Tim Russert dies from apparent heart attack

[Bluebear]

June 13, 2008 --

NBC's Tim Russert, 58, died today after suffering an apparent heart attack, according to TV industry sources.

THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY. PLEASE REFRESH FOR UPDATES.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/06132008/news/nationalnews/tim_russert_dies_from_apparent_heart_att_115384.htm

Breaking News 3:33 PM ET:
Tim Russert Is Dead at 58, His Family Says

http://nytimes.com/

[stray cat]

1. Thats horrible!

[dana_b]

2. omg!

this is terrible! :-(

[libnnc]

3. Huffpo has it now

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/13/tim-russert-dies-of-heart_n_107032.html

wow

[dana_b]

5. I'm watching MSNBC

nothing so far

[City Lights]

24. I'm watching too. Seems so odd to me that they're not reporting this.

RIP, Mr. Russert.

on edit - reporting now...Brokaw is on.

on edit II - removed comment now that they're reporting it.

[nadinbrzezinski]

58. They will not, and they are now, until they have enough to go on

this is the reality of this

[City Lights]

69. You're right. They had to get their ducks in a row before they went on the

air with big news like this. All the wires had to do was basically issue a statement.

This will dominate MSNBC for awhile now.

[graywarrior]

4. Holy crap!

Much as I made fun of him all the time, that is a shocker and really sad.

[BlooInBloo]

6. Holy crap!

Was just looking for links to the Taliban prison break when I saw that!

[SharonRB]

7. This is awful

I'm surprised there's nothing on the MSNBC site yet.

[semillama]

8. wow. That's horrible.

I always enjoyed watching him and hearing what he had to say, regardless of whether I agreed with it. RIP, Mr. Russert.

[napi21]

9. HOLY SHIT!!!! That's sad. I got angry with him sometimes too, but

overall, he was a pretty good journalist! I can't believe MSNBC doesn't have anything on their broadcast!

[99th_Monkey]

10. Damn. That's sad. Those sudden heart attacks are a crappy way to go. I know

because my dad died that way at 59, just keeled over dead after mowing the yard.

There was no chance for last good-byes, no settling of accounts with relationships, no chance for
loved ones to prepare for the flood of grief. I'm sad for his family.

[napi21]

14. I don't mean to be insensitive, but I've always hoped that's the way

I would go. I've seen far too many people suffer from long and painfull illnesses. My father died that way too, and I've always been grateful that he never suffered,

[Dhalgren]

34. I don't think it is insensitive. I agree with you.

Death is assured, the means of death uncertain. I would rather go in a flash myself. My father died that way, too, and in retrospect, I am glad he did...

[99th_Monkey]

93. I appreciate your perspective, but my experience as a "loved one" in the situation sucked.

and I'm standing by that. You may want to consider that yourself -- assuming you have
"loved ones" who might want a little space to say goodbye -- and be careful what you ask for..

.. of course living each day as though it's your last can improve the situation in a way..

and I don't mean to dis your perspective, as I can relate to not wanting protracted "long-term
pain & suffering" part of it.

[MiniMe]

49. I think for yourself, its a great way to go. But it sucks for the family.

I'm sorry about your father. My father passed away from a heart attack too, but it wasn't really sudden.

[99th_Monkey]

94. Thanks. Yes, that was exactly my point: re "loved ones" and family. ~nt~

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

11. Holy Shit I Don't Believe It.

Just signed on and this is the first post I saw. My jaw is friggin dropped right now. Huge sympathy goes out to the family. Holy cow.

[Taverner]

12. That's horrible - best wishes to his family

[greenbriar]

19. especially as this is father's day weekend

never is it a good time to lose a family member, but holidays are especially hard

[Tangerine LaBamba]

13. I hope it's a hoax

MSNBC is covering everything else, and now just broke for a commercial.

Maybe they're waiting for confirmation, but there's also nothing on CNN or Fox.

I hope it's a mistake.

[napi21]

23. If it's a hoax, I hope the AH who posted it suffers great repercussions!!!!

That's NOT something anyone should joke about!

[That Is Quite Enough]

30. No hoax.

Just confirmed by NBC. :(

[Bluebear]

31. Who are you calling an asshole?

:hi:

[napi21]

39. The person who would have posted that on the newspaper website.

Knowing how so many things have been hacked, I suspect theirs isn't imune. Sadly, it's not a heax, so my threats don't matter.

