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 RUSH: On June 10th, 2004, Tim Russert called in. We talked to him for the whole hour on the program about his book, his then-upcoming book on his father, Big Russ, and I want to play these bites. The first is about ten minutes total, and I wanted to play these sound bites to give you a flavor for Tim Russert off the air; Tim Russert, the guy on that he was. We talked a little bit about politics, too, and in these bites you'll hear one of the reasons why Tim Russert was loved and respected by all, in terms of politics. He was a liberal, and he was a Democrat, but he was a student of politics, and he loved it, and he actually respected the people in it. He didn't look at them as suspects. Now, I was watching MSNBC coverage over the weekend some. I'd just tuned in to see what are they doing now, and they would go get clips from Tim and his past work.
For example, they'd get a clip of Russert interviewing McCain, with McCain saying he doesn't know anything about economics. They clearly, after five o'clock on Friday, the coverage of Tim Russert's death ceased to be about Tim and it became about the media. I'm not talking about Meet the Press yesterday, because I didn't see it. I'm strictly talking about the cable gang. We played for you the clip from Chris Matthews trying to blame Bush and the Iraq war and lying to Tim Russert in order to get the war started and prosecuted. I told Snerdley when we were leaving here Friday, I said, "Watch. It's not going to be long before somebody on that network," and I predicted somebody other than Matthews, "is going to blame Bush for Russert's death for lying to him and causing all kinds of stress in the journalist community and this sort of thing," and Chris Matthews got pretty damn close to fulfilling my prediction on Friday night. So here's the first of the two bites. Again, this was June 10th of 2004.
BEGIN INTERVIEW EXCERPT
RUSH: You know, Tim, before you appeared at one o'clock today I was telling the audience of the dinner we had at Shula's Steak House down here at PGA when you were telling me about this book and we shared stories about fathers and parents and you were really excited about doing this book. You were down there with (Russert's son) Luke, something about golf lessons, I think, for him.
TIM RUSSERT: Yes.
RUSH: And I've read the book, and you tell a story about you went back home after achieving a level of success and you wanted to buy your dad a car.
TIM RUSSERT: (laughing) It was my dad's 75th birthday, Rush, and I sent Big Russ a catalog, a Lexus catalog, a Mercedes catalog and a Cadillac catalog, and [a note], "Dad, as you would say, 'top shelf.' You've never had a new car. You always had used cars, or I guess they call them 'pre-owned' now." And I flew home to Buffalo for Thanksgiving, and I said, "Well, let's go get it." He said, "Get in the car. Let's go." He drove two blocks, and all of a sudden we pulled in the driveway and there's a big sign, Jack Adkins Ford. I said, "What is this?" and a guy appeared in the doorway in a Buffalo Bills windbreaker. He said, "There's Charlie. Hey, Charlie, here's the kid. Show him the car."
RUSH: (laughing)
TIM RUSSERT: We walked into the showroom, and there it is, a black Ford Crown Victoria. I said, "Dad, it's a cop car," and Big Russ said, "Charlie, show him that truck. Look at that. You can put a case of beer and a suitcase in there. Charlie, show him the spare. That's not a doughnut. That's a real spare." So we got in the car, we drove it off the lot, and we're heading home and I said, "Dad, I have to ask you. You could have had a Lexus or a Mercedes. Why a Crown Vic?" He pulled over the side of the road and put the car in park, which is a big deal for Big Russ to stop driving. He said, "I beat those guys in the war. I don't want a Lexus or a Mercedes." I said, "Oh. Okay. How about a Cadillac?" He said, "You want me to drive home to our neighborhood in a big spanking new Cadillac, and the neighbors say, 'Ah, Big Russ' kid made it on NBC and now he's showing off.'" He said, "That's not who I am. I'm a Ford Crown Vic guy." Even in receiving a gift, Rush, he was teaching me a lesson.
