I think in time, ppl will forget his style but those that oppose his tactics will always remember, how he contributed to irresponsible media.
Here are some excerpts from this long article.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/jun2008/russ-j16.shtml

Russert was comparatively young, and he leaves behind a wife and grown son. It is appropriate to extend sympathy to his friends and family. However, inasmuch as the death of Russert is being treated by the political establishment and the media as a major national political event, one must treat it on those terms.

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The treatment of Russert's demise, in its own peculiar fashion, speaks more eloquently about the state of American journalism and the milieu of which he was a part than it does about Russert. No doubt there is shock over the abruptness and unexpectedness of his death, for it is a troubling reminder to the social elite that success, celebrity and immense amounts of money do not bestow immortality, or even, necessarily, a long life.

 He was a typical representative of what passes for journalism in the United States' corporate-controlled media: conformist and philistine in his views, a purveyor of received wisdom who had no doubts whatever about the values and legitimacy of the political establishment.

One has only to consider certain of the events that occurred "on his watch": the Clinton impeachment, the stolen 2000 election, September 11, the Iraq war and its aftermath. None of these events evoked from Russert a critical examination of the claims of the state and its representatives.

In each case, Russert's essential role was to bolster the establishment and lull the population to sleep. His role in the Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal, an episode that did a great deal for his career, was particularly filthy. In the first days of the crisis, Russert breathlessly asserted that if the allegations about Clinton's sexual impropriety were true, the president would have to resign.  

As the WSWS wrote in 2000, in a survey of television personnel: "Russert was one of those who claimed to be taking the moral high ground, castigating Clinton's behavior, while spreading the salacious gossip put out by the right wing. (Typical Russert sound-bite: `There are lots of suggestions coming out of people close to Ken Starr that perhaps the Secret Service `facilitated' [i.e., pimped] for President Clinton. Remember that code word--it was used by state troopers in Little Rock.... Was the Secret Service--was a Secret Service agent--an accomplice in trying to cover up a relationship with Monica Lewinsky?' The fact that this story, and dozens like it, attributed to `unnamed sources,' proved to be false, never stopped Russert and his media cohorts.)"

The notion that Russert asked the "tough questions" of those he interviewed, advanced by a host of former colleagues on a tribute broadcast this Sunday in place of "Meet the Press," is absurd.

During the run-up to the war, Russert, along with the rest of the media, provided a platform for Vice President Dick Cheney and others to present their lying claims about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction without seriously calling any of them into question.

On March 16, 2003, only days before the US-led invasion of Iraq, Russert virtually handed his program over to Cheney, providing the latter with a propaganda opportunity in front of a large national audience, much of it skeptical about the administration's claims. Russert's particular role here was to politely raise certain doubts and allow Cheney to allay them.

For example, Russert asked Cheney: "What do you think is the most important rationale for going to war with Iraq?" The vice president replied, "Well, I think I've just given it, Tim, in terms of the combination of his development and use of chemical weapons, his development of biological weapons, his pursuit of nuclear weapons." Russert responded: "And even though the International Atomic Energy Agency said he does not have a nuclear program, we disagree?"

Cheney: "I disagree, yes. And you'll find the CIA, for example, and other key parts of our intelligence community disagree. ... And I think if you look at the track record of the International Atomic Energy Agency and this kind of issue, especially where Iraq's concerned, they have consistently underestimated or missed what it was Saddam Hussein was doing. I don't have any reason to believe they're any more valid this time than they've been in the past." That matter being settled, Russert was on to the next question.

In any event, Russert learned nothing from the Iraq war. His program continued to provide a platform for the powerful and the cruel. In July 2006, in the immediate aftermath of the Israeli massacre in the southern village of Qana, in which dozens of women and children perished, he played host on "Meet the Press" to Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Dan Gillerman, who proceeded in a predictably cold-blooded fashion to blame the atrocity on Hezbollah.

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In 1976, after graduating from university and law school, Russert worked on the senatorial campaign of Democrat Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who made his name by attacking the poor and blaming them for their own poverty, and served as Moynihan's chief of staff for five years. Russert then worked for Democratic Gov. Mario Cuomo, before leaving politics and going to work for NBC in 1984. One of his initial accomplishments was arranging for Pope Paul II's first interview on American television.
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The media, especially NBC, MSNBC and CNBC, has devoted hours to coverage of Russert's death. Why? What is being mourned? Human beings, even famous ones, die every day. There are individuals who have made significant contributions in the arts, sciences and even journalism whose deaths go largely unnoticed.

In the case of Russert, it would not be possible for his eulogists to produce a single one of his broadcasts that would evoke a significant emotional, let alone intellectual response--where one would watch and appreciate his insight. There is no "moment" remotely comparable to Murrow's denunciation of Sen. Joseph McCarthy or Walter Cronkite's criticism of the Vietnam War on CBS. There is not even a narration of an honest television documentary into some troubling aspect of the American social reality. There is next to nothing.

At the same time, I also could not help feeling that Lauer was working really hard to find just the right thing he could say that would have Luke crying -  and I cannot tell you how uncomfortable that made me feel.

We get that the people who knew and worked with Russert are having a hard time with this, but I don't understand why it has to play out in all of our homes, without end.

In fact the whole grandfather, father and son relationship was just a bit overblown.

It was nice to see Luke talking about him with a smile on his face.  It sounds like he and his mom will be there for each other now, and they hopefully will have many happy times and new relationships ahead.

I initially understood the anger of Clinton supporters and tried to maintain my patience. But the anger has been replaced by a nasty bitterness that is only getting worse with time.

I was just banned by BTD for some harmless sarcasm. He can dish out the snark in large doses but apparently has no appetite for it himself. As a moderator, he's sending a clear signal to all participants that the nastiness and bitterness is quite alright.

As this site has become a breeding ground for negativity, I've decided to give up on my diplomatic mission.

Thank You and Good Luck With This Mess,