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After a week of traveling, I finally finished "The Clinton Tapes," Taylor Branch's book of interviews with Bill Clinton. So better late than never, I hope, I'm going to wrap up my experiment with the blog-review. Tell me if it worked in comments, below. I had a nagging question about whether I should write about the book again, though, and it wasn't laziness; it's that most everything I found remarkable in the second half of the book closely matched my first two blog posts. But that's a story in itself. "The Clinton Tapes" makes clear that from start to finish,...

Politics: The senator who called the president a liar and never apologized may have worn out his welcome in his home state. Harry Reid may be riding the liberal agenda into political oblivion.In 2004, Republicans defeated Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle largely on the theme that he neglected his home state in favor of national party interests. The GOP is hoping that in 2010 lightning will strike a second time, and Nevada polls indicate it may be more than wishful thinking. In 1998, Reid beat John Ensign by a hair-thin 428 votes. Ensign would go on to win Nevada's other...

As the curtain closes on the presidency of George W. Bush, the one loose end dangling is the pardon of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. In 2007 Mr. Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, was convicted for perjury and obstruction of justice. Let us be clear about the Bush legacy. After September 11, not a year into Mr. Bush's term, his became a war presidency. George Bush's place in history will turn on what becomes of Iraq and al Qaeda. If Iraq fails, history will mark down the Bush presidency. If by fits and starts Iraq grows into the...

<p>NEW YORK — NBC News reporter Luke Russert said he made a "dumb" misstatement on the "Today" show Wednesday when he suggested that smart people supported Barack Obama for president.</p> <p>Almost immediately, Russert took a hazing in the Web world. Wrote Tim Graham of the conservative Media Research Center on the NewsBusters blog: "Out of the mouths of young, untrained reporters come the unspoken beliefs of the liberal media."</p>

Tim Russert was an American. I'm not using the term in its patriotic sense, although he certainly was not just a patriot but an unabashed one at that. No, Tim Russert was an American in that very particular fashion that makes Americans the most distinctive breed of humans on the planet. He was an American in precisely the cultural sense that causes European elites -- and all too frequently our own -- to grind their teeth and look down their noses with such haughty disdain at the one population on earth composed of the entire world's rejects, refugees and descendants...

NBC anchor Brian Williams will be the first to fill in for Tim Russert as the host for "Meet the Press" this Sunday, the network said today. Russert died suddenly last week of cardiac arrest. After Williams, several different NBC news personalities are expected to rotate as the host of the Sunday morning interview show until a permanent replacement is named - sometime later this year or early next.

Tim Russert / Archbishop George Niederauer Washington DC, Jun 18, 2008 / 04:11 am (CNA).- Archbishop George H. Niederauer of San Francisco, chairman of the U.S. bishops' Communications Committee, the late Tim Russert on Tuesday for his devotion to his Catholic faith, family, work as a journalist and his work with Catholic charities."Russert was valued by Americans for his tremendous command of the political and electoral process and his commitment to discovering each aspect of the story that contributed to people having a better awareness of the issues of public life and candidates for political office," Archbishop Niederauer said....

I'm not sure why everyone is so surprised that the media elevates one of their own--who did an okay job, but nothing heroic--to hero status. The minute I heard, on Friday, that "Meet The Press" host Tim Russert died, I knew that we would be in for non-stop, around-the-clock, overboard coverage.

If the truth be told (and I’m about to tell you the truth based on an encounter I had last year), the late great Tim Russert scared the established politicos to death. Amidst the accolades coming from the Republican and Democratic leaders following his heart attack on Friday, the fact is that Russert was the toughest interrogator in the media. He was a modern-day Howard Cosell (without the bravado), and for the top brass, he was too intimidating. Ever wonder why Russert was never asked to be the moderator of the presidential debates? I wondered the same question, and luckily,...

There are many things that could be said about Tim Russert’s sudden and unexpected death last Friday. He was trained in law and upon graduation went to work in politics, first for Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan and later for Governor Mario Cuomo. His career spanned 24 years at NBC News Washington Bureau, becoming its Bureau Chief in 1988. He will be remembered as host of Meet the Press, where he interviewed Heads of State with thoroughness and skill. Although he possessed a politically leftist slant, Russert’s interviews seemed fair regardless of his guest’s party affiliation. As most liberal journalists go,...

Commentary Editor's Note: During the next week, RFFM.org will do a series of columns on the state of journalism in America today. We will look into the failures of the dominant media and the lack of adherence to journalistic integrity on the Internet. The profession of journalism truly lost one of its most distinguished representatives with the sudden death of Tim Russert. The host of NBC's Meet The Press had developed into one of the best interviewers in the dominant media and the profession cannot afford to lose such individuals who ply their trade with dignity and pride. However, the...

