http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/polit ... haped.html

by Mark Silva and updated

Robert Novak, the longtime newspaper columnist and television commentator known for his conservative voice and piercing criticism, died today after a bout with brain cancer. He was 78.

In decades of Washington reporting and opinion-shaping, Novak established a syndicated newspaper column before becoming a regular commentator on national cable television.

Novak was a news-breaker, too: He was the first to report the identity of Valerie Plame, a CIA operative, after her husband, ambassador Joseph Wilson, publicly criticized the administration of President George W. Bush for alleged manipulation of pre-war intelligence in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq.

The federal investigation of the administration's leak of Plame's identify resulted in the conviction of then-Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter'' Libby, for obstruction of justice.

In an interview in 2007, he predicted with regret the first line in his obituary, lamenting to PBS' Charlie Rose that his Plame column in the summer of 2003 was "a very minor story compared to some of the big stories that I have had. But ... that's going to be in the lead of my obituary, and I can't help it."

In recent years, Novak had become well-known as an outspoken political commentator as co-host of the political talk show, Crossfire, on CNN, where he reigned from 1980 to 2005.

He was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in July 2008, but continued to report and write.

But, Novak, who had come to Washington in the 1950s as a reporter and later columnist, also established a nationally syndicated newspaper column and political newsletter with fellow journalist Rowland Evans - the Evans-Novak Political Report.

Novak was an Illinoisan who built a national newspaper following based at the Chicago Sun-Times.

Robert D. Novak was born February 26, 1931 in Joliet, Ill.

He worked as a reporter at the Joliet Herald-News and Champaign-Urbana Courier while a student at the University of Illinois. After a stint in the Army - he served as a lieutenant during the Korean War - he joined the staff of the Associated Press in Omaha, Neb. The AP sent him to Washington in 1957 to cover Congress.

Novak joined the Washington bureau of the Wall Street Journal in 1958 as its Senate correspondent and political reporter, becoming chief congressional correspondent for the Journal in 1961.

In May 1963, he teamed up with the late Rowland Evans, Jr., congressional correspondent for the New York Herald Tribune, to write "Inside Report", a political column published four times a week.

The Sun-Times has served as the home newspaper for the column since 1966. In May 1993, Evans retired and Novak continued to write the column three times a week.

"One of the longest running syndicated columns in the nation, "Inside Report" has always been based on hard reporting,'' the Sun-Times notes. "For over a quarter of a century, both columnists not only crisis-crossed the nation regularly covering politics, but also traveled abroad to report wars, revolutions and international conferences around the globe.''

Novak wrote books as well: The Agony of the GOP, in 1964. In collaboration with Evans; Lyndon B. Johnson: The Exercise of Power, The Reagan Revolution; and Completing the Revolution: A Vision for Victory.


He was the 2001 winner of the National Press Club's "Fourth Estate Award for Lifetime Achievement.''

Today, the accolades started flowing:

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said:

"For more than half a century, Robert Novak explained the politics and the personalities of Washington to readers across the country through a mix of tireless shoe leather reporting and the kind of keen insight that can only be gained through years and years of dedication to a craft.

"He was a Washington institution who could turn an idea into the most discussed story around kitchen tables, Congressional offices, the White House, and everywhere in between.''

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said:

"Bob made remarkable contributions in the field of journalism and to the American political landscape. He gave us a lifetime of dedication to the work he loved, and it is hard to imagine Washington without him.''

Good riddance. High-minded conservatives like to attack the current administration for ushering in a new era of "meritocracy." Novak is a prime example of how a certain breed of useless dope thrived as a water-boy.

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He Gone

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or
Rest in peace

either way

I would have thought the same. Had to respect he broke the story inside the Bush white house and Cheney's guy Scooter Libby. Didn't seem like a water boy move to me.

You have to wonder what kind of access he had in order to break that story, though. Doesn't make up for years of shirking his responsibilities as a journalist.

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I would say that your apparent lack of knowledge in this instance is astounding, but I don't believe that word accurately captures it; it's possible that no single word can.

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

please breakdown his shirking of responsibilities.

darn...good riddance and he gone already used. i guess i'll say "see ya!"

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

Don't hold your breath for anything, at least anything enlightening ...

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

I'll bite. Did Novak turn his columns in on time? Yep. Did he meet the terms of his contract for Crossfire? You betcha. Guess he held true to his responsibilities.

What I believe he "shirked" was the responsibility of being a journalist. If you're not going to do the work until death's knocking at the door, then you don't deserve the title. That, in sum, is how I feel about Robert Novak. As always, you are more than welcome to disagree.

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How did he shirk them?


Thank you.

I didn't know Novak was from Joliet. He always seemed a little white trash to me.

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RIP Bob. You will be missed.

Don't forget about Mort Kondrake. He's trashy as they come.

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CSFMB: Home of the small minded

Novak was huge Maryland basketball fan. He might even have reached 'roadie' status by travelling to many away games.

Even though he was a goblin, I did enjoy reading his columns.

Robert Novak was a great writer & a very good TV host. I was a big fan. Of course I agreed with his Politics, but Novak went after Republicans on numerous occasions.

I believe I find that sentence to be funnier than I should and you intended.

No, I don't know what that's supposed to mean, thank you.

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

i hated bob novak. oh well.

Pretty good summation of his life and career.

A man of his word to sources and one of the last pound the pavement reporters.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Novak

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I don't know if I would say that he "broke" the Plame story. I believe the administration called in a favor.

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President of Blake Shetlon fan club

oh i see, YOU can use wikipedia whenever you want to but we can't, is that how it works?

Exactly.

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Bob Novak was related to me. He pretty much was an overall douche bag, most of my family shed no tears for him.