I am struck by the outpouring of emotion in the aftermath of longtime NBC newsman Tim Russert's death. He's been a favorite of mine, primarily because his passion as well as his decent nature are so readily communicated on screen.

As a journalist, he was an innovator. His incisive questioning of various guests on "Meet the Press," while maintaining total control and polite restraint, was both enjoyable to watch as well as insightful for the way it disarmed so many people he brought onto the program.

I pretty much grew up watching Russert, since we would watch NBC Nightly News every night at home and Meet the Press on those rare Sundays we didn't go to church (this was in a world without TiVo, remember). As such, I still had no idea, until I heard others (such as Tom Brokaw this morning filling in as the host of "Meet the Press") that Russert was such a man of faith. A devout Catholic, his passion and enthusiasm he brought into so many other worlds, such as politics and even sports, carried over equally to his religion. I respect that.

So the increasingly vapid world of American journalism loses one of the true "good guys," a man who by all accounts did not hesitate to use his power to find truth, help others both young and old advance their careers, honor important times in other people's lives, and to positively affect many, many lives through the quality, passion, and sheer joy he exhibited on a daily basis for his profession.

The Executive Producer of the Meet the Press program (whose name escapes me at the moment) was on the show this morning with Brokaw, remembering Russert's work and talking with the others on the show about this man's legacy. She recounted that when she gave birth to her son, after returning home from the hospital a hand-written letter from Tim Russert was there waiting on her. But...it was actually not written to her, but it was written to her new son, telling him how lucky he was to have his parents and that he had an internship waiting for him at Meet the Press when he got old enough. Remarkable.

He also served on the Board of Directors of a variety of charitable interests, including the Boys and Girls Club, and contributed heavily to these causes he believed in both financially as well as with his time.

The explosion of press releases, statements, and support for Russert's family is overwhelming to see, and helped educate me on this life that he lived. This was a guy who positively impacted that small inner-circle world around him as powerfully as he did the 'world' of politics. He will definitely be missed.