TV will be turned to a different channel this weekend.

President & Mrs. Bush met today with Pope Benedict XVI at The Vatican. The pope treated the president to a rare tour of the Vatican Gardens, a spot where popes pray privately and only special guests are allowed to stroll. First Lady Laura Bush toured the Mattei Palace in Rome and met there with students in the American Study Center. The first couple then boarded Air Force One and traveled to Paris, France. During the flight, Mrs. Bush participated in a rare press gaggle with reporters on the plane. “Hey everybody, how are you all? Good to see you.” (Transcript)...

Commentary OK. I'll acknowledge this. Tim Russert, the host of NBC's Meet the Press, has developed into a good journalist. But just a few years ago, it would be easy to say Russert's roots were showing and I'm not talking about hair color. You see, before suddenly becoming a journalist, Tim Russert worked as a political hack for the Democratic Party. Russert was a former counselor to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and New York Governor Mario Cuomo after that, before being hired by NBC in 1984. It's clear to anyone who watches Russert today he has come a long way....

Video here.

If Hillary Clinton's latest gambit--floating Obama as her VP--had been a play rather than a ploy, and the Today crew the theater critics, they would have left at intermission to begin penning a blistering pan. Interviewing Tim Russert, Matt Lauer kicked off the kicking around of Hillary's idea. MATT LAUER: Let's talk about this idea. Is it being floated seriously? Is this light-hearted, and who's behind it? TIM RUSSERT: Well the Clintons are behind it, and New York Daily News columnist Michael Goodwin said today that he talked to a Clintonista who said it's an attempt to belittle Barack Obama,...

Tim Russert: "Will you run in 2008?" Hillary Clinton: "I have no plans to run for president"--NBC's "Meet the Press," 9/15/02 Really? According to a prominent supporter and Arkansan who's known her a long time, Hillary's apparently always had her sights set on the Oval Office. Retired General Wesley Clark, a member of Team Hillary, appeared on today's Morning Joe and had this exchange with host Joe Scarborough. View video here.

Tim Russert isn't practicing his Christmas tree-ornament hanging technique. The Meet the Press host is demonstrating how John McCain is dangling the VP slot to Mike Huckabee. And Huck seems as transfixed as a hound before a bone, judging by the way he's staying in the race against all odds and spending his time taking shots at Mitt Romney. Russert was a guest during the 7 AM half-hour of Morning Joe. View video here.

"Bedford, NH, January 7, 2008: John and Elizabeth Edwards attended a house party at the home of Peter and Joanne Smith, in Bedford, NH. They were joined by actors Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins and James Denton. Also joining them at the house party were Hilda, Grigort and Bedig Sarkisyan, the family of Nataline Sarkisyan, the 17 year old who died as a result of being denied a liver transplant by Cigma, a health insurance company. John Edwards answered questions from voters and media."

You don't suppose NewsBusters has become Matt Lauer's guilty pleasure; one having a salubrious effect on his thinking? The Today co-anchor this morning suggested an MSM double-standard on the Dem and GOP races and acknowledged the success of the surge. Matt's guest on Today was Tim Russert, impressively fresh after red-eyeing to NYC after moderating last night's Nevada debate. Lauer, after playing clips of the candidates' take on Iraq, suggested that the war is no longer the winning issue the Dems once thought it was. MATT LAUER: How much of a tightrope are they walking with the apparent success of...

~excerpt~ MR. RUSSERT: You say you've been deeply involved in the eight years of the Clinton administration. One of the powers given to a president is the power of pardon. At the end of the president's second term, he granted 140 pardons, including one to Marc Rich, someone who had been convicted of tax evasion, fraud and making illegal oil deals with Iran. Were you involved in that pardon? SEN. CLINTON: No. I didn't know anything about that. MR. RUSSERT: No one talked to you whatsoever? SEN. CLINTON: No. No. Unh-unh. MR. RUSSERT: His ex-wife gave $109,000 to your campaign....

Hillary Clinton, infamous for her refusal to face tough media interviewers, is boycotting the news program hosted by the toughest questioner of all: NBC's Tim Russert. In a panel discussion with political consultant Mike Murphy during Sunday's "Meet The Press," Russert revealed that Clinton is ducking an appearance on his show. Said Russert: "Last week we had Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee on 'Meet the Press.' This week we had John McCain. We invited Senator Clinton, she declined our invitation. Doing very few media interviews. I am told she might be doing 'Access Hollywood' on Monday." Murphy commented: "Yeah, I...

