Robert Novak

Robert David Sanders "Bob" Novak (born February 26, 1931) is a conservative American political commentator, syndicated columnist and journalist who writes the longest-running current U.S. syndicated political column (45 years, as of February 2008). [http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/05/45_years_of_columns.html RealClearPolitics - Articles - 45 Years of Columns ] ] Over his career, Novak became well-known as a columnist (writing "Inside Report" since 1963) and as a television personality (appearing on many shows for CNN, most notably on three former programs, "The Capital Gang", "Crossfire", and "Evans, Novak, Hunt, & Shields"). Novak announced that he had been diagnosed with a brain tumor and that his prognosis was "dire" on August 4, 2008, and that he was retiring. [ [http://www.suntimes.com/news/novak/1089872,novak080408.article Sun-Times political columnist Robert Novak retires] ] However, on August 27, 2008, he resumed writing opinion columns distributed by Creators Syndicate. [ [http://www.creators.com/opinion/robert-novak/avoiding-a-lieberman-disaster.html] ]

Early years and personal life

Novak was born into a Jewish family in Joliet, Illinois. He converted to become a Roman Catholic in 1998. His journalism career began when he was in high school as a student-writer for the "Joliet Herald-News", his hometown newspaper. After high school, he attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (U of I) from 1948–1952. While attending University of Illinois, he became a brother of Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. He continued gaining journalism experience as a sports writer for the "Daily Illini" (DI), the student newspaper at University of Illinois. However, his disappointment at not being named Sports Editor his senior year caused him to quit the DI and go to work for the local community newspaper, "The Champaign-Urbana Courier", where he was also a sportswriter. After four years at University of Illinois, Novak was one course short of graduating, and when he left the university to become a full-time journalist, he did so without a degree (Some forty years later, the University of Illinois saw fit to award Novak sufficient credits from his career in journalism to qualify him for a degree, and he became an Illinois graduate).

During the Korean War, Novak served in the U.S. Army, attaining the rank of lieutenant. After the war, he joined the Associated Press (AP) and became a political correspondent in Indianapolis, Indiana. In 1957, Novak was transferred to Washington, D.C. where he reported on Congress; he left the AP to join the D.C. bureau of "The Wall Street Journal" in 1958, covering the Senate, and in 1961 becoming their chief congressional correspondent.

In 1963, he teamed up with Rowland Evans to create the "Evans-Novak Political Report", which continued until Evans died of cancer in 2001; in 2006, Timothy P. Carney of Regenry Publishing became Novak's partner in the column, although the traditional Evans-Novak name continued (and still does under Carney's leadership). Novak's column is syndicated by the "Chicago Sun-Times". His columns often contain original reporting in addition to analysis and opinion. Novak is one of many reporters mentioned in Timothy Crouse's seminal non-fiction book about reporters covering the 1972 U.S. presidential campaign, "The Boys on the Bus".

Mr. Novak was a Radford Visiting Professor of Journalism at Baylor University in 1987. His column has been distributed to newspapers nationally by Creators Syndicate since 1989. He is the 2001 winner of the National Press Club's "Fourth Estate: award for lifetime achievement in journalism [citeweb|url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/commentary/bio-novak.article]

Novak's wife Geraldine was a secretary for President Lyndon Johnson. Their daughter, Zelda, worked for Ronald Reagan's Presidential campaign. They have a son Alex, who works as an editor at Regnery Publishing [ [http://dir.salon.com/story/opinion/blumenthal/2005/08/11/novak/index.html?pn=2 The informer - Salon.com ] ] .

Political and religious views

Novak was for years a registered Democrat despite the right-leaning persona he often portrays in the press. He held more centrist views in his early career, and he supported the Democratic presidential candidacies of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, of whom he was a friend. [cite web|url=http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2006/09/illinois_hall_o_9.html|accessdate=2006-09-18|date=2006-09-11|title=Illinois Hall of Fame: Robert Novak|author=Rhoads, Mark|publisher=Illinois Review]

Today, Novak tends toward low-tax, small-government libertarian views, but his disagreements with mainstream Republicans and neoconservatives—specifically his opposition to the Iraq War [cite web|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/13/AR2006091301572.html|accessdate=2008-06-02|date=2007-07-31|title=Armitage's Leak|author=Novak, Robert D.|publisher="Washington Post"] —have earned him the label of being a "paleoconservative". In July 2007 Novak expressed support for Ron Paul's bid for the presidency. [cite web|url=http://video1.washingtontimes.com/fishwrap/2007/07/novak_handicaps_the_field.html|accessdate=2007-07-31|date=2007-07-31|title=Novak likes the idea of President Paul|author=Pfeiffer, Eric|publisher=Washington Times]

Born Jewish, Novak converted to Catholicism in 1998, [http://townhall.com/columnists/RobertDNovak/2008/09/06/my_brain_tumor] after meeting Peter Vaghi, whom he had known before Fr. Vaghi switched from politics to the priesthood.

