Tim Russert, American Voters, and What This Election Says About Our Society...

Back from a long break...


I thought I would talk about some things that have been weighing on my mind...first and foremost, the death of Tim Russert was so heartbreaking. Working for Senator Moynihan was one of the best times in my life and Tim Russert was considered a god in our office. As former campaign manager/chief of staff everyone revered Tim and a group of fellow interns and lowlies from the office would gather at my house on Constitution Ave Sunday mornings where we'd work off hangovers or create new ones with mimosas and waffles while we watched and debated whatever was going on on Meet the Press. It was a tradition I held dear to my heart. There's just those people you come across in life that, you may not know them personally, but you can tell that they're fundamentally good people, people that you can learn from, that understand life, and can impart their wisdom on you. Tim Russert was most definitely one of those people. I will miss his presence on Meet the Press very much and I will take with me the example he set by the amazing person that he was. His death was just such an unexpected and sad loss...

This election has turned into a very interesting sociological/anthropological study of our society. I see both good signs and worrisome trends emerging from this election. Right now I'm reading "Just How Stupid Are We: Facing the Truth About The American Voter" by Rick Shenkman because I'm hoping to glean some insight into what this election says about who we have become as a society because I think there's some important barometers to gauge out there right now. It's fundamentally important to examine how our elections are being run and what it says about our society. In the context of our wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, coupled with the downturn of our economy, cuts in social programs, proliferation of social problems such as drug addiction, divorce, disease, it's interesting to see how an election in such a multifarious social brew will be played out. I'll have more to say about this later. But for now I need to go out and attempt to have a more fun and adventurous summer...