Yeah, after Mitch McConnell stole Jim's thunder by giving it away yesterday in his interview, I thought the MacNeil piece was great. Lehrer really did ease his way out, and MacNeil was right in stating that this wasn't the normal way anchors change in the television world.

Both MacNeil and Lehrer are class acts in a world filled with empty-headed clowns.

-CW

I've been watching this newscast for next to forever and I don't believe there is anything else like it.

Robert MacNeil paid tribute to Jim tonight at the end of the show and to the unprecedented manner in which Lehrer has transitioned his departure as longest-running news anchor on American television.

I think this means that while Jim will be missed, it won't be because his replacements are not meeting or exceeding the high standards he helped set for a nightly newscast. And, that bodes very well for the PBS Newshour and all of its faithful followers.

Thankfully, Jim won't be abondoning quite yet the weekly chit-chat segment with Sheilds and Brooks et al. Which, I might add, has been a nice complement to FTP!