Tim Russert died this afternoon in DC at the age of 58. Honestly I'd never known who he was until the 2000 election. When the state of Florida toggled back and forth between Al Gore and George W, Tim remained our constant. I was like, who is this guy? All the other networks had expensive FX on the screen with a map of the United States and a ton of blue and red numbers. But there on NBC was this guy Tim Russert and a whiteboard that was probably picked up at Staples before he got to the studio. I watched him until 4 AM as he explained the electoral college math and what it would take for each candidate to become President of the United States. I was fascinated. Of course, the state of Florida eventually landed in President Bush's hands, but for those few hours in the middle of the night it could have gone either way. And Mr. Russert was the one who helped us understand. I went on to do my thesis paper on the electoral college. And Tim Russert had a lot to do with that. I'll always remember Tim...and his whiteboard. Thanks Tim for making politics make sense.
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