[MiniMe]

52. Its all over the place now. Its true.

RIP

I may not have liked him all the time, but I wish his family well.

[devilgrrl]

15. Whoa!

:wow:

[SharonRB]

16. Check this out from September and read the first comment

Very prescient!

http://insidecable.blogsome.com/2007/09/24/the-future-of-tim-russert/

[AwakeAtLast]

80. WOW!

:scared:

:wow:

[CC]

17. Damn.

Watching MSNBC, nothing on it yet but then they may want to break it to them while off camera and gently.
Condolences for his friends and family.

Edited on MSNBC now. :cry:

[Phillycat]

18. That is way too young to die.

I am so sorry for his family.

[spanone]

20. damn shame

[katmondoo]

21. I'm sure he was looking forward to this election

Sad. He would have found it interesting.

[Beacool]

22. I just heard it on the radio.

I'm shocked!!!

Rest in peace.......

[Junkdrawer]

25. NBC just interrupted the US Open...

Tim died at work...

[napi21]

26. NOT A JOKE! It's now on MSNBC! n/t

[spanone]

27. tom brokaw on nbc right now...

[Bluebear]

28. Collapsed at work. Had just returned from Italy & his son's graduation at BC

[hlthe2b]

29. I really really am sad to hear this....

I may have argued constantly with him via cyberspace, but compared with so many others out there, Russert did have some integrity and journalistic chops. I am very sorry for his family, including his father, who, I believe we know is still living...

RIP, Mr. Russert. You will be very much remembered in all the upcoming political landscapes and I wish you well on your journey.

[Bluebear]

35. I will always picture him with his little writing tablet

[hlthe2b]

44. Me too.... He became an icon then and there....

[Bluebear]

47. I can face dying. But not knowing who won between Obama & McCain...

...who will win this World Series? Will Bush EVER be held accountable? What will my niece look like on her wedding day?...

I don't mind dying, but my curiosity would kill me. No, wait... anyhow, you know what I mean :)

[Sydnie]

81. dear Bluebear

I, too suffer from the "just have to know how it ends" affliction. I can't stop watching a movie, reading a book, a game, my kids, etc ... for NEEDING to know what happens next. Otherwise, I agree with you too.

[Bluebear]

82. Maybe . . .

. . . they can pipe in a radio feed of the news into our graves. Just in case, you know. :hug:

[kath]

55. BS re: "some integrity and journalistic chops". It weren't for nuthin' that he was MWO's MediaWhore

of the Year at least once (and was very high in the running other years). That "honor" was well-earned.

I'm NOT saying I'm glad he's dead at the age of 58, but he was a Media Whore Extraordinaire. The damage that the Corporate Propaganda Ministry has done to our republic is HUGE, and he played a significant part in it.

[hlthe2b]

92. I said "some integrity and...."

and I believe I said comparatively..... While I am not going to deny the clear justification for criticism, he was far from the worst of the pack.

[kath]

95. right.. you did say that.

seems there is SO little integrity or "journalism" left, and that we are so screwn. So many of them are so bad. Russert was singled out on several occasions as being the worst, or "runner-up", but there are lots of MediaWhores out there. Do you have a pick for "worst of the pack"?


On second thought, maybe that's too depressing a thought to contemplate, after 10+ years of heinous media whoredom (dating back at least to the Clinton Blow Job Debacle) and 7 1/2 hideous years of the Bushco Regime... I have a headache :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

[hlthe2b]

97. Worst of the pack?.... start with anyone on Faux news, clearly....

[kath]

98. hmmm... someone on another thread said it better than I could:

Is a journalist-poseur worse than an upfront right wing mouthpiece?
"Today's essay question, class"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3445868 (TheBorealAvenger, post #19)

There's also the point that, being on a major network and a well-known show, Russert reached a much bigger audience and was therefore able to do more damage... (IIRC, in the voting for MediaWhore of the Year (or the reporting of it), some opined on this same concept - Timmeh reached more people, so did more damage, therefore was most-deserving of the title)

[hlthe2b]

100. I don't know... but the guy just died.. he was not evil incarnate....

and I for one do not wish to demonize him on the date of his unexpected death.:shrug:

He was, like most of us, a flawed human being, but judging from the depth of sorrow from his friends and colleagues--including his employees-- I'd have to guess he might have done a lot of good in his life.

