Two events happened today that impinge on what I'm about to write. First, I had an annual medical exam where I received preliminary news that I'm in good health — something we all hope to hear from our physicians. Second, I spent a few minutes reviewing today's Google Alert news for search word "Boomers" and read a typical derogatory blog opinion about this generation.
Then the third event of Friday the 13th put the other two events in harsh, ironic context. Tim Russert died at 58 from a heart attack.
NBC News' Washington Bureau Chief and moderator of "Meet the Press," Tim Russert was, as his colleague Tom Brokaw said, "one of the premier political analysts and journalists of his time."
Just this year TIME magazine recognized him as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. He wrote two New York Times bestselling books about fatherhood, including a loving tribute to his father, "Big Russ." He won an Emmy for his role in the coverage of the funeral of President Ronald Reagan. His interviews with George W. Bush and Al Gore won the Radio and Television Correspondents' highest award.
What won't be discussed elsewhere are two dots I'm about to connect: Tim Russert was a Leading-Edge Boomer. He represented the best qualities of a generation that came of age during the politically turbulent sixties and seventies.
Among the roughly half-million Boomers who actually attended the Woodstock Festival in 1969, Tim and his buddies endured the crowds, mud and sanitary inconveniences to finally hear Jimi Hendrix play his legendary rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner," an improvisation many regard as the single best musical metaphor for the sixties.
After graduating from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, he went into politics in 1976 as a staff member for the Senate campaign of Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-N.Y., and in 1982 he helped Mario Cuomo get elected as governor of New York. He joined the NBC News team in 1984, where his talents as a news reporter and skilled interviewer grew with his reputation.
Tim Russert reflected the best values of a generation. He was inquisitive and persistent with his predictable questioning of authority. He entered politics at a young age, choosing to join the fray with all the zeal and idealism we associate with the time when Boomers came of age.
He was an intellectual and learned everything he could about the views of his guests on "Meet the Press" so that he could probe for and uncover the truth behind their political facades. He had a thirst for insights that gave him the competitive edge. Although a Democrat early in his career, he did not wear his personal politics on his sleeve and invited the ideas of those with opinions different from his own.
What appealed to me most about Tim was the love he expressed for his father through his books. "Big Russ & Me" provides a metaphor for all Boomers' fathers in many ways. The historical conflicts between The Greatest Generation and Boomers over Vietnam and other major social/political issues further concluded peacefully with this tribute from a son to his father.
Fatherhood was also central to who he was. As reported by NBC News, "In 1995, the National Father's Day Committee named him 'Father of the Year,' Parents magazine honored him as 'Dream Dad' in 1998, and in 2001 the National Fatherhood Initiative also recognized him as Father of the Year."
So Tim Russert has finished his inquisitive journey. He was one of the finest news reporters and television interviewers of a generation. He was strong and secure when challenging powerful people and their ideas. He was a thoughtful man who cared as much about his family as he did his craft. He was an idealist, an optimist and an independent thinker.
Tim Russert was also my age. On the day I receive an "all-clear" from my doctor, he dies of an unexpected heart attack. On a day when I read yet another insulting blogger's opinion of Boomers — how self-absorbed we allegedly are — a man who has demonstrated our collective engagement, fervor and passion for truth, passes away in a blink.
Critics of this generation are often quick to point accusing fingers at Bill Clinton or George W. Bush as personification of our foibles. No generation can be reduced to a few high-profile representatives, but to those who must simplify the character of 78 million individuals, I suggest you stop a moment to consider a noble journalist's life, and then bid farewell to Tim Russert. He was also a Boomer.
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