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This is very sad. It sounds like Tim worked so hard he collapsed. It will take us all time to fully absorb this. Mortality is not fair!

The longest running host of the longest running program on television.

I usually learned something from his interviews

Tim Russert was at the top of his profession end enlivened every show he hosted with bright enthusiasm and effervescence. I'll miss him.

Tim, keep up the good work in the here-after.

It has always amazed me that after you finally get a little wisdom, and your're finally satisfied with your hair, and your car is finally payed off, and your kids finally start taking you on vacation - that the big reward for finally making it - IS (DRUM ROLL!!!!) - you get THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE diseased and die? Does that strike you as kinda ridiculous?

...Actually, a heart attack (quick and quick) is not a bad way to move on to Nirvana...Happy Nirvana Tim...See ya soon, hopefully not too soon...love Dvorah

Tim Russert was a good man and I liked him very much.

However.....

Just because a man has died does not mean he has suddenly become a saint.

I can recall the debates among the Democratic candidates, in which he addressed question after question after question to Hillary and totally ignored the other candidates on the stage.

When he finally got around to Dennis Kucinich, who was patiently waiting his turn for nearly an hour, his question to Kucinich was not about Iraq, or health care, or impeaching Cheney, but rather some obscure incident from a book by Shirley MacLaine about whether Kucinich had witnessed a UFO!!

Kucinich patiently explained that the term UFO just means Unidentified Flying Object......... but the fact that he witnessed something UNIDENTIFIED got picked up subsquently as Kucinich saying he had witnessed ALIENS...... i heard David Schuster on MSNBC repeat this nonsense just last week......

So as much as I admired and liked Tim Russert, let's not pretend that he was the ultimate soul of democracy or that this poor nation is now doomed in his absence.................

David, well said! I bet Tim in his heart of hearts regretted that moment.

He was a guy with a big heart, from what I've heard, It showed when watching his broadcasts. The fact that he was sitting on a long plane flight from Italy the day before suggests that maybe some type of blood clot developed.

Brian, is that your professional opinion? Or do you know something we don't know? Pretty psychic of you - I was sure it was the spaghetti and pizza chaser in Italy before he boarded the plane that did him in- oh well, what do I know...I used to work with journalists when I did a column for the Chicago Tribune...an amazing group of hard working, hard drinking, hard smoking and sleep deprived defenders of the truth...They all loved Pizza and Italy!

Do something kind for someone today, and tip a cool one for Tim!

I think Brian is referring to the clotting disorder that can be caused by air travel.

It is now well-recogized that risk of deep vein thrombosis increases with long periods of immobility.

Sitting in a cramped airline seat for a long international flight has serious health risks. Sitting for long periods, combined with the lower oxygen levels and dehydration common to airline travel could cause a serious condition called deep vein thrombosis.

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) occurs when a blood clot forms in a deep-lying vein, usually in the legs.

It is reported to affect up to 600,000 Americans per year. The danger of DVT is that a piece of the blood clot can break off and travel to the lungs, causing a sometimes-fatal condition called pulmonary embolism. About 10 percent of people who develop pulmonary embolism die from it.

Don't know if this was a factor in Tim's sudden death but I had the same thought. Here's more info:

http://www.med.umich.edu/opm/newspage/2004/hmdvt.htm

I Googled "Tim Russert deep vein thrombosis" and found several blogs with people saying the same thing:

"Apparently he flew home from Italy to tape the show....I would not be surprised to find that he is a victim of deep vein thrombosis."

I don't know...but it's a reminder to all of us to stretch and move around on those long flights!

From Tim Russert's Death, Some Painful Truths

Apart from its sadness, Tim Russert’s death this month at 58 was deeply unsettling to many people who, like him, had been earnestly following their doctors’ advice on drugs, diet and exercise in hopes of avoiding a heart attack.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/health/24hear.html?_r=1&nl=8hlth&emc=hltha1&oref=slogin