Washington — Washington - Upon hearing of Tim Russert's death, Gianmarc Manzione had no idea what shocked him more - the passing of the seemingly vital journalist or that the news reduced him to tears.
The Tampa, Fla., English professor abruptly ended a road trip with his girlfriend to attend Russert's wake yesterday in Washington. He stood in line with hundreds of viewers similarly, inexplicably moved - people who had never met the host of NBC's Meet the Press but who had watched him, respected him and shared an hour of their lives with him every Sunday morning.
"I needed to make peace," Manzione said. "It was almost an obligation."
The wake, in a stone chapel on the leafy campus of St. Albans School, where Russert's son, Luke, graduated in 2004, also drew the biggest names in television news and journalism. There were his NBC colleagues, Brian Williams, Chris Matthews and Richard Engel, as well as other familiar television faces, including Phil Donohue, George Will and Brit Hume.
NBC ran vans between its Washington bureau and the chapel to shuttle all of Russert's colleagues to the closed-casket ceremony. Many of them had pinned blue ribbons to their lapels - blue in honor of Russert's beloved Buffalo Bills.
President Bush and first lady Laura Bush paid their respects before the chapel doors opened shortly after 2 p.m. for Russert's media peers and his fans.
School officials estimated that about 300 people were moving through the chapel per hour. Assuming that pace held for the seven-hour ceremony, more than 2,000 people were expected to pass through to honor Russert.
Hardball host Matthews, who was reportedly quite competitive with Russert, wiped his eyes as he stepped from the chapel. He attributed the almost shocking turnout to Russert the man, rather than any celebrity he might have garnered in his role as host and political analyst.
"It was him; it's wasn't the position," Matthews said. "There are a lot of moderators for a lot of shows, but no one is here for the moderator of Meet the Press; they're here for Tim Russert."
Russert, who was 58, died Friday after suffering a heart attack at work.
A private funeral and memorial service are set for today.
The line of mourners snaked out several hundred feet from the chapel, through the campus and along Wisconsin Avenue.
