I AM NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO SUNDAY

It has been almost a week, and I still am coming to grips with this nations reaction to the shocking and untimely death of Tim Russert, including my own. I have watched endless and untold hours of footage of him, day long tributes to him on MSNBC and been rendered teary eyed both of the times I watched his tribute at the Kennedy Center.

I sat amazed at his young sons charisma and ability to communicate publically of what must have been an incredible shock to him, that of losing what seemed to be a near perfect father-son relationship. The comparison to John Jr. was prominent in my mind when I first saw him on the Today show.

And this is all well and good, and a fitting and perfectly appropriate response to his death. But our reaction, the nation's reaction, was only duplicated in my lifetime by the deaths of JFK, Princess Diana, and Elvis Presley. I don't get it. I understand my reaction, I am a political junkie, and Tivo every show I can get my hands on. But for the entire nation to mourn someone of his ilk in such an emotional and awestruck way confounds me.

I can only surmise that this country is desperately looking for leaders. Leaders and heroes. Completely disappointed in their elected leaders, they are forced to search elsewhere for someone to be proud of. Someone to get behind. In my opinion, they found just the right man in Tim Russert. It's been a week, and I still am reviewing some of the Tivo'd coverage I have stored in memory. Funny how I never though of him in these terms until his passing. But then, I am searching like everyone else.

And that is the "World According to Kimba"

Thanks for reading.