In Memoriam: Tim Russert

Age 58? Somehow it doesn't seem that old, and many of us who are "baby-boomers" wonder, how could this happen?

The Russert smile ... his love of politics ... his belief that if we all just would pay attention, look carefully at our candidates, and make sure that we evaluate so very carefully that we understand how some elected officials' rhetoric doesn't always match their votes.

My personal favorite is Sally Quinn's memory, "He was a junkie. He would say, 'People find stories about the budget boring -- that's crazy.' And then he would talk about the behind-the-scene fights, the cast of characters, and it was interesting."

Read more about Russert here. Or watch Meet the Press' podcast and more at the MSNBC news website which honors him.

The most important thing to remember? ... That Tim Russert thought our most important election was coming up on November 4. He would have wanted to be here with us ... watching, questioning, learning, participating in our very own history in the making. Let's do it -- for Tim, for ourselves and for the world, too.