[malaise]

32. Deepest sympathy to his family

but maybe the weight of his part of the lies exposed by Scotty was too much for him.

[cherokeeprogressive]

33. RIP Tim. Sometimes right, sometimes wrong, always interesting. n/t

[fla nocount]

36. I'm torn between being human about this news,

or giving into my primal instincts concerning this corporate tool that I have despised for so long.

At least Clinton's cock will finally get some peace.

RIP....Bab Bush's biggest fan

[cherokeeprogressive]

37. And apparently, being human lost. Too bad. n/t

[fla nocount]

99. Nope.....still torn

I had the opportunity to spend a few hours with this cretin during the Fla. 2002 gubernatorial campaign. This was not a nice man, BTW, Bobby Bowden isn't a nice man either but I would not wish either dead. Mel Martinez, the thug, on the other hand................

[dana_b]

38. They're all having a hard time keeping it together.

Andrea Mitchell is trying but you can tell it's hard. Deepest sympathies to them and especially his family.

[That Is Quite Enough]

40. I'm still registering it all...

This is just so surreal.

[dana_b]

43. FOX and CNN are covering it too, with respect. n/t

[slackmaster]

41. How terrible

My condolences to his family, friends, and coworkers.

I want to go home and play with my cats now.

:-(

[bamir]

42. sad....

To my fellow Buffalonian...

R.I.P.

[Window]

45. RIP Tim. You will be missed. Condolences to family, friends and fans.

[eShirl]

46. story up at MSNBC.com

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25145431/

WASHINGTON - Tim Russert, NBC News’ Washington bureau chief and the moderator of “Meet the Press,” died Friday after collapsing in the bureau, NBC News said Friday. He was 58.

Russert was recording voiceovers for Sunday’s “Meet the Press” program when he collapsed, the network said. No details were immediately available.

-more-

[leftofthedial]

48. he was one of the bad guys

58 is way too young

but he was one of the media bad guys

[Name removed]

50. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Sheets of Easter]

51. Oh yeah, I forgot. Let me chug some water so I can piss on his grave.

:eyes:

[leftofthedial]

64. Piss away if you will.

Truth is sometimes ugly and death leaves nothing else behind. He sold out and became the prototypical media whore of the last decade plus.

I didn't wish him dead, but having a bum ticker doesn't change what he did in life.

[kath]

70. Thanks for that -- he was a MediaWhore Extraordinaire, and being dead doesn't change that fact., NOR

does saying so mean that one is glad he is dead, pissing on grave, whatever.

people need to cut it out with all the "fuck you" stuff.

[Name removed]

54. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[leftofthedial]

65. Not gonna do it.

Wouldn't be prudent.

[earth mom]

79. Karma.

I don't watch the cable news so I really don't have an opinion one way or another about the Russert, but do remember people hating on him and ranting about him here on DU.

There is no denying that Russert was part of the machine that caused over a million deaths to happen in Iraq-whether the truth hurts about that fact or not.

So maybe a bit of Karma is coming the way of the bad guys.

May they rest in peace so that we can have peace...

[Occam Bandage]

84. "I've never seen him, but I heard people insulting him on DU, so I'm glad he's dead!"

Ignorant, blind hate is the best kind of hate.

[earth mom]

86. Where in the hell did I say that? DO NOT PUT WORDS IN MY MOUTH.

I said I don't know the man. But I do care about the damage that man has done.

You should too.

Shame on YOU for kissing his ass now.

[Occam Bandage]

87. You admitted you don't watch him. You admitted you only get your opinion on him from

DUers "hating on him." You don't have the slightest clue what you're accusing him of; you heard he helped the Republicans but aren't sure how. You then declared his death to be "karma." You might be interested in knowing that over at FR, they're complaining that he was a liberal tool and calling his death karma, too.

Ignorant, blind hate is the best kind of hate.

[leftofthedial]

90. you are short-sighted.

all kinds of hate are equally good.

