Tim Russert Was a Mensch Who Will Be Missed

It's Sunday morning and Cindy and I sit facing each other on our laptops. We both have thought a lot about the passing of Tim Russert, a man who I met once on Nantucket and found to be charming and fun. We were in the Westender in Madaket, and it was a Tuesday night and they were having a private party that I was easily able to wander into.

Tim and his wife Maureen Orth were there sipping wine, and we spoke about their son, who was about to graduate from high school and was heading to Boston College. Tim was so proud of his son, and proud that he was going to BC. He and his wife spent many summers on Nantucket Island where I used to work, and our brief encounter was a pleasant brush with celebrity. You could tell that with Tim's casual boat shoes and shorts, he was at ease there, on vacation, not wearing his requisite suit and tie as he does on the set.

Today on Sunday morning, father's day, there was a great outpouring of tributes to Russert. So many of his colleagues, as well as President Bush and senators McCain and Obama, all lauded him and mourned his passing. In the tribute, people like James Carville, Gwen Ifil, and Doris Kearns Goodwin said that he had a passion for politics like a boy. He was a political animal, he never stopped loving and talking politics and he prepared for a week ahead of each show.