Career

Orlando Letelier assassination

During the FBI investigation into Orlando Letelier's assassination, the contents of the briefcase he had with him were copied and leaked to Novak and his partner Rowland Evans as well as Jack Anderson of the New York Times by the FBI before being returned to Letelier's widow. [Lee Lescaze. “Letelier Briefcase Opened to Press”, The Washington Post. Feb 17, 1977] According to Novak and Evans, the documents showed that Letelier was in constant contact with the leadership of the Popular Unity coalition exiled in East Berlin and supported by the East German Government. [Jack Anderson and Les Whitten. “Letelier's 'Havana Connection' ”, The Washington Post, Dec 20, 1976] The FBI suspected that these leaders had been recruited by the Stasi. [Robert Moss, The Letelier Papers. Foreign Report; March 22, 1977 ] Documents in the briefcase showed that Letelier had maintained contact with Salvador Allende’s daughter, Beatriz Allende wife of Cuban DGI station chief Luis Fernandez Ona. [Roland Evans and Robert Novak, Letelier Political Fund. Washington Post; February 16, 1977 ] [Jack Anderson and Les Whitten. “Letelier's 'Havana Connection' ”, The Washington Post, Dec 20, 1976]

According to the documents, Letelier received funding of $5,000 a month from the Cuban government. Under the supervision of Beatriz Allende, he used his contacts in the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) [Roland Evans and Robert Novak, Letelier Political Fund. Washington Post; February 16, 1977] [Jack Anderson and Les Whitten. "Letelier's 'Havana Connection", The Washington Post, Dec 20, 1976] and Western human rights groups to organize a campaign in the United Nations as well as the US Congress to isolate the new Chilean government. [Roland Evans and Robert Novak, Letelier Political Fund. Washington Post; February 16, 1977] All correspondence between Letelier and individuals in Cuba had been handled by Cuban diplomat Julian Rizo, who used his diplomatic status to hide his activities. [Robert Moss, The Letelier Papers. Foreign Report; March 22, 1977 ] [Roland Evans and Robert Novak, Behind the Murder of Letelier. Indianapolis News; March 1, 1977 ]

Fellow IPS member and friend Saul Landau described Evans and Novak as part of an “organized right wing attack.” In 1980, Letelier's widow, Isabel Letelier, wrote in the "New York Times" that the money sent to her late husband from Cuba was from Western sources and that Cuba had simply acted as an intermediary, [Isabel, The Revival of Old Lies about Orlando Letelier. New York Times; November 8 , 1980] although Novak and Evans stressed that the document from Beatriz Allende were clear on the source of the money. [Roland Evans and Robert Novak, Letelier Political Fund. Washington Post; February 16, 1977]

CIA leak scandal

In 2003, he identified Valerie Plame as a CIA "operative" in his column. Novak reported the information was provided to him by two "senior administration officials." These were eventually revealed to be Richard Armitage, with Novak assuming Karl Rove's comments as confirmation. [cite web|title=Ex-CIA Official Testifies About Libby's Calls|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/24/AR2007012400944.html|author=Carol D. Leonnig and Amy Goldstein|date=2007-01-25|accessdate=2007-01-26] During 2005, there were questions in the press regarding the apparent absence of focus on Novak by the special prosecutor Fitzgerald and the grand jury, specifically questions suggesting he may have already testified about his sources despite insisting publicly that he would not do so. On July 12, 2006, Novak published a column at [http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=15988 Human Events] stating:

:Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has informed my attorneys that, after two and one-half years, his investigation of the CIA leak case concerning matters directly relating to me has been concluded. That frees me to reveal my role in the federal inquiry that, at the request of Fitzgerald, I have kept secret. I have cooperated in the investigation while trying to protect journalistic privileges under the First Amendment and shield sources who have not revealed themselves. I have been subpoenaed by and testified to a federal grand jury. Published reports that I took the Fifth Amendment, made a plea bargain with the prosecutors or was a prosecutorial target were all untrue. [cite web |title=My Role in the Valerie Plame Leak Story |url=http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=15988 |author=Novak, Robert |date=2006-07-12 |accessdate=2006-09-08]

