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Early Nightly is up

The broadcast may lead with something other than President Ford's funeral or the hanging of Saddam Hussein tonight, as Brian explains in today's vlog.

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Day of remembrance

It was such an important lesson on display here in Washington today: We live in a great country, where an ordinary man can rise to the highest office in the land, and when he dies he is remembered by the very best in our nation. We were on the air for close to four hours this morning, and I was happy to have my old friend Michael Beschloss at my side throughout. The death of Gerald R. Ford has had such an interesting effect on our country, and on our leaders. I believe Vice President Cheney's speech on Ford in the Rotunda Saturday evening might have been the very best of his life. Tom Brokaw delivered a beautiful eulogy today, as did both Presidents Bush and Henry Kissinger. (Editor's note: You can watch the complete eulogies here: Bush Sr., Kissinger, Brokaw, President Bush.)

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A rare day in Washington

Politics were subordinate to the personal and the historic in this city today. Under the vaulted ceiling of the National Cathedral, Jimmy Carter was seated next to Lynne Cheney, Rosalyn Carter beside Nancy Reagan. Honorary pallbearers included Brent Scowcroft and Jim Baker, both critics of the Iraq invasion, and Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, the war's chief architects. On this day, at Gerald Ford's funeral service, there was no partisan divide. Sitting in the nave, I looked out at the former presidents and their wives and thought about the inescapable sweep of American history.  Here were former combatants and their successors, victors and vanquished, now considerably older, and presumably wiser.  Over the decades, adversaries had become friends. How else can you explain Ford asking Jimmy Carter to speak at his burial in Grand Rapids?

The eulogies reflected other facets of Gerald Ford's life. George Herbert Walker Bush served with him in Congress and was then sent by Ford to China, and finally to the CIA. Being sent to Langley briefly took Bush out of politics, causing resentment in the Bush camp at the time. Today, the elder Bush instead recalled Jerry Ford's decency and sense of humor.  Bush (perhaps identifying as a fellow victim of comic barbs) recalled Chevy Chase's satires of Ford and was even inspired to imitate Dana Carvey imitating him: "But it wouldn't be prudent."

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Ford, not a Lincoln

There are different ways of experiencing history when you work in the news business. Usually, things happen in a rush, or a blur, so that there’s little chance to process what’s going on while it’s happening. It’s more like triage than anything else: suddenly rounding up crews, producers, correspondents, and satellite trucks. 

When news first broke of President Ford’s death last week, first you get it on the air and then in the next moment, dozens of people are scrambling coverage plans. We get busy trying to figure out who goes where, who does what. Dozens of NBC people canceled family holiday plans over the weekend to cover the events surrounding the President’s funeral.

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Early Nightly is up

I take back what I said in the previous post. Brian found time to record today's vlog after concluding his live coverage of President Gerald R. Ford's funeral, which will dominate tonight's broadcast.

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Farewell to President Ford

Brian is anchoring NBC News coverage of President Gerald R. Ford's funeral at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., this morning, so he won't be available for the vlog.

While we look for a substitute, you can click here to watch NBC's live coverage, which is expected to last at least a couple hours. The formal service begins around 10:30 a.m. ET.

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First broadcast of the new year

Allow me to wish you all a Happy New Year. While tonight's broadcast was not previously in the cards for me, the press of news called me here as it often does. From here tonight I'm off to Washington to get into position for tomorrow morning's coverage of the service for President Ford at the National Cathedral. We go on the air, on the NBC television network and on MSNBC, at 9 a.m. Eastern.

To the mission at hand: tonight's broadcast will deal with the news of the past few days: President Ford's mourners in the Capitol Rotunda today, and the aftermath following the hanging of Saddam Hussein. We will look at the milestone of the U.S. death toll of 3,000+ in Iraq as well. We have an interesting story from New Orleans tonight and we'll also air something we look forward to on this very day every year: Our Justice Correspondent Pete Williams will look at the new laws that went into effect when the ball dropped over Times Square last night ushering in 2007.

The tempo of news over this holiday period has been unlike anything since the early days of the war on terror. While it's our job to cover it and stay on top of developments, I hope all of you enjoyed time with family and friends. As we begin a new year, allow me to thank you again for your support, and we hope you'll join us for tonight's broadcast.

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Let's hope it's a good one... without any fear

As I drove through Manhattan today, the New York Police Department had already placed barricades along the streets leading into Times Square for tonight's big celebration. The sidewalks were already full of people preparing to ring in 2007 When I was a child, I can remember watching images of the chaos in Times Square on TV. It's just an example of how times have changed. Now New Year's in Times Square is practically the most controlled event in the country. Police are out in force, there are barricades everywhere and strict rules about where you can go and what you can do. Don't get me wrong... I don't long for the "good ole days." However, the tight security reflects our new reality... our post 9/11 reality. Each New Year's Eve since 9/11 we have worried about the possibility that terrorists would attack again. And we still worry. We hope and pray for peace in the world in 2007, but in the back of our minds we know there is the threat of violence. I can only hope that our children won't have to contemplate the same issues when they are our age.

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