Levees Not War

Photo: Alex Wong/Meet the Press, via Reuters

We were dumbfounded and profoundly saddened to learn yesterday of the sudden and untimely death of Tim Russert, NBC’s Washington Bureau Chief and moderator of “Meet the Press.” The high professional esteem in which he was held by colleagues and public officials was inseparable from their personal affection for this dedicated and friendly journalist. He is praised for his command of the issues and keen analysis, and his nonpartisan, “equal opportunity” thoroughness in questioning guests of all political stripes. While he made his subjects sweat, he also exuded a genuine enthusiasm for politics. But he didn’t just relish the sport: As a child of a working class family (his father used to drive a garbage truck) he had a keen sense of what is at stake in elections, and why it matters whether campaign promises are fulfilled or broken. Among the many regrettable aspects of his too-early death is that he did not live to witness the outcome of the historic 2008 election, but he relished the primaries’ twists and turns and as a debate moderator he helped guide the process and explain it to the viewing public.

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‘America, this is our moment.
This is our time. Our time to turn the page on the policies of the past . . . to bring new energy and new ideas to the challenges we face . . .to offer a new direction for the country we love.’

Photo: T. C. Worley / NYT

After 16 months and 54 contests, Barack Obama has clinched the number of delegates needed to win the nomination. He gave a stirring, uplifting speech to a raucous crowd of some 18,000 in St. Paul, Minnesota—taking the fight to the city where the Republicans will hold their convention in September—but Hillary Clinton has not yet conceded or endorsed him. Speaking to a fervent crowd of supporters in the basement of Baruch College in New York City, Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe introduced her as “the next president of the United States,” and Hillary claimed, “Thanks so much to South Dakota. You had the last word,” when Montana voters were still pulling the levers.

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