Tim Russert

Tim Russert, NBC Washington, DC bureau chief, and long-time moderator of Meet The Press, has died.

Tim Russert always seemed to me the amazing combination of tough questioner --inside man of the press-- and common man, with whom you would want to have a beer.

But Mr. Russert was obviously not a common man, considering his skills, the accolades being given him, and the prominence to which he rose.

Sunday mornings at 10:30 when Meet the Press aired here in DC, my 82 year-young mother would brook no interruption while 'her Tim' was analyzing the news, and especially politics, for her.

It's too young a death that has been unfair to Tim Russert, and his family ... and to us.

Big Tim, this beer's for you.

[Read this appreciation from Peggy Noonan, who was Ronald Reagan's speechwriter.]