When Richard Armitage admitted to being a source, Novak wrote an op-ed column describing Armitage's self-disclosure as "deceptive." [cite web |title=Armitage's Leak |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/13/AR2006091301572.html |author=Novak, Robert |date=2006-09-14 |accessdate=2006-09-14]

Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Novak has been accused of anti-Israel bias. [ [http://www.njdc.org/newsdigest/detail.php?id=687 Why Won’t Prominent Republicans Criticize Novak for Anti-Israel Writings? "National Jewish Democratic Council"] ] In his syndicated column, Novak has blamed Israel for the plight and mass exodus of Palestinian Christians. He has also met with several Palestinian Authority officials, including Education Minister Naser al-Shaer. Novak praised former president Jimmy Carter for likening Israeli policy toward the Palestinians to "apartheid" in Israel. [ [http://www.nypost.com/seven/11052007/postopinion/opedcolumnists/carters_clarity__end_occupation_438102.htm Carter's Clarity: End 'Occupation' "New York Post 11/05/2007"] ]

Amnesty, Abortion and Acid

On April 25, 1972, George McGovern won the Massachusetts primary and Novak phoned Democratic politicians around the country, who agreed with his assessment that blue-collar workers voting for McGovern did not understand what he really stood for. On April 27, 1972 Novak reported in a column that an unnamed Democratic senator had talked to him about McGovern. "The people don’t know McGovern is for amnesty, abortion and legalization of pot," the Senator said. "Once middle America - Catholic middle America, in particular - finds this out, he’s dead." The label stuck and McGovern became known as the candidate of "amnesty, abortion and acid." [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19694666/page/7/ Meet the Press Transcript for July 15, 2007. "Interview with Robert Novak] ] [http://www.columbiatribune.com/2007/Aug/20070819Feat004.asp Columbia Tribune. "A slice of history: Biographers of the late U.S. Sen. Thomas Eagleton of Missouri will find some vivid anecdotes when they comb through his large collection of journals, letters and transcripts housed in Columbia" by Terry Ganey. August 19, 2007] ]

Novak was accused of manufacturing the quote. To rebut the criticism, Novak took the senator to lunch after the campaign and asked whether he could identify him as the source. The senator said he would not allow his identity to be revealed.Kansas City Star. "With another disclosure, Novak bedevils the dead" by Steve Kraske. July 28, 2007. The [http://www.kansascity.com/news/columnists/steve_kraske/story/209499.html original story] is a dead link. An archival copy is [http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/2629/2204062.html available here] .] "Oh, he had to run for re-election", said Novak. "The McGovernites would kill him if they knew he had said that." Novak added.

On July 15, 2007, Novak disclosed on "Meet the Press" that the unnamed senator was Thomas Eagleton. Political analyst Bob Shrum says that Eagleton would never have been selected as McGovern's running mate if it had been known at the time that Eagleton was the source of the quote. "Boy, do I wish he would have let you publish his name. Then he never would have been picked as vice president," said Shrum. "Because the two things, the two things that happened to George McGovern—two of the things that happened to him—were the label you put on him, number one, and number two, the Eagleton disaster. We had a messy convention, but he could have, I think in the end, carried eight or 10 states, remained politically viable. And Eagleton was one of the great train wrecks of all time."

Eagleton died March 4, 2007, "relieving me of the need to conceal his identity," Novak wrote. Some of Eagleton’s former aides are angry Eagleton never authorized his name to be attached to a quote that makes Eagleton look duplicitous. Asked about the story, Novak acknowledged that disclosing Eagleton’s identity was "a judgment on my part." If there’s any disagreement, Eagleton could settle it with him in heaven "or wherever we end up," Novak added.

Departure from CNN and recent work

On August 4, 2005, Novak walked off the set during a live broadcast of the CNN show "Inside Politics", on which he appeared along with Democratic strategist and analyst James Carville (with whom Novak had debated for years on "Crossfire"). During a heated discussion about Florida Republican Representative Katherine Harris' just-announced 2006 bid for U.S. Senate, Novak uttered an expletive; and as anchor Ed Henry was asking Carville a question, Novak threw off his microphone and stormed off the set. Critics later charged that Novak had done so to avoid discussing recent developments in the Valerie Plame affair on-air. In response to the incident, CNN suspended Novak for one day and apologized to its viewers, calling the outburst "inexcusable and unacceptable."