If things don't work out for Hillary with this presidential thing, she can always do stand-up comedy out in LA. Or not. If you didn't catch her side-splitter on last night's Letterman, you can view it here, as rebroadcast on MSNBC this morning. For those taking nitrates who might not want to risk a sudden drop in blood pressure by watching the clip, here's the text of Hillary's rib tickler: Dave has been off the air for eight long weeks because of the writers' strike. Tonight he's back. Oh well. All good things come to an end. Hillary, stop. You're...

Paul looked miserable at times and sounded worse. This was not a good appearance for Dr. Paul, the NBC appearance was not kind. Paul was forced to say that he would vote against the Civil Rights Act of 1964 if it were brought up for a vote again today. It was pointed out that he deemed Ronald Reagan "a dramatic failure." And his answer on the Civil War was mind blowing. He said that Abraham Lincoln made a mistake by going to war to free the slaves and his plan would have been to "buy the slaves and free them."

Talk about damned-if-you-do . . . On this morning's Today show, Matt Lauer discussed with Tim Russert the Middle East peace conference that began today. After years of MSM criticism of President Bush for not getting more involved in the Israeli-Palestinian situation, how does Lauer react when the president undertakes an historic initiative bringing together leaders of all the area's countries for the first time? You guessed it. View video here.

Fred Thompson took his acid bath this morning on Meet the Press. Measured by the traditional standards of Sunday morning political theater, it was an uneven performance. Fred did well on international affairs and "stumbled" on domestic policy. His answer on abortion in particular will come as an uncomfortable revelation to some of his more conservative supporters. I have a team of Jesuits attempting to unravel the yarn-balled logic of Fred's rambling answer, but it appears to boil down to this: "I'm 100 percent pro-life and have voted 100 percent pro-life. I hope one day Roe will be overturned and...

Those expecting to see a train wreck this morning when Fred Thompson appeared on "Meet the Press" must have come away disappointed. Though Tim Russert was his usual aggressive self, Thompson held his own and committed no gaffes of the sort that have plagued his campaign for the past two months. Yet that Thompson's performance on "Meet" — much like his debate debut last month — was one in which merely getting through without making any major errors is seen as tantamount to success says much about the diminished expectations for the candidate once seen as the cure to GOP...

A look at the Sunday morning chat circuit ... Former Sen. Fred Thompson visits NBC's "Meet the Press." Of special note, the program is reaching its 60th anniversary. It debuted on Nov. 20, 1947, and is the world's longest-running TV program. It airs at 9 a.m. on WESH-Channel 2. Former President George H.W. Bush will talk to "Fox News Sunday." It airs at 9 a.m. on WOFL-Channel 35. Sen Joseph Biden will take questions on CBS' "Face the Nation." It airs at 10:30 a.m. on WKMG-Channel 6. Another guest will be Mark Penn, who is a strategist for Sen. Hillary...

(Don't even THINK of reading this DUFU edition before VOTING by clicking HERE. It only takes a couple of seconds to vote in this 2007 Weblog Awards Contest and you can vote once per day until Thursday. If you only see an orange color in the circle after clicking it, then click again. You will know that your vote has registered when you see the vote totals results come up.) As we saw a little over a month ago when William Rivers Pitt performed a DUmmie GRANDSTAND, the Magic Man is continuing to pander to Hillary as you can...

Former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) will undergo a presidential campaign rite of passage fraught with both peril and potential positives when he appears this Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” Thompson has appeared on Tim Russert’s famed Sunday morning news show nine times, his campaign said, but this will be his first time as a candidate. Karen Hanretty, a spokeswoman for Thompson, said the ex-senator is grateful for the chance to expand on some issues that warrant more time than debate formats allow for. “Fred Thompson is a thoughtful candidate who has said many times that debates and 30-second sound...

Hillary Clinton Another highlight from that conference call with Hillary strategist Mark Penn: One caller from Oklahoma City said that "the questions ... were designed to incite a brawl," and that Russert's and Brian William's moderating was "an abdication of journalistic responsibility." Another said Russert "should be shot," before quickly adding that she shouldn't say that on a conference call. Penn and Mantz said they were hearing a lot of the same sentiment from other supporters, but they do not plan to engage the media or the debate's moderators...

