Farewell Mr. Buffalo

A tribute to Tim Russert

By: Amil Imani

Always remember, those kids shed their blood on the sidewalk there. They replaced the sidewalk, there's no sign left of it, but the memory lives on with you and it lives on with me.-John Siegenthaler

NBC news lost its franchise player and America lost one her franchise patriots and political "go to guys", Tim Russert, to a sudden heart failure on Friday, June 13, 2008, in NBC's Washington, D.C. studios while recording “voiceovers” for Meet the Press, and was pronounced dead later at Sibley Memorial Hospital.

Tim Russert was a man of conscience and integrity. His reporting was an immaculate guide to all of us who aspire to better the world around us by our commitment to truth. In addition to being an outstanding journalist, an outstanding leader and an outstanding interviewer, Tim Russert was also a very warm and decent man. His professionalism and manners combined with his enormous humanity and cheerful eyes, on the air and off the air were impeccable. It will be difficult for many to make it through the upcoming election without Tim Russert in it. Indeed, he made politics worth watching.