Farewell fairness?

I was struck by the constant commentators use of the phrase “fair but hard” when referring to what they considered to be the chief qualities of the late lamented Timothy John Russert Jr. whose soul is just a little way above our heads (as my man Mercutio would have it).
“Be against everything he’s for and for every thing he’s against,” Tim’s first MTP boss instructed him on the kind of show he hoped to see. “Not only that”, he might have added, “you will have a staff and a week to prepare while the poor schlub across from you will have to squeeze his or her prep time from an already crowded schedule.” Does that seem fair? Well, I’m not being exactly fair because Tim did have a full time job at NBC running the political end of things, no small feat in that competitive collesium. But all the carnival barkers used the same phrase over and over until it had lost all meaning, which they usually do. As they have with the constant airing of the poignant pic of Luke Russert touching his Dad’s chair in the MPR studio on Sunday. How long before it’s used in an ad for an airlines? “When you have to say farewell, fly with us.”
The most striking thing about Tim, to me, was his everyman-ness. His total insider take on the Beltway baloney. Today he will be waked at St. Albans School which is next to the magnificent National Cathedral. He could have done it there. But he will be on view at his son’s high school alma mater and Luke’s class mates have been chosen to be the pall bearers. How cool is that? I smirk at the thought of how many publicists and assistants to the muckety mucks of the political world will lose their heads over the failure to get on the list of possible contenders for such a career move as being a pall bearer to someone famous. It would be interesting to see how all the mourners in waiting are lining up and trying to elbow their way to the head of that line in the hope of being chosen to speak at the Kennedy Center tomorrow or at least get a seat that the TV cameras will pan. My guess is that no ex-Presidents need apply.
It will be hard to replace the guy on Sunday morning’s because you can’t teach people how to be smart, decent, caring, clever and hard working. You can’t just say, “be like Tim” any more than you can say to a young ball player, “hit like Ted.”