AndyO Blog

Tim Russert stopped by on Thursday. He's probably the most down-to-earth media people I've seen. He was a great speaker, funny, and self-deprecating. If you don't know Tim Russert, he is the host of NBC's "Meet the Press," the longest running show on TV.

Mr. Russert was there to promote his new book, "Wisdom of Our Fathers." I wasn't going to buy it, but after listening to him talk about why he wrote it, it sounded too good to pass up. It's basically a collection of letters that readers sent to him about their fathers, mostly in response to reading "Big Russ and Me," Russert's book about his own father.

Russert also commented on a few things, political and not:

• He thought that George Bush was much more cautious (less "Mission Accomplished) in his press conference about al-Zarqawi's death. He doesn't believe this will end the violence in Iraq.
• Iran is our biggest threat right now, in terms of the danger that it poses. It has troops that could attack our troops in Iraq. It is trying to manufacturer nuclear weapons.
• He thinks that Blogs are interesting but that they aren't scrutinized the way print journalism is. People can say whatever they want, basically.
• He reads 7 or 8 newspapers a day.
• His favorite "Meet the Press" moment was when Ross Perot stopped in. Russert said, "You've identified the deficit as a big problem. Now what's your plan?" Perot looked at him as if he didn't understand, and tried to duck the question. Russert persisted, "You're running for President of the United States, what is your plan for the deficit?" Perot said, "If I'd known you were going to ask me trick questions, I wouldn't have come on your show."
• He hired Katie Couric.