were really here?

Prayers to Luke and the family.

I think seeing Tim's genuine passion for life and how he truly cared for people has left us all a bit envious. And this was the chord that he seems to have struck in his death. It was impossible not to have great respect for this man who was such a wonderful example to us all, of how we should live our lives and how we can attain true happiness.

I watched Tim in the the broadcasts where he discussed the two books he had recently written. You couldn't help but get caught up in the simple fervor that came through him on the importance of life and relationships...again to God, family, friends and country. He was truly a modern missionary, and in his death even maybe more so than in his life, his message is being conveyed to so many more people.

I believe some good comes out of every bad, and I think that perhaps in death Tim Russert has finally accomplished what he had been put on this earth to do.

May he rest in peace.

Diane C.
Brooklyn, NY

I enjoyed reading your quote from the George Bernard Shaw play. I especially related to "the harder I work, the more I live" part. As a person who gets accused of being a "workaholic" myself and not having a work/life balance, I think that part of the quote is so true. Great choice of words to describe Tim Russert's dedication and passion for his life and work. Thanks for sharing the quote and your thoughts today. Always appreciate when you blog!

Jolene, St. Joseph, MI

Although it was difficult to watch, I did appreciate the celebration of Tim’s life on "Meet the Press" this week. To viewers like myself who religiously watched Tim on NBC and MSNBC every week, he was more than just another member of the media; he seemed like part of the family.

Tim never hid his joy and passion for his family, his profession, or the sports he loved so much. I think the thing that separates Tim from other journalists is the fact that he did not put up a barrier between himself and the viewer or the reader; instead he shared his life and his family with them. We felt like we knew Luke, Maureen, and, of course Big Russ because Tim talked about them on his shows so often and in his writings; because of that, he gained our trust and respect.

Although Tim may have appeared a bit negative towards Hillary Clinton during the primary season, I always thought that he had the best interest of the viewer in mind. He forced his guests to account for what they had said and he always had the ability to strip away all the unnecessary excess in order to clarify things for the average citizen. He always respected the viewer and never spoke down to them. I think many of today’s so-called journalists could learn from that.

I agree with Andrea Mitchell; Tim is the “gold standard.” Unfortunately, for the most part, we live in an age of manufactured newscasters who are only interested in being celebrities and shouting out their opinions, they do not possess the respect for journalism that Tim did. For them, journalism is a means to an end, for Tim, I think he believed that it was his calling. As Anderson might say, Tim had found his "bliss" in journalism and he pursued it with a passion. Tim could have been a lawyer or a politician, but instead he chose his profession from the heart and that made all the difference.

I can't imagine "Meet the Press" without Tim. He will be terribly missed in our home.

Jo Ann
North Royalton, Ohio