Rep. Murtha, an ex-marine congressman from PA, is currently a pivotal force in the republican/democrat tug of war in the US. He hammered Cheney with forceful words last week about the Iraq war. Murtha has reputation as the authority on defense in both houses of congress.
Russert asks some good questions and Murtha is definitely political, but he has strong feelings and it’s hard to argue with a guy like him about war, especially for VP Cheney who is finding it hard to sell his line now, due partly to this guy.