RUSH: Well, the reason that story resonated -- and I don't mean to intrude on your story, but something similar happened to me. When I could finally do it, I bought my mom and dad a new car. They wanted a Ford Taurus --
TIM RUSSERT: (laughing) You're kidding? |
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RUSH -- and so I got 'em one. It was the happiest day of their lives. They could never believe anybody would do something like this, and later on I wanted to get my mom a bigger car, and I tried to get her a Lincoln Town Car -- and I did. I insisted on it for safety. She didn't want it. She wanted a Taurus for much the same kind of reasons that you've described with your father here. You know, they were a unique generation of people. They had to grow up a lot sooner than their kids did and they had to learn there were things bigger than themselves a lot sooner that I did or than most of my generation did. I actually studied and paid attention to them as they were bringing me up in case I ever had to do it myself.
 TIM RUSSERT: You know the operating thesis of my book is: The older I get the smarter my father seems to get, and here's somebody who grew up in the Depression, left school in the tenth grade to go fight in World War II, was involved in a terrible plane crash, B-24 Liberator, six months in the hospital, then came home and started a second mission. He worked two full-time jobs as a sanitation man and a truck driver, and he never whined and he never complained. He would say, "Put your nose to the grindstone and hope for the best," and to him, work ethic, hard work and optimism, they were the two stools that he stood on all through his life.
RUSH: Now, is this book a tribute to him or is there a reason you want people to read this, other than your dad? I mean, obviously you want people to read it, but what do you hope people take away from it?
TIM RUSSERT: I understand. It's an affirmation of his life, but it's more than that. I call it Big Russ and Me: Father and Son, Lessons of Life, because of all the lessons that my dad taught me -- about hard work, about discipline, about preparation, about faith, about accountability, about responsibility -- those are just as applicable now as they were to me in the '50s and '60s. I have a son, as you mentioned, 18 years old. After I wrote the book, Rush, I reread it and I realized I had written it as much for my son as for my dad, and so I added a new chapter: an open letter from my son who goes out to college in the fall, because Luke's life is different than mine. He's growing up in Washington with more opportunity and more privilege, more access, but I say in the book, "Luke, as Grandpa would say, 'The world doesn't owe you a favor,' or put it this way, 'You're always, always loved, but you're never, ever entitled,'" and that's the thesis of the book, that in this country the son of a garbage man can sit and interview George W. Bush in the Oval Office. It's all reachable; it's all doable. But there's no shortcuts. It's hard work, preparation, discipline, accountability. When my dad retired from his first job, Rush, I drove him to turn in his pension papers and the clerk said, "Mr. Russert, you have 200 sick days." I said, "Dad, 200 sick days. Why didn't you take 'em?" He said "'Cause I wasn't sick," and that's who he was.
RUSH: Now they're mandatory.
TIM RUSSERT: Exactly! Rush, these guys survived the Depression, won World War II, and came home and built the greatest middle class in the history of mankind.
END INTERVIEW EXCERPT
RUSH: Tim Russert, June 10th, 2004. We busted up this bite just to avoid going ten minutes in total length, but here's the second portion from the interview.
BEGIN INTERVIEW EXCERPT
RUSH: We are back with Little Russ -- the son of Big Russ -- Tim Russert, and his book about his father. Say, Tim, you mentioned Luke, and I had to abbreviate the question prior to the end of the segment because there wasn't enough time to get your answer to it. I was going to ask you about Luke and his relationship with your father. You know, there's a great age difference there, a generational divide. Does Luke "get" your dad?
TIM RUSSERT: Does he ever! And my dad now because he's 80 and retired, finally... When he grew up, Rush, he was always working, and so he didn't -- I learned from the eloquence of his hard work. He was not demonstrative and affectionate and those kinds of things as they are now viewed upon. But the relationship with Luke is much different. Luke runs to him when he sees him, sits down next to him. My dad's got bear hugs for him and punching him and wrestling with him, and then they talk -- and they talk and talk and talk, and he opens up to Luke. Luke asks him questions about the Depression, about World War II, and now, after I wrote this book -- most of the things I do on Meet the Press they go off the air on the satellite and there's no permanence to them. This book has given such permanence to my relationship with my dad and my relationship with my son, but most important my son's relationship with my dad, his grandpa. And he said, "Dad, now I really..." He says, "I had no idea what Grandpa did in terms of the jobs, garbage men and truck driver."
