NBC’s Tim Russert died yesterday. One of the things I will remember him for was his expert use of videotaped soundbites of his interview subjects. Russert could host nearly any politician on his or her own petard. Russert was convincing because the video didn’t lie. Russert, more than any other modern journalist, taught politicians the importance of crafting every single soundbite out of their mouths, unless they wanted the soundbites to come back to haunt them.

Speaking of Roger Ailes, he truly is the matter of the sound bite, especially when there is invective involved. If you want a weekly or daily tutorial on great sound bites, do what I do, I have set up a free Google news alert to send me an email every time Roger Ailes is mentioned in the media. Typically, I am rewarded with some golden nugget where Ailes has skewered some hapless CNN or CNBC executive. I might not agree with Ailes very often, but you can’t challenge his status as king of the sound bite.

I feel for former President Bill Clinton. He is, by all accounts, an indefatigable campaigner, often getting by with less than four hours sleep. Well, apparently even Clinton gets tired. Below is a video clip of Clinton snoozing and attempting in vain to stay awake while on the stage behind a speaker. My cheap easy advice is for everyone to get at least 8 hours of sleep, not only on days when you are speaking, but also when you are going to be near any0one else who is speaking and might have a video camera pointed at him or her. If you need motivation to get a good night’s sleep, then you need to watch this.

http://www.nypost.com/video/?vxSiteId=0db7b365-a288-4708-857b-8bdb545cbd0f&vxChannel=NY%20Post&vxClipId=1458_227094&vxBitrate=700

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the son of Benazir Bhutto, vividly demonstratives that you don’t have to be experienced, old and wizened to be a confident and compelling public speaker. Zardari is all of 19 years old; he’s just seen his mother’s brains splattered across his TV set, and yet at his introductory press conference (watch here) he comes across as poised, confident, and as a strong leader. I’m not suggesting that one good press conference appearance is enough to make him the next Prime Minister of Pakistan, but his initial performance in front of the camera will do much to solidify a positive image for him in his country and around the world. If you watch the first 30 seconds of this video, please note the volume and energy in his voice are powerful, his quoting of his own mother is memorable, and the emotion and absoluteness of his comments guarantee great sound bites. Something tells me he has a bright future ahead.