[earth mom]

102. Oh, I've seen Russert enough to know that he sold his soul to the rethugs. nt

[Occam Bandage]

53. Holy fucking shit I thought this was a joke. Jesus Christ.

[proud2BlibKansan]

56. OMG

My sympathy to his family.

[magellan]

57. WHAT?

OMG very sorry to hear this.

RIP Mr. Russert. :cry:

[spanone]

59. there are some true assholes in democratic underground....this occasion allows us to identify a few

[nadinbrzezinski]

62. Yep

you are right

[weezy2736]

83. I've never used the ignore function until today.

I thought that if I could make it through the primaries, I could make it through anything.

Sadly, some of the comments here are too much to stomach.

[rndmprsn]

60. OMG...i am crushed! i had issues with Timmy, but OMG this is terrible

why do i feel like an old friend is gone...prolly cause i watched his show religiously for over 10 years...so fucking sad!

=[

[AndyA]

61. That's too bad.

I was often angered when Tim would fail to hold someone he was interviewing accountable for what they said. Once in particular, he had Dick Cheney on and Cheney flat out lied to Tim and the viewers. Instead of saying, "Well, we've got you on tape saying just the opposite. Roll the tape..." he let it go.

58 is way too young. He was pretty overweight, and likely had a stressful job. Time takes its toll.

RIP.

[papapi]

63. A sad loss. We will certainly miss him.

[KG]

66. too bad.

[Jeanette in FL]

67. Hard to comprehend

Sympathies to his family and friends. Very sad news to hear. 58 is way to young.

[babylonsister]

68. My condolences; he wasn't much older than I am. nt

[HughMoran]

71. Holy fucking crap - I'm watching it on MSNBC now

It was such an unusual headline, I initially didn't believe it!

[Liberal In Texas]

72. Same age as me. Scary. RIP.

[annabanana]

89. (ditto). . .n/t

[smoogatz]

73. Condolences to his family.

Fifty-eight is very young.

[Blackhatjack]

74. Makes you wonder if Timmy would have done things differently had he known he would die so young...

I never cared for Timmy's 'gotcha questions' and his arrogance which played to enable Bush, Cheney and the rest of the criminal cabal which took over the White House.

You have to wonder if the rest of the press corp will take his death to heart, and not wait until tomorrow to exercise their journalistic responsibilities. We all could be gone tomorrow, so we should make sure we do the right thing today.

[kath]

77. "journalistic responsibility"?? What the heck is that? Don'cha know that concept is as obsolete as

the freakin' Geneva Conventions? "Journalism" no longer exists -- all we've got is infotainment and the Corporate Propaganda Ministry. (and if we didn't have the blogosphere we'd be in REALLY deep shit)

[Blackhatjack]

85. Just because you decide not to adhere to them does not mean journalistic standards do not exist...

There is way too close a relationship between the government/party officials and the members of the so-called Press, and when you add in the easy money that goes to the members of the Press who 'toe the line' and fail to ask the important questions, you can clearly see that the Press has been totally undermined.

Even so, on any given day members of the PRess could wake up and start asking the important questions and demand answers to those questions.

It could happen....

[kath]

88. Good point - I sure wish it WOULD happen.

Not holding my breath, though. Mostly I feel like we are really, really screwn...

The blogosphere really helps though, since it is pointing out pretty vigorously just how bad things have gotten. Maybe their influence could lead to a resurgence of something at least approaching "journalism" in the "mainstream" press.

[tammywammy]

75. Very sad

My condolences to his family.

[cboy4]

76. I used to yell at the TV screen sometimes when he was

being rough with Democrats, but he'll definitely be missed.

He knew his politics, and I learned a lot from what he said -- not only on Sunday mornings, but during NBC Nightly News when he'd come on for analysis.

Really sad. Not even 60 years old.

[Sydnie]

78. OMG!!!

RIP Timmy.

[nashville_brook]

91. omg -- this is shocking. i'm so sorry for his family.

[Fox Mulder]

96. How many people in this counyry died today because they...

didn't have medical care? How many people died in an illegal war?

Tim Russert dying is horrible for his family, but there's more important issues to discuss right now. I don't know why the media halted because someone like him died.

[underseasurveyor]

101. wow i just got home from work, turned on the toob

and bam... headline; 'tim russert has died'

wow!