'Meet the Press' transcript for June 15, 2008

MR. BROKAW: Tim would do the show, I, I'd be sitting there, and we'd be on the--back and forth, back and forth, we'd be talking about who did well, you know, what their weaknesses were. This one's got a chance to go. I remember who--a candidate whose name I will not use here, who came waltzing in here one day and crawled out the door. I mean, he thought he was going to be the next president of the United States. The next time he came, he was in much better shape.

MR. CARVILLE: He was, And, and I know exactly who you're talking about. And, and Tim was proud of, Tim was proud of the guy that he came again.

MR. BROKAW: Yeah.

MR. CARVILLE: He, he, he just asks--and political consultants do this, and you, you, you have a candidate that goes on a show, you, you try to predict the questions. You, you--what the--you could predict the questions the highest on MEET THE PRESS because they were fair questions.

MR. BROKAW: Right.

MR. CARVILLE: But he'd really was offended by people who didn't prepare. And then...

MS. FISCHER: And their...

MR. CARVILLE: ...he was glad that the, the candidate did much better. He was almost...

MR. BROKAW: Well, the fact is, I believe he made all the candidates, just as I believe this long primary season's made all the candidates better, I think Tim made the candidates better.

MS. IFILL: And, Tom, you know...

MR. BROKAW: I think he has elevated the process in a lot of ways.

MS. IFILL: He made journalists better, too. I mean, one of the other postmortems that happened was around this table after every program, where we sat around and not only decompressed about what had happened on the program, but often what had happened in our reporting. I learned more things--some of them reportable, some of them not--around this table because that was part of the ritual. Part of the ritual was, "What do you know? What do you know?" That's what Tim would always say to you. And often people--sometimes guests would come out and join us. And those were sometimes the most fascinating conversations I had all week.

MS. MATALIN: You know what, Tom, he was--we talk about his ambition and his friendships and his loyalty. He was ambitious for his friends. I, I'm struck by all the colleagues, everyone is just so--he was ambitious for the interns, he's ambitious for his friends. If you had a book, he'd put you on one of his shows. He tried to help everybody. He wanted everybody to do their best. Another unique thing about this town, which is--can be zero sum. If you're up, somebody else has to be--he enjoyed everybody's success, and he pulled for everybody's success. And he put them in positions to succeed, starting with the interns. And after the show, after the postmortem, he would not sit down to the--have the little turkey sandwiches and stuff till he got with everybody who came, and they're all journalism students, and he'd...

MS. IFILL: Right.

MS. MATALIN: ...keep up with them, and he'd put them in positions to succeed.

MS. FISCHER: He would always--I--he always said this. He always said the best exercise for the human heart was to bend down and pick someone else up. And he not only picked us up, but he held us up every week, and, as the backbone of the show.

MR. BROKAW: Well, I--Mike and I've talked about this a lot, because we've shared so many common roots. I think it's really a testimony to his working-class background and, and to this country. He would always say--I hope I can get through this--"What a great country this is."

MR. BARNICLE: "What a country. What a country." I mean, his working-class roots--it's, it's such--well, almost everyone says it, you know, don't forget where you came from. And he never forgot where he came from. But where Timmy came from, conditioned to south Buffalo, was much more than that. It was--he had a missionary's zeal about him for people, for everyone, for lifting people up, for helping people in times of trouble, whether you were his friend or whether you were a complete stranger. I, I, I--and I know you could do the same thing, I can't begin to tell you the numbers of people who he knew who had a child who might be damaged in one way or another, and Tim would always call and ask to speak to that child, who--in the house, you know. "How are you doing? Julie, how are you doing?" Whoever it was.

MR. BROKAW: Right.

MR. BARNICLE: He had to--he had that touch. He just knew that--who needed to be lifted up, who needed to be helped, and he was, he was the strongest man. He had the strongest, biggest heart.

MS. IFILL: And children, who are excellent judges of character, really loved Tim.

MS. FISCHER: Oh, yes.

MR. BARNICLE: They knew it like that.

MS. IFILL: They knew it instantly.

