Great story, plez. Never met Russert, but your story is exactly how I imagined him to be.
Blitzer was on NBC's tribute to Russert - he told a story about he and Russert meeting the pope. Russert looked at Blitzer, and said something to the effect of "Can you believe it? Here we are, two kids from Buffalo, and we're going to meet the Pope." Russert NEVER forgot where he came from, and he wore his Buffalo upbringing like a badge of honor.