The TV Zone

I liked David Gregory, as a person and for the job, already but that video just put him OVER THE TOP for me. That's exactly the kind of person we need on MTP.
And though he may not be as pleasant as Tim Russert, it's only because NO ONE is as pleasant and goodhearted as Tim Russert.
Check David Gregory out on Late Night with Conan O'Brien every once and awhile and you'll see that he's a jovial, good, fun guy as well. So he himself is likable. A good fit.
Oh, and I agree about Brokaw. He would be great for the transition phase. I know he's not hard-hitting like Tim Russert, but he's got the gravitas and respect needed to hold down the show while they groom a successor. So, without knowing what the readers have been saying to you, I'd have to say you're right about him taking the job for now.

David Gregory! Are you guys kidding? Tim Russert was informed, organized and non-partisan. Gregory is on the other end of the spectrum on all three -- He doesn't have the character to pronounce Mr. Russert's name, let alone sully the chair that Tim filled so brilliantly. He would instantly turn off half of the country the first interview he did that was from a political talking points book,

Even given the opportunity and the history of the moderators of Meet the Press, it will be impossible for him to contain his hyper-biased attack dog style. Hey, why not put Michelle Obama in the chair and be done with it if you are considering that jerk.

Gwen Ifill, on the other hand, has enough experience with the gig and Washington chops that would let her carry on the tradition of getting the truth from both sides of the philosophical aisle.

Ifill would be GREAT; Gregory would be ok as well.

JUST DON'T EVEN CONSIDER CHRIS MATTHEWS OR THE WOMAN WHO IS MARRIED TO GREENSPAN!!!

I'm with Carol--Ifill or Gregory, but let Chris and Andrea stay where they are! NBC News, are you reading this?!

Ifill has the history for the job. I don't think Greg is ready.

I would go with Ifill. She resucuitated Washington Week. She runs a tight ship, has interesting panelists, and is fair. A total non-grandstander. I thinnk she would be a perfect choice. I think tempermentally and intellectually, she is the choice!

Strange choice, but what about John Stewart?

How about David Gergen?

I vote for David Gergen

Ifill. period.

Here are some other ideas:

1. Campbell Brown - I love her. She's smart, great interviewer. She just moved to CNN, but she was on NBC for a long time prior to the switch.

2. Chuck Todd - Political Director at NBC. I love his analysis and insight. He reminds of Tim Russert in a lot of ways.

3. Katie Couric - she loves politics and she's a great interviewer.

Maria

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE NO Couric. Please do not let all Russert's years of professional work go down the drain w/a replace of Katie Couric...the happy, slappy, idiot.

Please don't consider Tom Brokaw, he's a nice guy but I don't think I have ever seen him ask anyone a tough question & that is what's needed for this show. The moderator needs to be strong enough to lead tough guests who filibuster or don't answer questions.

I have seen David Gregory substitute for Tim several times & I think he did an excellent job. He was prepared & handled the guests well.

Gwen Ifill would be great choice, is well prepared and handles interviews well.

How about Martha Raddatz? She is very professional and handles guests well.

What can we learn from this tragedy? We need a scientific “Russert” to pose the tough questions so that the public can become better informed about the risks of heart disease—prevention, risk, etc. We need diagrams, models, and flow charts (as clear as Tim’s online timeline of his life) to explain in layman’s terms what happened. Meet the Press needs a special medical debate, including his doctors and other cardiologists to scrutinize the facts. This could be tied into the healthcare issue in the presidential campaign. Tim would want a thorough examination of the facts to uncover the “medical” truth. Was this a failing at the individual level (weight, stress), the healthcare level (failure to perform the necessary tests for a proper diagnosis), or both? If we can’t trust the doctors to get it right, we need to become better informed so that we can ask the tough questions to our doctors. We need answers to save a few lives. Tim’s replacement will also be under enormous stress to follow in Tim’s footsteps. We should at least acknowledge that one cannot do it all. Something always suffers; here it was life.

ohmygod did someone really sugges Katie Couric. Jeezus HELP!

What about Hannity or Rush?
Hannity would be my first choice.

I tend to also think that David Gregory would make a good choice (either immediately, or after a transition period with Tom Brokaw), and he actually does have personality, however, I would also like to toss another name into the mix that has not been mentioned. This guy has shown an ability to master facts, history, and political implications (take a look at his nuanced coverage of the Scooter Libby trial) - David Shuster, yet also has a sense of humor (he was actually suspended for a few days this past spring for a comment that he made about Chelsea Clinton). I think he would need to be groomed over time, but I think he would be an interesting # 2 choice if Gregory was not chosen.

I think David Gregory is a wonderful choice. I also think Ifill is good fit as well. I was discussing who may succeed Tim Russert with my husband Friday evening and Gregory's name was the first mentioned.

NBC should refrain from labeling the person who will host MTP as a "replacement" for Tim Russert. No one can replace him. NBC needs to allow the new person to create their own niche. If someone is hired who thinks that they can replace Russert, they will surely fail. The new person needs to bring their own strengths to the table.

Katie Couric? See what she did to The Evening News ratings? They plummetted. And Rush Limbaugh? Are you kidding. He is offensive - plain and simple. Sean Hannity? There's another offensive individual who has a hard time maintaining a nonpartisan conversation.

Frankly, I just don't care about the election this year as much as I did before Tim Russert passed away. He'll surely be missed.

I'll come up with a better person, but my first thought is George Will. Just to show ABC how stupid they were to pass him up for This Week and give it to George Steph.