Novak retired from CNN after 25 years on December 23, 2005, stating that his relationship with the network lasted "longer than most marriages". Novak also said he had "no complaints" about CNN. Fox News had confirmed one week earlier that Novak had signed a contract to do unspecified work for the network. Novak stated that he still would have left CNN even if he had not been kicked off in the August incident and did not go to Fox News because the network was more friendly to his point of view. "In 25 years I was never censored by CNN and I said some fairly outrageous things and some very conservative things. I don't want to give the impression that they were muzzling me and I had to go to a place that wouldn't muzzle me," Novak said.

Novak is third in most appearances on NBC's "Meet the Press", behind David Broder of the "Washington Post" and the late May Craig of the "Portland Press Herald". He has been a Fox News contributor since 2006 and continues to write his opinion column for the "Chicago Sun-Times". [http://www.suntimes.com/news/novak/index.html] Index of his columns from www.suntimes.com. - Accessed July 4, 2007.]

His memoirs, entitled "Prince of Darkness: Fifty Years Reporting in Washington", were published in July 2007 by Crown Forum, a division of Random House. "Prince of Darkness" was a nickname given to Novak by his friend, reporter John Lindsay, "because [Lindsay] thought for a young man I took a very dim view of the prospects for our civilization," Novak said in an interview. [cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/15/magazine/15WWLN-Q4-t.html?ex=1342152000&en=fd911ae0e39ea9b7&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&pagewanted=print|accessdate=2007-07-15|date=2007-07-15|title=Questions for Robert Novak: The Plame Game |author=Solomon, Deborah|publisher=New York Times]

On May 15, 2008, Novak wrote a column celebrating and reviewing his 45 year career as a reporter and columnist. Novak noted that, presently, his column is the "nation's longest-running current syndicated political column." Novak also stated it was his intention to continue to report and write his column and to "die in the saddle without retiring."

Brain tumor diagnosis and resignation

On July 23, 2008, Novak received a citation from police for "failing to yield a right of way" to an 86-year-old pedestrian, Don Clifford Liljenquist, who was hit by Novak's Corvette in slow-moving traffic. Novak drove approximately one block from the scene before being flagged down by a cyclist who had witnessed the accident and subsequently called the police. Novak said that he was unaware that a collision had occurred until being informed by eyewitnesses. The pedestrian was taken to George Washington University Hospital and treated for a dislocated shoulder. [ [http://townhall.com/columnists/RobertDNovak/2008/09/06/my_brain_tumor My Brain Tumor] by Robert D. Novak] [cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/23/AR2008072301624.html | title=Novak Cited for Hitting Pedestrian | author=Paul Duggan | work=Washington Post | publisher=The Washington Post Company | date=2008-07-24 | accessdate=2008-07-25 ] [cite news | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/24/AR2008072402099.html | title=Man Hit by Novak Has Hurt Shoulder but Is 'Doing Fine'| author=Paul Duggan | work=Washington Post | publisher=The Washington Post Company | date=2008-07-25 | accessdate=2008-07-25 ] http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Novak-Brain-Tumor.html Robert Novak Announces Immediate Retirement] ] Shortly after the accident, on July 27, 2008, Novak was admitted to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston where he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. In a written statement given to his publisher, Novak said: “Doctors will soon begin appropriate treatment. I will be suspending my journalistic work for an indefinite but, God willing, not too lengthy period.” [ [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121726513443690195.html?mod=googlenews_wsj "Wall Street Journal": Commentator Robert Novak Diagnosed With Brain Tumor] ] Hospital residents check for brain tumors in patients who didn't realize they struck something in a car accident, as this can be a focal neurologic sign. [ [http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hARDjD1P35QtMHYn3ehO30A-onYQD9272BN81 "Associated Press": Columnist Robert Novak Diagnosed With Brain Tumor] ] Novak tendered his resignation from his column on August 4, 2008 after revealing that the prognosis on his tumor was considered "dire". [ [http://www.suntimes.com/news/novak/1089872,novak080408.article Sun-Times political columnist Robert Novak retires :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Robert Novak ] ] Later that month, he began writing new opinion columns for Creators Syndicate. [ [http://www.creators.com/opinion/robert-novak/avoiding-a-lieberman-disaster.html] ]

ee also

*CIA leak grand jury investigation
*CIA leak scandal timeline
*Daily show recurring segment on Bob Novak
*Joseph C. Wilson
*Plame affair
*Rowland Evans (his partner in journalism for 30 years)
*Valerie Plame

