If It's Sunday . . . I'll Be In Mourning

Being the children of a political and news junkie, my kids have been raised knowing the rest of the phrase, "If it's Sunday . . ."

I'd wait, expectantly for them to add, as they always would, ". . . it's Meet the Press with Tim Russert."

Tim Russert and his fantastic Sunday program have been a staple in our household. When we'd miss the live airing of his gold standard political talk show, we'd listen to the radio broadcast of it on a local radio station on our way home from church, me shushing the kids because I wanted to hear Russert's smart, well researched inquiries.

During times when political news was hot, it became sport for the kids and I to gauge how tired Russert was (his eyebrows would arch more than normal if he was fatigued) because, workhorse that he was, he'd typically be up late into the night parsing politics and would be back on the air the next morning with fresh observations.

My kids knew him the way they know members of the Boston Red Sox.

And now he's gone, suddenly and unexpectedly. I'm heartbroken.

When my kids comb through their memories of the 2008 presidential election, I hope they'll remember Tim Russert, the guy who was clever, incisive and had the demeanor of a regular guy amidst all the cynical blowhards in Washington, D.C. He was a genuine, American treasure.

UPDATE: I expounded upon what we've lost with the passing of Tim Russert in this column.

Image credit: NBC/Getty Images.