Washington Post opinion columnist Eugene Robinson was online Tuesday, June 17 at 1 p.m. ET to discuss his recent columns and the latest news.

Discussion Group: Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood

The transcript follows.

Archive: Eugene Robinson discussion transcripts

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Eugene Robinson: Hello, everyone, and thanks for dropping in. I'll be here in Interactive Mode for the next hour, as usual. Today's column was about Tim Russert's death -- actually, about the reaction to Tim Russert's death. I suspect, and hope, that we'll get into cheerier subjects as well. And without further ado...

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Heartbroken in Los Angeles: Thank you for providing this forum. Perhaps it seems a bit over-the-top given that I never met Tim Russert, but I choked up and cried all weekend (seeing so many journalists choke up didn't help!). Having watched "Meet the Press" faithfully for years, it felt like he had a relationship with all his viewers. And he provided a valuable public service, keeping us informed and interested -- I can't imagine anyone possibly can fill his shoes, and that depresses me!Thanks for letting us share your grief -- my heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.

Eugene Robinson: Thanks. I hadn't planned to write a column about Tim, but I was struck by the reaction I was hearing from people who didn't know him. It surprised me, and I wanted to try to figure out where it was coming from.

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Washington: I've got nothing against Russert, but all that this nonstop blanket coverage of his death shows is that the media is completely self-obsessed. I understand -- Russert was well-known, well-respected, fairly young, and his death was unexpected. You have my sympathy for your loss, but please, get over yourselves...

Eugene Robinson: What you've seen on the air from NBC and MSNBC is nothing more complicated than a human reaction. Russert was the boss at the NBC News bureau in Washington. He hired, he fired, he doled out assignments -- everything a manager does. A lot of what you are seeing reflects his colleagues' shock and sadness at the death of a longtime mentor and friend. Maybe journalists should be able to switch off those feelings, but it's hard.

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Laurel, Md.: Gene, while I don't disagree with anything in your column, I suspect at least a part of the outpouring is because of simple demographics. At 58, Mr. Russert was right in the middle of the first half of the Baby Boom -- a large generation that keeps being told it's the "new" two-thirds of how old it used to be. Russert seemed like a lot of us, only successful, and without any unhealthy habits that wouldn't be described as common. While people of his generation worry about having the finances to last a 30-year retirement, it was a rather stark reminder that a few of us won't even start one.

Eugene Robinson: You're right that Boomers have reached the age where we have to take those actuarial tables more seriously. The fact is that try as we might, we don't get to choose when we die. We can tilt the scales, statistically, but there are no guarantees.

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Arlington, Va.: Let's please calm down about Tim Russert. By all public accounts, he loved his family. However, as we learned in the Scooter Libby trial, Russert had his own "personal" policy of what constitutes statements "on the record." According to Russert, he assumed the conversation was off the record unless established otherwise. Completely reverses the normal convention, but awfully convenient for power-brokers, war supporters, etc. Yet 4,100 dead American soldiers later, might our country have been more careful in considering Iraq if, you know, Tim Russert had shown more tenacity in questioning those waiting to send all those young Americans to face war? Not Luke Russert, of course, but working-class boys and girls from places like, say, Buffalo.

Eugene Robinson: There's nothing unusual about a journalist having sources with whom he or she routinely deals on a "background" basis, meaning not for attribution. And I guess I'd argue that within the confines of the "Meet the Press" format, Russert did ask the right questions, or at least most of them. The problem was that he got answers that turned out not to be true.

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Ledgewood, N.J.: Re: The alleged success of "surge," why is it that no one seems to be pointing out that we are now paying both Sunni and Shia to "be on our side." How long do U.S. taxpayers have to pay these Iraqi citizens just to "prove" the surge is a success? What will happen if the U.S. stops these payments and puts the money to use for the poor in our country?

Eugene Robinson: My guess is that we have to pay them indefinitely to keep being our "friends" -- and that when the largess ends, so does the buddy-buddy routine.

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Volcano, Hawaii: Nice piece on Tim Russert, and your observations on the reasons for his popularity are well-made. My question is, do you have any qualms about appearing on MSNBC? I find your columns to be nicely nuanced, but get a completely different feel when I see you as one of the talking heads in a TV screen that's quartered-up, with Pat Buchanan etc., in each corner.

In that format -- contrary to the civil approach in "Meet the Press" -- everyone seems to say the expected thing according to their pegged persona, and more often than not the discussion degrades into an argument that gets so tiresome and grating that I turn the TV off. Do you see some value in your appearances? Thanks. I'll keep reading; can't say I'll be watching.

