Give Tim Russert an Outside Line!
Tiny Revolution feels sorry for Tim Russert, because it turns out that NBC refuses to give him a phone that can make outgoing calls:
A Tiny Revolution: Am I The Only One Here Who Feels For Tim Russert?: On Bill Moyers' show tonight about the pre-war performance of the press on the WMD story, Tim Russert defended himself by saying:
...there were concerns expressed by other government officials. And to this day, I wish my phone had rung, or I had access to them.
It seems easy to make fun of Russert here, given that he's the Washington Bureau Chief for NBC. But the fact is Russert doesn't have a phone that makes outgoing calls. It's unfortunate, but NBC simply can't afford it. Russert's job there is to show up at 9 am, and wait until somebody calls him and tells him what's going on. He tries to sit by the phone all day, because if he misses a call, he has to wait until they call him back.
Also, keep in mind that these "other government officials" to which he refers are sealed in a titanium vault at the center of the earth. So how exactly would Russert get access to them? I'd like to see you try it, big shot.
Why oh why can't we have a better press corps?