I said, "Luke, in one word, how would you describe what Grandpa did for me?" He said, "Sacrifice," and he's exactly right, and this Father's Day, 2004, I hope that everyone who's had a chance to read this book will really take a few minutes after dad's no longer with us, just close our eyes and think about that one word. These guys sacrificed everything for us. When I said to my father, "Dad, two jobs? Two jobs! I mean, how could you?" He said, "Some guys couldn't find one." "Dad, six months in the hospital from a plane crash. That had to be tough." "It was tougher for the guys who died." That innate optimism just galvanized them to sacrifice and I just want to thank him and thank all the dads out there who made us what we are. I stand on his shoulders. I hope my son will stand on mine proudly, just as proudly, someday.
RUSH: That's what I was talking about earlier.
TIM RUSSERT: Yup.
RUSH: It was never about your dad. Life was never about him. I mean, two jobs is what it took. What's the big deal?
TIM RUSSERT: Right.
RUSH: He was just doing what he had to do. He wasn't trying to impress anybody. He wasn't trying to attract attention. He was trying to fulfill a responsibility, and he did whatever it took. Now, I want to reverse things on you.
TIM RUSSERT: Okay.
RUSH: Obviously you're proud of your dad and you've written this tribute to him and it's become what it's become. What about your dad and you? You've reached a pinnacle, too, and I'm sure you have done better than any parent would expect a child to do. We all hope. Parents all hope they will do well, but you've reached a pinnacle. How has that affected him and when did he know, Tim, that you were on to something that was special in terms of his perspective?
TIM RUSSERT: Probably when he -- 13 years ago when I started Meet the Press and he began to watch a program with his son on that he had watched since he was a person growing up in the '50s and '60s when Lawrence Spivak hosted, and then he saw me with the Pope -- and that was very, very important to him. He saw the Pope blessing his grandson and his son. Rush, I call him every day but particularly on Mondays are my favorites. My political friends say that Big Russ is the cheapest and most accurate focus group they could have because he sees right through it, and if Big Russ calls you a phony, you're finished. "That guy is a phony," and that doesn't mean it's ideological. It's whether you are willing to answer questions truthfully or honestly.
RUSH: (laughing) Can you give us some names of some phonies as identified by Big Russ?
TIM RUSSERT: (laughing) They won't come back on my program, that's the problem. He also said, Rush, every Monday we conclude our conversation, I say, "Take care, Dad." He says, "I still can't believe they pay you all this money to BS on the air." He just keeps me, Rush, grounded right there. He knows exactly. You'll love this. He came up. He was in Buffalo and NBC came up and did an interview with him on the book, and there's a chapter I have on food -- my dad loves food -- the subtitle is, "You Gotta Eat." He'll call you on your birthday, seven o'clock in the morning, "Happy birthday. What are you having for dinner?" "Dad, I haven't had breakfast yet." "No, you gotta eat; you gotta eat." The interviewer said to Big Russ, "Where did this phrase, 'Ya gotta eat?' come from, Big Russ?" He said, "Well, my kid got it half right." Well, my heart sank. You know, here's my book. I poured my heart into it, and here's my dad correcting me. He said, "I actually got the expression from Dr. Mattie Burke, who used to teach me: 'You gotta eat if you're going to drink.'" (laughing)
RUSH: (laughing)
TIM RUSSERT: That's Big Russ.
RUSH: (laughing) Well, I mean, there's a guy that's honest from the front and back.
TIM RUSSERT: Exactly right.
END INTERVIEW EXCERPT
RUSH: That's Tim Russert. We've got one more sound bite, in which he asked him who's going to do this when he no longer does it, Meet the Press? |
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BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Final sound bite now from the interview we had with Tim Russert June 10th, 2004.
BEGIN INTERVIEW EXCERPT
RUSH: When you get to your rank, succession becomes something that's often discussed. You will eventually become president of the news division of NBC. Who will you hire to replace you as a moderator at Meet the Press?
