If Russert had some hair on his Wilsons he would have had a form 180 in the studio ready to be signed.
Russert is a good man - and his own man. His questions to Kerry went to the crux of the matter, and were as hard and persistent as they could be without Russert, himself, becoming an advocate.
Russert did not allow himself to be deflected by Kerry's brava sierra: he pressed until Kerry finally had to make a definitive answer on the Form 180 - something Kerry has not been forced to do until now.
Kerry almost surely will not sign a 180 - but he has now stated publicly that he will. Do not minimize this. You can be damn sure that Kerry is very unhappy over stating for the record that he will sign.
As far as Russert possibly bringing out a Form 180 to have Kerry sign on the spot:
That would 1) be improper for a newsman of Russert's stature and demonstrated fairness to do because it would make him an outright advocate and 2) the Form 180 takes some time to fill out and requires such information as the exact dates of military service, etc., etc.
To view a sample Form 180, simply do a search using it as the subject. It is a commonly-used form by vets that is readily available for download.
Teh way I understand Russert had the form, but never gave it to him. And like you said If Russert had some hair