Discussion Board

A Posthumous Interview
by Tim Russert, Former Host of Meet the Press
with John McDougall, MD

excerpts:

McDougall: ... So how’s “life” in Heaven?
Russert: Not bad except the food’s terrible. Nothing but rice, potatoes, beans, corn, fruits and vegetables. Everything’s bland, but they say I’ll get used to it.

Russert: Could I have been saved?
McDougall: I believe so. Even as late as a week before you died, you could have avoided this tragedy if you had made a serious change in your diet.

Russert: I exercised 40 minutes a day on my stationary bike. Why didn’t that save me?
McDougall: Exercise does not heal the inner-artery festering sores caused by your meat-centered diet. Exercise can aid in developing a trim muscular appearance and has some health benefits, but it has been over-rated when it comes to warding off premature death.... Cemeteries are filled with young men and women who put too much faith in exercise—ignoring the prevailing role of food.

Russert: I would have eaten cardboard to be alive and with my wife and son. I looked forward to every Sunday to my show “Meet the Press,” and the upcoming presidential election. I loved life!
McDougall: That’s what everybody says—after an event.
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The entire June 2008 McDougall newsletter, online (including recipes):
http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2008nl/jun/080600.htm

The interview:
http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2008nl/jun/russert.htm
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McDougallers, readers, "let's talk" :
What stood out to you? What did you react to? (I laughed, I cried, I "frus-trated" and "moti-vated"...)
Do you plan to e-mail this newsletter "interview" to others, or share it in some way? Why, or why not? (I'll take a copy to my Sr. Group this morning to offer for reading.)
Do you think you will change anything in your health program because of reading this "interview"?

There is a ton of good information in it, including the video, which I took the time ON DIAL-UP to watch.

When I first heard of Russert's death, the report I read told about the small plaques in the distal arteries rupturing. Right away I thought of Dr. McDougall and his teachings that it's the small newer plaques that are the dangerous ones! I was hoping that more people would see this and start thinking. I think a famous person dying like this with "good numbers" and being someone who did everything his doctor said is very eye opening.

Using a fake interview with a dead person is a bit weird. I say this as someone who loves Dr. McDougall dearly. I don't think a fan of Tim Russert's would react favorably to this. I might be wrong (that's happened before) and I'll know soon if I'm right, I forwarded it to someone who liked Russert a lot and is upset by his untimely death. This person is in a position to benefit greatly from adopting the McDougall lifestyle, too, so I sure hope this works.

It can't hurt.

i think mr. russert would very much enjoy the direct interview format. well done. not so sure about some of that video.

I thought it was very clever. It made me chuckle. It got the point across. Might it offend Russert fans? Maybe. But so would the diet information!

I wasn't necessarily a Russert fan, but I did find the "interview" in poor taste. I completely understand the point Dr. McDougall was trying to make - one that I agree with completely - but it just rubbed me the wrong way. Speaking ill of the dead, I guess? I'm curious if others had this reaction.

Well, the verdict is in. The person I forwarded this to is really ticked off, thought it was in poor taste and used bad words. Maybe I'll let him cool off for a while...... and go eat some potatoes.

Sometimes even bad press is better than no press. After all, Dr. McD is still not mainstream, as much as we would hope by now. Maybe he's thinking if he ruffles a few feathers, he'll get the attention of folks he wouldn't otherwise. Maybe even save a couple of lives.

And...isn't it possible that the people who say they are offended are really offended by the information because they want to "justify their bad diet"? And if they say they are offended, then they feel no guilt in dismissing the point of the message and continuing their path of self destruction.

I don't know about any of you, but I sure as heck had those same thoughts when the news first hit. I look at it another way....I see the Dairy Assc and meat industries blasting us with garbage commercials to make a buck and they lie about their products. No one feels offended by that! (other than us). This wasn't a lie.

I know...I'm preaching to the choir here.

Again, I agree with the overall message, I guess I just prefer to lead by example. (I learned this very quickly as an animal rights advocate!) It's true though that it's a bit harder to tread cautiously with the diet advice/suggestions when your family and/or close friends fall ill.

ITA, Erin. I understand the point that Dr. McDougall is trying to make, but that's not the right way to do it. I think death is a very tender subject, and it was in poor taste to handle it like this.

Yeah-- I completely agree with you.

I respect his approach, and this from a huge Tim Russert fan.

It was kind of weird at first to read the mock interview, but sometimes the best way to raise the consciousness level of a real problem is to whack people on the side of the head.

The fact that doctors are 'baffled' as to why Tim Russsert died only perpeptuates the status quo of ineffective medical treatment as an even more confused population continues to ponder the question of Russert's death over their SAD diet and a statin. The medical community is shedding no light on the real reason for Russert's death, with the exception of McDougall and his entourage, and the establishment should be ashamed for sending out unclear and unhelpful information. I applaud McDougall for his effort. The message is not at all about Tim Russert and how he could have been saved, but about the failure of the medical community to step up to the plate and offer us real, proven solutions to combatting heart disease when known solutions exist.

Perhaps the message needs to be even more shocking, or distastefull, as I watch my own family and friends eat their way to doom.

To me it seemed to be exactly the right tone--respectful, even affectionate toward Russert. It shouldn't be taboo to talk about death or to talk about what the dead person might think. Most especially, if that person is a public figure who has made his living investigating the truth! Don't you think Russert would approve? I think he would. Or at the very least, he wouldn't be at all touchy or queasy about asking pointed questions.

Don't you think it's terrible that the newspapers are filled with articles about how no one could have guessed that Russert might have heart disease? That's what they are saying--it's as if this was some kind of mystery. The fact is, Russert was mislead by his doctors, as are many, many other people. I think this was a teaching moment and Dr. McDougall used it brilliantly.

If you read it in that light, it is a REALLY, REALLY vicious punch at Russert's doctors and the medical/pharmaceutical industry, not at Russert himself, not at all.

I also think the article is well-written and not in bad taste. Dr. McDougall is wisely using this tragedy as an opportunity to educate more people and hopefully bring them to better health. I think Dr. McDougall is very clear and thankfully direct, so it helped me understand the cause of heart attacks and heart disease. I know not everyone is ready for this information, no matter how it's presented.

I loved it. I thought it was creative, and respectful of the "interviewee", and thought-provoking. Personalizing the lesson made the point more eloquently than any number of cited studies could do.

I must say I don't quite get the North American culture, where death and anything connected with it are considered so distasteful. I guess you have to have more of a Canadian or British sense of humor to find it less threatening.