I did not know Tim Russert.  In fact, I never met him.  I am just a huge fan, who watched his show religiously every Sunday.  He had a way of talking politics that everyone could understand.  As  a  TV viewer, I knew I could trust him.  I knew he was one of the good guys.  All through the primaries I would watch all the news channels and read all the articles, but I always came back to Tim Russert.  He was always very tough on those he interviewed, and to be honest, I appreciated that.  He got to the meat of a person's character.  I read both of his books and sent my father the second one as a Father's Day gift to my Dad.  Ther are no words that can describe the shock in hearing of his passing, nor words to describe how much he will be missed.  My condolensces go out to his family and friends.  He was truly the best of the best.