Politics on the Hudson

  My tenure as a Capitol reporter started in August 1984, a few months before  Tim Russert, who died today, quit as  then-Gov. Mario Cuomo’s press secretary, and he went to work for NBC.

As Cuomo was a larger-than-life figure  then, thought of as a likely presidential candidate, so Russert, although only 34 years old then,  cast a big shadow.  He played softball against the reporters, then drank beers with them afterwards, and was always, between slaps on the back, subtly pointing out the virtues of his boss and his policies. In more formal settings he had even then the commanding presence that TV viewers have become accustomed to over the years.

None of the  10 or so other press secretaries I have dealt with over the last 24 years has approached  the level of respect Russert had with the Albany press corps. And everyone in the business admired his bulldog-aggressive-yet-polite style of interviewing that made him famous