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."