Citations

References

*Joe Conason, "New York Observer", August 6 2001, "Was Hanssen a Spy for the Right Wing, Too?"
*cite book |author=Robert D. Novak |title=The Prince of Darkness: 50 Years Reporting in Washington |year=2007 |accessdate=2008-02-03 |edition= |series= |publisher=Crown Forum |location=New York |isbn=978-1-4000-5199-1 |oclc= |pages= |quote=
*cite book |author=Rowland Evans |coauthors=Robert D. Novak |authorlink=Rowland Evans |title=Lyndon B. Johnson: The Exercise of Power|year=1966 |accessdate=2008-02-03 |publisher=New American Library |location=New York |isbn=0-313-26395-7 |edition=(library binding)|oclc= |pages= |quote=
*cite book |author=Rowland Evans, Jr. |coauthors=Robert D. Novak |title=Nixon in the White House: The Frustration of Power|year=1971 |accessdate=2008-02-03 |edition=1st edn |publisher=Random House |location=New York |isbn=9780394462738 |oclc= |pages= |quote=
*cite book |author=Robert D. Novak |title=The Agony of the G.O.P., 1964 |year= |accessdate=2008-02-03 |publisher=The Macmillan Company |location=New York |isbn=B0007DNN72 |oclc= |pages= |quote=
*cite book |author=Robert D. Novak |title=Completing the Revolution: A Vision for Victory in 2000 |year=2000 |accessdate=2008-02-03 |publisher=The Free Press |location=New York |isbn=0-7432-4271-8 |oclc= |pages= |quote=
*cite book |author=Rowland Evans |coauthors=Robert D. Novak |title= The Reagan Revolution |year=1981 |month=September |accessdate=2008-02-03 |publisher=E. P. Dutton |location=New York |isbn=978-0525189701 |oclc= |pages= |quote=

Notes

*A full transcript of the broadcast can be viewed [http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0508/04/ip.01.html here]
*A video of the incident can be seen [http://mediamatters.org/items/200508040004 here.]
* Bauder, David, "CNN suspends Novak after he walks off set." Associated Press. August 5, 2005.
* [http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/TV/08/05/novak.cnn.ap/index.html "Robert Novak apologizes for outburst."] CNN. August 6, 2005.
*The Democratic National Committee issued a press release, viewable [http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=51390 here.]
*Steinberg, Jacques. "Novak walks off live CNN program." "New York Times". August 5, 2005.

External links

* [http://www.expressnightout.com/content/2007/07/heart_of_darkness_robert_novak.php Novak Q&A with the Washington Post's Express occasioned by the publication of "The Prince of Darkness"]
*cite web |url=http://www.creators.com/opinion/robert-novak-about.html |title=About Robert Novak, author of the column Inside Report... |accessdate=2008-02-03 |work= |publisher=Creators Syndicate |quote=
* [http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2004/0412.sullivan.html "Bob in Paradise: How Novak created his own ethics-free zone"] "Washington Monthly" (Sullivan, Amy.) , December 2004
* [http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/cf.html CNN Crossfire Transcripts]
*David Margolick, [http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2005/04/novak200504 "What About Novak"] , "Vanity Fair", April 2005.
* [http://campusprogress.org/tools/373/know-your-right-wing-speakers-robert-novak Know Your Right-Wing Speakers: Robert Novak]
*"Mission to Niger", [http://www.townhall.com/columnists/RobertDNovak/2003/07/14/mission_to_niger the article, first published in the "Chicago Sun Times" that publicly identified covert agent Valerie Plame of the Central Intelligence Agency.]
* [http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/05/45_years_of_columns.html Novak marking 45 years of writing his column]
* [http://www.suntimes.com/news/novak/index.html Novak's column] in the "Chicago Sun Times"
* [http://www.outloudopinion.com Podcasts of Novak's recent articles]
* [http://www.humanevents.com/search.php?author_name=Robert+Novak The Evans-Novak Political Report] at "Human Events"
* [http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/10/01/novak/ "The Operative"] , Salon.com, (Jacoby, Mary) October 1, 2004
* [http://www.cato.org/events/040629bf.html Video of Novak commenting on the book America Alone: The Neo-Conservatives and the Global Order]