A collection of thoughts from around the web. Ezra Klein:
Because I think folks should be remembered for their best work, here’s a transcript of his September 2002 interview with Dick Cheney. If the press had been as skeptical and aggressive in the run-up to the war as Russert was on that morning, sitting next to the vice president, we never would have invaded Iraq … Presumably, he’s up somewhere beyond the cloudline, hectoring God about His inconsistencies. "But Lord, in Exodus 6:12, you clearly said…"
He was a fixture of Beltway political journalism, good on the entitlement crisis, and by all accounts, a good-humored guy. One small personal experience: When I was a lowly videotape library aide at NBC News in 1992, I sent him a critique of the information-gathering system–and he was kind enough to send a reply. R.I.P.
Russert was, without question, the single most influential political journalist working in Washington. His show — known to insiders as simply "MTP" — was not only the most watched of the Sunday news programs but also the one that every politician and journalist aspired to appear on.
An unbelievable shock; this city will all but shut down over the next few days, so vital was he to its voice.
(Photo: Matt May/Getty.)
The Dish 