I wasn't really a fan ... speaking of Polish Catholics from Buffalo ...

"Tim Russert's death saddens his beloved hometown of Buffalo" - Newsday, 6/13/08:

He was, in every way, Mr. Buffalo," said Sen. Charles Schumer, who first met Russert when he was an aide to Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

"Even when he was interviewing presidents and heads of state, western New Yorkers knew that his blue-collar Buffalo sensibility guided him throughout."

"One of the people in Buffalo that made it and never forgot where he came from," [Thurman] Thomas said. "Just a down home, good solid person."

Buffalo Sabres managing partner Larry Quinn, who went to Canisius High School with Russert and stayed in regular touch, said Russert called to buy Sabres season tickets last year.

"So many people don't acknowledge that they're from here and he never did that," Quinn said.

I read this piece in RD at the time: "Tim Russert Gets Lessons From His Father", Reader's Digest, June 2004:

When he heard this, Dad roared with laughter. "You wrote a letter to the Pope? Let me know if you hear back from him."

I told him that I had managed to get an appointment with Joseph Cardinal Krol of Philadelphia and was hoping to enlist his help. Cardinal Krol was of Polish descent and a friend of the Holy Father's; when Pope John Paul II was a cardinal, he visited Cardinal Krol on a trip to the United States.

Dad said, "Maybe you should write that letter in Polish. I have some friends in Cheektowaga" -- a blue-collar suburb of Buffalo -- "who could help you."

We were both laughing. Then he said, "I'm serious. When you talk to people, speak their language. It shows respect."

When I hung up the phone, I thought: Actually, that's a pretty good idea.