MR. BARNICLE: Like that.

MR. BROKAW: Yeah. We--in fact, we have a, a Tim commentary that came the Sunday after 9/11 that I think summarizes that better than any of us are able to. Here's Tim on the consequences of 9/11 and what he saw.

(Videotape)

MR. RUSSERT: Together, firemen, priests and brothers wept and sang the prayer of St. Francis. "May the Lord bless and keep you and show his face to you and have mercy on you." That is the way of New York. That is the spirit of America, from February 1945 at Iwo Jima to September 2001 at the World Trade Center.

MR. BROKAW: Tim Russert commenting on 9/11.

And Maria Shriver in Sun Valley this morning, it, it, it didn't have to be...

MS. SHRIVER: Tom...

MR. BROKAW: Go ahead.

MS. SHRIVER: Oh, I was just sitting listening to everybody talk about Tim and his interest in their--people's children. I think one of the things that always struck me about Tim was his faith in God, his belief in prayer. He always carried a rosary around. And he would always say to you, you know, "I'm going to pray for you, I'm going to pray for your family, I'm going to pray for your uncle." And you knew he meant that, that he actually would really do it. And he would always talk, as you all know, about standing on his father's shoulders. And I think he was so interested in people's parents, and as people's parents grew older, he would always call me and say, you know, "How are you doing? How's your mother doing?" when he heard my mother was sick. He'd share his own struggles with his parents, or the loss of his mother, or caring for his dad, share his own journey to make your journey easier for you. He'd share his pain with you and reach out.

And I think that his understanding of family, his own family, your family, the American family, was really unique in him. I think--you know, people will tell you all over the country and in that building, that he knew about their parents, he knew about their children, he knew about what medications their parents were on, and his whole belief that we all stand on someone else's shoulders, and I think that's--when I close my eyes and think of Tim, I think of faith--faith in God, faith in family, faith in country, and, and faith in fatherhood, and faith in humanity. And I, I just wanted to say that because it, it meant so much, I know, to me, and I know to so many of the people that watch this show and that are in that room with you.

MR. BROKAW: There's a word that is used so often these days as a test for national character in politics or in culture or whatever, and the word is authenticity. And our friend was as authentic as any human being I've ever met.

It is worth remembering, this would not have been just another Sunday on MEET THE PRESS for Tim. After all, this is Father's Day, a Sunday in June in which we honor fathers. With his books, "Big Russ and Me," and "Wisdom of our Fathers," Tim gave voice to the bond of father and child. He explored the generational differences, from the World War II generation to his own baby boomer experience as a dad. And he touched off a national dialogue within families and communities about the enduring lessons of fatherhood, for dads and their offspring alike.

Away from this setting, he had no greater calling and no greater pride than fulfilling his obligation to Maureen, as her husband, and also as a son and as a father. He shared that well beyond his relationship with Big Russ and Luke, Tim's son, his pride and joy.

So in memory of Tim, happy Father's Day, which is best expressed by honoring your father, and if you are a father, by being a good dad, this Sunday and all the days to come.

Thanks to all of you for watching. God bless our friend, Tim, son and father. And as we go off the air, last night, in Europe, The Boss dedicated "Thunder Road" to his number one fan, Tim Russert.

(Montage of Tim Russert photos during audioclip of "Thunder Road")

MR. RUSSERT: I thought I would grow up in Buffalo, and if I got real lucky, I'd have a chance to go to college, maybe even law school, and then be a good lawyer here, or a good teacher here, and that would be the extent of, of, of fulfilling my dream.

You can be heard. You can reach out beyond the boundaries of south Buffalo.

Can you believe this? A Russert has met a president of the United States.

I am blessed with the opportunity to spend an entire week reading and thinking and preparing for MEET THE PRESS. It is sobering to think that on a Sunday morning, across the table at MEET THE PRESS, you're making history. But you are.

That's all for today. We'll be back next week. If it's Sunday, it's MEET THE PRESS.

Happy Father's Day, especially to Big Russ up in Buffalo. And, Luke, I'm real proud to be your dad.

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