The Death of Decency

By STEVEN IVORY

Tim Russert himself would have considered it over the top. In the days after the sudden death of the host of NBC-TV's “Meet The Press” at age 58, the melodramatic testimony from Russert's colleagues and political celebrities occasionally resembled something out of "Saturday Night Live.” Imagine a hilariously exaggerated tribute to a character deified simply for being a nice person.

In Russert's native Buffalo, New York, flags were lowered to half-mast. According to the ever pontificating cable TV pundits, Russert's untimely passing--not network TV's continually dwindling market share due to cable programming in general--has left no less than the very fortunes of NBC's news division, let alone the future of “Meet The Press,” hanging perilously in the balance.

If Russert's fans and comrades have all but canonized him, it is most likely because, by all accounts, formidable political analyst skills aside, Russert dearly loved his wife and family. He was deemed a good friend and a hard-worker, admired by his contemporaries. In other words, in these emotionally and spiritually challenging times, Russert was a rarity: he was a decent guy.

The Death of Decency....