Russert is the palliative replacement for Lawrence Spivack, who passed on and thoughtlessly neglected to take MTP with him. Russert's queries rarely yield anything informative. He has hit more dry holes than the staff gynecologist at Leisure World. It's one thing to be stuck for an answer, another to be stuck for a question. His interviewing technique is like playing handball against a blanket.
Nothing comes back.
There is no question germane or demanding that can incite him to meaningful exploration. Meet the Press is a festival of rubbing elbows with prominent Washington hobnobbists, come to mince cloakroom apocrypha with locker room conviviality. He brings to the studio an aura of the communion breakfast, at which they swap green sashes and name a Catholic Layman of the Year. We always knew the White House was crooked but when you see Janet Reno there, you begin to suspect it's haunted as well. All that is defective in news media reached synthesis during Russert's interview with her.