Or is all of this Russert stuff becoming a little over the top? From all accounts, Russert had a close knit family and many friends, who all seem to speak very highly of him. I'm sure they'll miss him very much.
But jeez, he was a talk show host. He wasn't someone who will be discussed by historians in future generations.
Compare Russert to Jim McKay, the sportscaster who died a week ago. McKay was a pioneer in sports journalism, who performed skillfully under pressure when the terrorist attack on the 1972 Munich Olympics occured. Granted, Russert died at 58 and McKay died at 86, but the obsessive coverage of Russert is way out of proportion.