Eugene Robinson: Thanks. No, I don't have qualms about doing television. One thing I've learned since becoming a talking head is that television is an incredibly powerful medium, with tremendous reach and penetration. If I think I have something to say that makes sense, it seems to me that I should take the opportunity to say it, rather than sit home and let it go unsaid. You're certainly right, though, that nuance is difficult on the tube.

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New Hampshire: Hi Eugene, thanks for taking my question. I am watching the Senate Armed Services Committee and the testimony with regard to Guantanamo and "interrogation techniques" -- i.e. torture. I do wonder at the complete lack of coverage of this important hearing on TV (unless you get C-SPAN3 or have a computer to live stream it), while wall-to-wall coverage is provided of Tim Russert (RIP). In view of the Supreme Court's ruling last week re: detainees and the resultant comments by the presidential contenders and this administration, don't you think that this is a disservice to the American people?

washingtonpost.com: Report Questions Pentagon Accounts (Post, June 17)

Eugene Robinson: I think this is a huge story and ought to be getting banner-headline coverage. I've written -- again and again -- that torture will earn the Bush administration history's eternal condemnation.

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Bowie, Md.: What do you make of Marion Barry's latest incident? What will it take for this man to be removed from any position of authority or power? He's a crook and a disgrace.

washingtonpost.com: Metro Chief Cuts Barry A Break, Then a Check (Post, June 16)

Eugene Robinson: Covering Marion Barry was my first job at The Washington Post. When I ran into him a few years ago, he said, "Gene Robinson, I made your career." And, in a way, he did -- covering him got me on the front page all the time. He's a fascinating man whose many flaws tend to overwhelm his merits.

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Washington: Mr. Robinson, I've heard a lot of talking heads say that they expect this election to be close. I don't buy that -- I think Obama will win by 5 percent or 6 percent. Is the news media just trying to keep it exciting, or am I all wet? Thanks.

Eugene Robinson: Our paper has a poll this morning showing Obama leading McCain 48-42. Factor in the margin of error, and that's a pretty close race. That said, I don't think these national polls mean a whole lot until we get closer to November. And because of the Electoral College, state-by-state polls will probably be more meaningful, ultimately.

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Cheverly, Md.: Loved you on the Tony Kornheiser Show yesterday. I was wondering if co-hosting the show with him was as fun as it seemed? Gonna do it again?

Eugene Robinson: It was a blast, and I'd love to do it again sometime (although I'm not, by nature, much of a morning person). It'll have to be next year, probably, because Tony will soon take his annual break to go off and do Monday Night Football.

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Johnson, Vt.: Eugene, thank you for taking my question and for your insights. I've been reading here and there that the McCain campaign is starting to chafe a little bit at Obama's not-always-so-oblique references to McCain's age (the "we honor his 50 years of service" sort of thing). Bad strategy move on McCain's part? Doesn't it accentuate the issue even more? Would they better off not even going there, or trying some humor (a la Reagan's comment that he wouldn't take advantage of Mondale's youth and inexperience)?

Eugene Robinson: It seems to me that the McCain folks are still trying to find their footing. They have been extremely touchy about anything that might be interpreted as an attempt to play the "age card," perhaps because they see it as a real potential weakness. They seem to want to make age into a third rail, like race and gender.

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Philadelphia: Mr. Robinson, Tim Russert was simply a good man all around -- and I never met him. Do you see someone stepping into Mr. Russert's shoes -- not necessarily as the moderator of "Meet the Press," but as someone who is so highly respected as a political analyst and who has such a presence? I don't see it myself. Not to make light of it, but I compare this to when Carson left late night -- no one truly took his place; no one was that big because the environment had changed so, and I sense that now. Your thoughts?

Eugene Robinson: To fill Tim's shoes, in terms of the work he did, might take as many as three people -- one to host "Meet the Press," one to run the NBC News Washington Bureau and one to serve as de-facto politics czar for the network. I suppose one person might be found who could do any two of those things, but not all three. In terms of the larger role he played as the Sunday morning agenda-setter, I know there are lots of people who would like to assume that mantle -- and somebody will probably succeed.

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If There Is a God: I hope he's letting Tim see how this election turns out.

Eugene Robinson: If there's a God, Tim is probably explaining to Him his pet theory about how the Electoral College might end up in a 269-269 deadlock. Or else putting in a good word for the Bills.

Thanks, everyone, for participating. My time is up. See you again next week.

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