I love Tim Russert so much that this is such a sad sad topic to even think of. Tim gave me hope for true honest journalism in a world so ridden with sloppy opinionated factless bullcrap. It for me was my sanctuary away from the corporate commercial garbage dump that makes up most commercial media outlets. Tim had a way of being tough and strong and asking the tough questions while retaining the child like inquisitive innocence that sought after the truth from everyone that he sat in front of. He was such a great public servant that would not let anyone get away with telling lies to the general public. He was great at getting down to the truth to issues that people care about, he was so well prepared to discuss any topic and called people out when he found discrepancies with what was actually true and what people thought Tim wanted to hear. I don't know how I will trust anyone in public office that wasn't drilled by Tim on Meet the Press. I just think that he was irreplaceable and he loved Meet the Press as his forum to demonstrate the standards that excellent journalism should be held to. Gwen would be terrific as I love her on the Newshour but no matter how I grieve nothing will change the fact that Tim was the perfect man for the perfect job and the whole world lost a true friend and a becon of light in such a gloomy world . I feel that no matter how you carry on a part of the world died along with Tim and closed an era that carried on the tradition of excellence and fairness in seeking out the truth on behalf of the American people.

Rachel Maddow. Sharp. Smart. Well informed.

As someone who has known Gwen Ifill professionally and watched her on Washington Week in Review, I see her as the only person of the dedication, intellect and integrity to step into the most important news talk show on the air.

Tim Russert - great guy - fantastic in his job - it will be impossible to find someone to fill his shoes.

If Chris Matthews gets his place on Meet The Press, I will NEVER watch that show again.

I was and still am stunned at the loss of Tim Russert. I never realized how much I admired and genuinely liked him until now. Several monthes ago I wrote Chris Matthews (no answer) and told him the only two active, on air, objective journalists at MSNBC were Tim Russert and David Gregory. Reaching out beyond MSNBC, Ms. Iffel would be great also. Of the two, I would give the nod to David because of his penetrating, relentless, style. I see no real value in playing musical chairs with the position when you have a very credible choice already groomed. Rachel Maddow would be a great choice to replace David on Race to the White House.

Ironic that the clip comes via Imus because it was in standing up to Tim Russert and David Brooks about their silence on the issue of Imus' racist comments that Gwen Ifill first showed me her toughness. If you can stand up and call out your peers, you can call out politicians. Everyone wants to see a politician embarrassed, it's awfully tough to embarrass a friend. In this case it was necessary and she did it.

Please do not give the job to that blow hard, Chris Mathews. He constantly interrupts people and talks over them when he does not like what they have to say.

Are you kidding with David Gregory? He's more interested in being a song and dance man (The Today show) than an objective news man.

I vote for Iffel first, Katie Couric second...NBC should bring back Couric in any case, and get rid of Keith Olberman who has turned out to be quite a sexist - must to my dismay.

Either Gwen Ifill or Chuck Todd would do Tim's memory -- and mentoring -- proud. Choice between the two -- I say Gwen.

People like Keith, Chris, Rachel or Sean, Rush or Laura are all smart and politically aware but they're too on-the-record partisan. David Gregory has gotten way, way, WAY too tabloid-y on his new show and he interupts his guests all the time. Katie Couric doesn't do seriousness well as recently proven @ CBS.

I'm betting commenter "Finley" is/was a Hillary supporter. In the same sentence he/she proposes two women to replace Tim Russert, then ironically has the gall to call Keith Olberman a sexist.

I always found it interesting during the primaries that no one ever called Hillary or her supporters out as sexist even though Hillary and the women who supported her were openly advocating her election based in very large part on nothing more than the fact that she's a woman. Hillary in fact urged women to "make history" by helping her become the first woman elected president. If that's not sexism, I don't know what is!

Personally, I don't care if Ifill of Gregory gets the job - neither will ever be able to fill Russert's shoes. If I was involved in hiring the next "Meet the Press" host, I would take a serious look at someone from the BBC. BBC reporters know how to skillfully dissect a politician's spin and demagoguing to the point where the politician just stops trying - they come to the realization relatively quickly that they're going to have to answer the question forthrightly or come across as a bumbling fool.

Ifill? The one who took her opportunity in remmebering Russert to mention that Imus supposedly called HER names, and that "Tim learned a lesson"?

Ifill, the woman who Imus' lawyers are DARING her to name the date and time she was "insulted" by Imus? (and has yet to do so?).

That Gwen Ifill?

Please. Keep her on PBS.

The clear choice: Chuck Todd.

'nuff said.

Ditto above comments.

Ifill is nothing more than a self-serving self-promoting light weight with notthing to offer. That little performance on last Sunday's MTP with Brokaw was disgusting.

Please, please, please NOT Chris Matthews. He's like the anti-Russert. He knows nothing, is totally partisan, wavers back and forth on his positions and is close to being mentally unstable. He would ruin the show.

Ifill definitely, an excellent choice - no nonsense - great listener - and usually pretty independent.

I was however surprised to see her say that she hesitated coming on to the show to speak to the Rutgers issue, thinking Tim would not want to hear what she had to say (she thought he should have spoken up and he didn't).

Perhaps Tim's aura will push her to know that's exactly when you ask the question - push for a comment - that's when there is the most to learn. I often disagreed with Tim, but will miss him, (all except his fawning over Obama).

I think he would smile at the choice of Ifill!

The best choice would be Chris Mathews.

Give the chair to Like Russert

Luke Russert

I would get Ted Koppel to take over Meet the Press. His credentials overshadow the NBC names I've seen on the web including Tom Brokaw.