Hillary Clinton’s top advisers charge that the presidential candidate was unfairly targeted by moderator Tim Russert during Tuesday night’s Democratic debate in Philadelphia. Russert asked Clinton a number of tough questions during the MSNBC-sponsored debate, including one on Social Security and another on the release of documents from the Bill Clinton administration, as she sought to fend off attacks from her Democratic rivals. Mark Penn, Clinton’s senior strategist, said: “Russert made it appear that President Clinton had done something new or unusual� in regard to the release of documents. “I think there will be further clarification.� Penn and Jonathan Mantz,...

Honeymoon? Forget about it. The morning after his announcement, "Today" wasted no time in going after Fred Thompson. Like a Las Vegas bride with a bad hangover, Meredith Vieira seemed particularly grumpy. At 7:05 a.m. EDT, the "Today" co-anchor interviewed Tim Russert. MEREDITH VIEIRA: The other candidates are out debating last night, and he's on Leno, he's yukking it up announcing that he's running for president as if it is a punch line. Was that a smart thing for him to do? By her acerbic tone, Vieira left no doubt that, in her mind, it wasn't. Russert suggested that Thompson...

Brian Williams and Tim Russert made it sound like John Warner, "one of the president's strongest allies on the War in Iraq", has now changed his stance and wants to bring the troops home. John Warner sold the president up the river long ago. For the NBC talking heads to claim this is a new, dramatic shift, is an outragous lie and they need to be called on it. I don't believe I have every witnessed a more blatant collection of lies.

‘Meet the Press’ Demonstrates How Terrible an Unbalanced Panel Can Be Posted by Noel Sheppard on June 24, 2007 - 14:58. On June 3, NBC’s “Meet the Press” marvelously demonstrated how wonderful a panel discussion can be when there are an equal number of liberal and conservative pundits present as reported by NewsBusters here.Three weeks later, host Tim Russert stocked his panel exclusively with liberals: David Broder of The Washington Post, John Harwood of The Wall Street Journal and CNBC, Gwen Ifill of PBS’ Washington Week, and syndicated columnist Roger Simon. As a result of there not being one conservative...

A quick hit this morning, as I'm on the road . . . Question for our readers, astute observers of the political scene that they are. You read the news this morning, and see a report on the latest presidential poll. John McCain has lost over 1/3rd of his support. What's the first thing that pops into your mind? OK, the headline here is a hint, but isn't it obvious that McCain's pro-amnesty stance has hurt him badly among Republican voters? Well, apparently not so obvious to Tim Russert. Here's how it went on this morning's "Today." NBC WASHINGTON BUREAU...

The western world has had to deal with violent jihad by Muslims for more than a thousand years. After the defeats of Muslim armies in Spain centuries earlier, and of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, the west largely relaxed regarding that particular threat. The combination of billions of petrodollars with the acquisition and near acquisition of weapons of mass destruction (including nuclear weapons) together with the atrocity of September 11 completely changed the equation and the rules. It is a fact of life that grownups have to deal with the potential of these threats – and also deal...

NEW YORK Denis Collins, the juror in the Libby/CIA leak case who delivered a post-verdict commentary for the press, spent about a decade at The Washington Post. Today, after a night on cable TV shows, he re-appears with a massive recounting of his experience at the Huffington Post blog. His story is billed as "INSIDE THE JURY ROOM: WHAT THE JURY THOUGHT, DAY BY DAY, WITNESS BY WITNESS, AT THE SCOOTER LIBBY TRIAL" by Denis Collins, Juror #9. It calls it "unedited" impressions, memories and facts. Other jurors' names are changed. The New York Times today reports that he is...

Meredith Vieira [file photo] was in a light-hearted mood at the top of this morning's "Today," joshing with substitute co-host Ann Curry about the estrogen on the set, even offering to leave her husband for the winner of the Powerball lottery. But we shouldn't have let the idle chatter fool us. When it came to discussing the repercussions of the Libby conviction, Meredith's leopard-skinned blouse should have been a clue -- because she pounced. Discussing the trial with NBC host turned star prosecution witness Tim Russert [file photo], Meredith displayed on screen and read this quotation from Republican strategist...

It's a bit early for a Passover Seder, but Tim Russert had his own version of the Four Questions on this morning's Meet the Press. Not once, not twice, but four times Tim Russert put questions to Jack Murtha clearly designed to provoke the anti-war congressman into taking a verbal swing at Vice-President Cheney. Murtha refused to rise to his host's bait. Russert began by displaying Mr. Cheney's recent statement [displayed below]. Palpably fishing for a big headline, he put this provoking question to Murtha:"How does it feel to be linked with Al-Qaeda by the Vice-President?"View video clip of Russert's...

