Touching tribute to Tim

Maybe it's because I'm finally an adult, but rarely until the past year or so have I seriously been touched by the death of someone I didn't know. I am unable to empathize with grief to which I do not feel connected. That being said, the fact that I was really depressed over the death of Tim Russert was a surprise for me.
I suppose it has to do with his link to the beginning of a my life as an aspiring journalist. I first "met" Tim Russert in August 2005 during "Meet the Press." My first journalism instructor had everyone in class watch the Sunday TV news show to learn about current events; we were also required to write reports about what we had seen. "Meet the Press" was (and still is) one of the only TV news shows I respect because of its hard-hitting and non-sensational nature, and I hope that the next permanent host does as good of a job as Russert did.
Unlike a lot of TV "journalists," Russert wasn't afraid to ask the hard questions; in fact, he was the opposite. He enjoyed making ill-prepared politicians squirm when they weren't quite sure how to answer. He never backed away when someone in the hotseat didn't give a direct asnwer; he pushed until he got a straight explanation or made it known that he wasn't being fooled.
I'm not going to say I followed Russert diligently, watching the show every week and catching every TV appearance he made. But even though I didn't idolize Russert, I really admired everything he did for journalism and for me. Because of him, I know that not all TV "journalists" are hacks, and I know that it's possible for them to be respected for the right reasons.

I am mentioning this more than a month after his death because of a newspaper article I happened to read. I tend to be suspicious of people's motives when it comes to martyring others and profiting off of loss (e.g., Sept. 11). But I really think the efforts to keep Tim Russert's memory alive have been pure and clean, and I am amazed that America treated his death with so much respect. However, I wonder if it will ever happen again. For how long will our country have the ability to care for a famous journalist the way we care for other celebrities? Will this country ever know another Tim Russert?