The Washington pundit world divides into roughly two kinds of people: those interested in themselves first, issues second, and other people, if at all, a distant third. The second, much smaller group is made up of people like Tim Russert, who reversed that order.
I don’t typically get nervous before doing a television show, but I was quite anxious about my first appearance on Meet the Press. I had long admired Russert and, like virtually everyone who watched the show, found him incredibly intimidating. I told this to Tim’s executive producer, Betsy Fischer. When I arrived, Tim greeted me warmly and engaged me in a 20-minute conversation, mostly about football and family. I assumed that Betsy had told him about my nerves, and that he had gone out of his way to make me comfortable, so I asked her about it. She had said nothing. It was just Tim being Tim.
After each show that features a political roundtable, Russert would sit with his guests for a catered breakfast. We chatted briefly about the show and politics, but spent most of the time talking about things that matter more–football and family.
Four years later, this past January, I was traveling with the McCain campaign in Florida when Betsy called last-minute to see if I could do Tim’s cable show. I was on my way to the studio when I realized I didn’t have a tie. I called one of the other panelists, Politico‘s Jonathan Martin, to see if he had an extra. He only had one. Not a big deal, I thought, it’s cable.
Martin arrived in something of a panic. He had dropped his tie as he was exiting the cab that had brought him to the studio. I told him not to worry–“It’s cable.”
“It’s Tim Russert,” he responded. “You wear a tie for Russert.”
NBC’s political director, Chuck Todd, walked in as we were getting makeup. Tim followed moments later. I explained that I didn’t have a tie because I was irresponsible and Martin didn’t have a tie because of bad luck. Russert, who has made a living making guests on his show uncomfortable, went out of his way to make us feel comfortable.
“None of us will wear one,” he said. “It’s cable.”
Stephen F. Hayes is a senior writer at THE WEEKLY STANDARD.