A Democratic senator has just announced his presidential candidacy. On the next morning's "Fox & Friends," a Fox News reporter who recently denied that Fox has any conservative leanings or that Sean Hannity is a conservative narrates a segment on the announcement. To analyze the news, she plays clips of someone from the National Review and then a writer from Weekly Standard. Host Brian Kilmeade follows, schmoozing over the senator's prospects with a former senior aide to a conservative Republican governor. Total lack of balance! Couldn't Fox News have found at least one Democrat to discuss a Democrat's candidacy?...

When it came time to pass an anti-war resolution, the Democrats were no better than a bunch of timid pre-teens on Halloween. That was the view Matt Lauer expressed in a colloquy with Tim Russert on this morning's "Today." Lauer: "The Democrats in the Senate failed to pass this vote so they could even debate this Iraq strategy and there's even some who are talking about possibly bringing up the idea of revoking the 2002 authorization to go to war. If they can't pass a kind of symbolic vote, how do they ever have the kind of strength to do...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer leaked the identity of a CIA operative to Washington Post reporter Walter Pincus during a 2003 phone call, Pincus testified Monday as the first defense witness in the CIA leak trial. Pincus was one of the first reporters to learn the identity of Valerie Plame, the wife of former ambassador and prominent Iraq war critic Joseph Wilson. Pincus said he learned her identity July 12, 2003 but did not immediately write about it. Plame was outed by syndicated columnist Robert Novak two days later. Pincus testified on behalf of Vice...

NY Times Iraq Reporter Corrects Russert: 'American Troops Were Greeted as Liberators' Posted by Brent Baker on February 5, 2007 - 15:39. Reminded by Tim Russert on Russert's Saturday night CNBC show, about how Vice President Cheney predicted U.S. troops would be welcomed as “liberators” by the Iraqi people, New York Times Iraq reporter John Burns corrected Russert's presumption that Cheney was misguided: “The American troops were greeted as liberators. We saw it. It lasted very briefly, it was exhausted quickly by the looting.” Burns added: “I think that the instincts that led to much that went wrong were good...

WASHINGTON -- A jury that includes four critics of the Bush administration's Iraq policies was seated Monday to try former White House aide "Scooter" Libby on charges of lying about what he told reporters concerning the wife of a prominent war opponent. The jury of nine women and three men was seated after a nearly hourlong court session that was as silent as a professional chess match. Prosecutors and defense attorneys consulted in whispers, then handed papers to the clerk to exercise their 20 unexplained strikes of potential jurors. The only sound was the clerk reading the number of each...

Former vice presidential chief of staff Lewis "Scooter" Libby is finally going on trial - after three years of investigations by a run-amok prosecutor, costing millions of taxpayer dollars - for a case in which, it is now conceded, no crime was committed. And that's the important point to remember, as a who's who of prominent witnesses - including "Meet the Press" host Tim Russert and even Vice President Dick Cheney - testifies at the trial. To repeat: The crime that was ostensibly under investigation never occurred. Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald had set out to uncover who leaked FBI agent...

WASHINGTON — Some journalists who made careers out of questioning government officials and bearing witness to history may soon find themselves answering questions from prosecutors as key witnesses in the CIA leak case. Ten or more reporters from some of the most prominent news organizations could be called to testify in the perjury and obstruction case of former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. It's rare enough for reporters to become witnesses. But the Libby case is even more unusual because journalists will be dueling witnesses -- some called by the defense team, some by prosecutors. "It will be...

Was it just good-natured joshing, or did some MSM elitism creep into Matt Lauer's interview-ending question to Tim Russert on this morning's "Today"? "What's up for the New Year for you? Same thing as usual: keg of Old Milwaukee and a noise-maker?"What's this? Condescension to Russert's blue-collar image leavened with a touch of drunken-Irishman humor? The camera crew burst into guffaws, but check the video - was Russert's laugh a bit more strained? Matt and Dutch-born wife, former-model Annette Roque, might be well be staying in for New Year's, the couple recently having welcomed son Thijs into the world. But...

Russert and Scarborough Merrily Bash Bush Over ISG Report Posted by Noel Sheppard on December 7, 2006 - 13:57. Wednesday, December 6, 2006, will certainly go down in history as the day the media used the release of a bipartisan report on the Iraq war as a way to thoroughly lambaste the president of the United States. Though this wasn’t surprising, the glee on the faces of those reporting what should have been bad news was quite striking.For those that were interested in seeing such a merry bashing, MSNBC’s “Scarborough Country” was certainly the place (video available here, hat tip...