If you had to choose a single word to sum up the entirety of tonight’s Tim Russert coverage it would be “irreplaceable.”
This is both a high honor and tragic. An honor that Tim Russert’s colleagues recognize his importance to not only journalism, but more importantly, the nation and tragic that there’s not a single journalist that I can think of that can step in and do Tim’s job for him now that he’s gone.
One thing that sticks with me from tonight’s coverage was Bob Schieffer talking with Keith Olbermann about the good natured competition between the two Sunday icons. Even when Schieffer would scoop Russert, there never was any animosity between the two. With the camaraderie on display tonight, it will be impossible to ever take seriously again the sophomoric back and forth between certain Fox and MSNBC hosts.
If those speaking tonight really want to honor Tim Russert, maybe trying to act like Tim Russert would be a great start.