Meet the Top Greeter at ‘Meet the Press’ : Television: Newsman Tim Russert goes after the Washington power elite with his own brand of zesty doggedness.

You wouldn’t say the camera exactly loves “Meet the Press” moderator Tim Russert. But they’ve become pals.

“The fact that I don’t look like a typical TV person probably underscores my credibility,” Russert said. “I hope so.”

So says this newsman whose pleasant, beefy appearance is less that of an emerging star than a big cartoon pooch who lives to chase the neighbor’s cat. Aptly, Russert goes after Washington’s power elite with his own brand of zesty doggedness every week.

At NBC’s Washington headquarters one recent Sunday morning, “Meet the Press” has just signed off. After bidding good day to his panelists--David Broder of the Washington Post and Robert Novak of the Chicago Sun-Times--Russert heads for his office, clearly pleased with how the hour went.

His mission, he says, is “to hold the politicians’ feet to the fire and, in the course of that, make some news.”

This morning, he seems to have done a bit of both during an exchange with Bob Dole, the powerful Senate minority leader who looms as a tough opponent to the incoming Clinton Administration.

Russert asked, “Will Bob Dole be a candidate for President in 1996?”

Dole, 1,300 miles away in his hometown of Russell, Kan., coughed out a peremptory chuckle. Then he went on to say it’s too early to tell.

Russert: “But you’re keeping the door open.”

Dole: “Never close any doors.”

They danced another round, then Russert put it this way: “Senator, you’re 69 years old. If you were 59 this morning, would you have any doubt about being a candidate in ‘96?”

“Not much,” Dole said, and everyone laughed.

“I think it was important for the American people to learn this morning that Dole himself is thinking of running for President,” Russert says afterward. “Every time he is in a position to obstruct something that Clinton wants to do, it may not be just a minority leader trying to represent his party--he also may have some personal mission.”

If Russert thinks like a pol, good reason. An attorney, the Buffalo native served as counselor to New York Gov. Mario Cuomo and as chief of staff for U.S. Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.).

Then, in 1984, Russert came to NBC News as the executive in charge of the “Today” show. Three years ago, he moved to Washington as NBC’s bureau chief and a senior vice president.

Russert had plenty to do, but even on his day off, his passion for politics spirited him back to work. He had to be there for “Meet the Press.”

After coaching from the sidelines a few months, Russert went into the game when a slot on the “MTP” panel needed filling. Then, last December, moderator Garrick Utley took a New York-based assignment and left the show.

Much to his surprise, Russert insists, and in perhaps the sole case of a network exec going public as regular on-air talent, this broadcasting neophyte was handed the “Meet the Press” torch. He’s been using it to singe his guests’ tootsies ever since.

Under his stewardship, the program has expanded to an hour and marked its 45th anniversary this month--three years older than its host.

Although “Meet the Press” remains second to ABC rival “This Week With David Brinkley” in the national ratings, in the important New York and Washington markets, Russert comes out on top.

“Where do I go from here? Nowhere, I hope,” says Russert, who also serves as on-air analyst for NBC’s political coverage. “I would like to be running the bureau through another presidential election cycle.

“And I want to preside over the 50th anniversary of ‘Meet the Press.’ That will be a real landmark day in television.”