 TIM RUSSERT: You couldn't give me that job, Rush, believe me. In 2000 I signed a 12-year contract through 2012 to be the moderator of Meet the Press, period. I -- unlike a lot of other people in television who want to go in the primetime and do all these other things, I don't want to do anything else. I want to play for the same team my whole life. My favorite baseball player growing up was Yogi Berra, this small Italian kid who didn't look like a baseball player, who just got it done and won championships, played for the Yankees his whole life. I don't look like I belong on TV, but I try to get it done, and I want to do my job the rest of my life and then so be it. If I got hit by a truck tomorrow, who should take over? That's a good question. What do you think, Rush?
RUSH: Uhhh... (laughing) I haven't thought about it, in all candor, that's why I asked you. You are such a fixture, I don't see anybody else in that chair.
TIM RUSSERT: Well, thanks. Should I nominate you?
RUSH: (laughing) That would fly. (laughing) You ought to try it, Tim.
END INTERVIEW EXCERPT
RUSH: See what happens to you, nominate me. That's Tim Russert from June 10th, 2004, on this program. It might have been another interview, but I asked him what he thought of the Reagan funeral because it had occurred just prior to our discussion. I think it was this interview. The way he described the Reagan funeral and what it meant to him and what it taught him about how beloved a figure Reagan was in the country, when most people in Washington were shocked by that, and he openly talked about that. He understood who Reagan was. He went through the whole litany of Reagan successes, why he was a great president. It was just a wonderful thing to hear. But he was up to speed on everything that was happening in Washington and in the country. He's one-of-a-kind. There is nobody they can put in that chair to replace him. There just isn't. They don't have anybody, they haven't been cultivating anybody.
I mean, do you know the story of Tim Russert getting this job? He had worked for Cuomo, and somehow he ended up in the executive suite in New York at 30 Rock at NBC. I think it was Lawrence Grossman then who hired him. At the time Meet the Press had a moderator and three journalists versus the one politician who was the guest, and I think it was Lawrence Spivak who was the last one, maybe Garrick Utley, and out of the blue, Michael Gartner, who was running NBC at the time, said, "Tim, we want you to do this show." He had never been on television. The reason they wanted him to do the show was that, you know, NBC has executive meetings every morning in the president's suite, and they serve breakfast in there, and Russert would go into those meetings and just dazzle everybody with inside information on politics and issues and what was coming down the pike and what he knew, and it was from those meetings where he was just entertaining the group before the meetings got started that Michael Gartner said, "You know what, why don't you host Meet the Press?" And he said, "No way, you look at my face, it looks like it's been carved out of a potato, no way." He started working at NBC I think in '84 or '88. In 1991, they asked him to do it, and he did it. And I first met him in 1992 in Houston at a party at the Republican convention that Evans and Novak threw.
The first thing I noticed about Tim Russert -- and I put this on our website on Friday afternoon -- he had this perpetual smile built onto his face. Every time you saw Tim Russert, he was smiling. It was just permanently etched on his face. Russert was the guy who asked me to join him and Brokaw for election night coverage in the 2002 midterms. No other network would have ever, ever done that, and he got a lot of heat from inside the Drive-By Media circles at the time. It got a lot of audience. He invited me on Meet the Press. This was revolutionary. He was not a moderator. He became a prosecutor in essence and totally redid the format of that program. He treated everybody the same. Nobody was any better than anybody else, and there's nobody that we know of that could replace him, like he was not known when he replaced Spivak. |
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BREAK TRANSCRIPT
RUSH: Quickly, Marty in Washington, DC. Nice to have you here, sir. Forty-five seconds, but I wanted to get to you.
CALLER: Thanks, Rush. I don't know if you already said it, but I think the highest compliment you can pay Tim Russert is, if it wasn't for him, Hillary would be the presumptive presidential nominee right now.
RUSH: Driver's licenses, illegal driver's licenses question at the debate in Philadelphia. That's exactly right.
CALLER: What other Drive-By would have had the stones to ask a question that Rush Limbaugh wanted to know. Honestly, you gotta think that, you know, I'm sure her press secretary issued some kind of syrupy condolence, but you gotta believe right now she's sitting there thinking, damn, he died six months too late.
RUSH: Well, now, we don't know what's in Mrs. Clinton's mind, no, no, no. |
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