Posted on 08/18/2009 9:06:24 AM PDT by freespirited
Chicago Sun-Times columnist Robert Novak, one of the nation’s most influential journalists, who relished his “Prince of Darkness” public persona, died at home here early Tuesday morning after a battle with brain cancer.
“He was someone who loved being a journalist, love journalism and loved his country and loved his family, Novak’s wife, Geraldine, told the Sun-Times on Tuesday.
Novak’s remarkable and long-running career made him a powerful presence in newspaper columns, newsletters, books and on television.
On May 15, 1963, Novak teamed up with the late Rowland Evans Jr. to create the “Inside Report” political column, which became the must-read syndicated column. Evans tapped Novak, then a 31-year old correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, to help with the workload of a six-day-a-week column.
Evans and Novak were the od d couple: Evans a Philadelphia blue blood and Yale graduate; Novak from Joliet, Ill. who attended the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana campus.
Novak handled the column solo after Evans retired in 1993. The Chicago Sun-Times has been Novak’s home paper since 1966.
Robert David Sanders Novak, 78, was born and raised in Joliet and his first newspaper jobs were with the Joliet Herald-News and, while a student at the University of Illinois, the Champaign-Urbana Courier. Novak maintained a lifelong tie to the University of Illinois with the school creating the Robert D. Novak chair of Western Civilization and Culture in 200X.
Mrs. Novak said that her husband passed away at 4:30 a.m., returning home after being hospitalized between July 10 and July 24. Novak’s malignant brain tumor was discovered July 27, 2008.
About Scooter, I really wonder if Patrict Fitz wasn’t using the standard playbook of all aggressive prosecutors.
Prosecutors work their way up the food chain, hoping the little fish will snitch on the big fish. Fitz obviously wanted to get the head of the corruption in the IL GOP, which just happened to be a close buddy of Karl Rove.
Was it the Fitz game plan to squeeze Libby to then squeeze Rove with the real target being corruption in the IL GOP?
It has long been speculated that this head of corruption was skilled at violating Federal Campaign Finance laws in the raising and distribution of bribes to Republican officials. Almost certainly, Rove was privy to what his buddy was doing, although probably not directly doing it himself.
May he rest in peace.
If there are villains to be scorned and ridiculed, it is Valerie Plame, Joe Wilson, Patrick Fitzgerald, Colin Powell, and Richard Armitage. They are the true slime.
“Pray For Me”
http://townhall.com/columnists/RobertNovak/2008/11/20/pray_for_me?page=full&comments=true
My post #82 summed up Patrick Fitzgerald’s career for the haters here. They really don’t care about facts, all they care about is poor widdle Scooter Libby because Scooter happens to have an “R” next to his name like them.
~~~
Don’t agree at all. Fitzie has proven himself to
be a bull about certain things/people, but a very
quirky, unprofessional, egotistically obsessive
and compulsive bull. He gets something in his
mind .. and that’s it. It’s reality.
I may, however, consider him to be less unprofessional
than his totally outrageous “Lincoln would roll over in
his grave” demeanor if I see him pursue the
substantial corruption of folks who are closely
affiliated with King Richard and/or his closest patrons
and/or subjects and the running (ruining) of Chicago.
I will always remember Bob Novak at CPAC, when he had his absolutely wonderful face-offs with Sam Donaldson. Their give and take was one of the most well-attended of all the headliners. Amusing, intelligent, and a wonderful insight into the personalities.
My sorrow for his family and close friends. He is still with them, but just from a higher power.
I’d feel a whole lot cuddlier towards Novak if he hadn’t let a good man (Libby) twist in the wind when he, Novak, knew it had been squishy-leftish Armitage who’d bandied Plame’s name around. Libby committed the crime of misremembering something in a two-year-old email, then made the major error of bringing his oversight voluntarily to the attention of the prosecution. Memo to self: don’t do that. Libby was and is an honorable man who had crossed an ambitious, grudge-carrying prosecutor with his representation of Marc Rich. I’m not so sure “honorable” applies to Novak. For sure, it does not apply to Armitage or that detestable snake-in-the-grass ingrate, Colin Powell.
In Novak’s case, it’s a matter between him and G-d at this point. May his soul rest in peace, and may Scooter Libby take comfort in the knowledge that a few of us know the truth and hold him in high regard.
Catholic convert and political commentator Robert Novak passes away
I applaud him for those comments and I can't see how any rational person would disagree. Illinois, "the land of Lincoln" has become a national laugh stocking and I'm ashamed to live in what was once a great Republican state. Now it's overrun with RINOs and Democrats who are working together for "bipartisan" corruption and have made this state into the most corrupt state in the union (Thanks to Louisiana losing that honor after Katrina). 5 out of last 8 governors have been indicted. Lincoln would indeed roll over his grave if he saw what his beloved prairie state looked like today.
And you're offended that a prosecutor would "obsessively" pursue these scumbags and drag these RATs out of the shadows and expose them for the slime they are?
Maybe you'd prefer a "kindler, gentler" prosecutor who talks nice on TV. "King Richard" would as well, that's why he shares the useful idiot wing of FR's hatred of Fitzgerald. He's really tired of all his department heads having the word "acting" in their title because the ones he picked for the office are all in jail.
So you don't think jailing the second highest ranking elected Democrat in Chicago (city clerk James Laski), the biggest Dem fundraiser in the state (Tony Rezko), and half a dozen alderman who are "top allies" of Daley on the city council is "pursuing substantial corruption of folks closely affiliated with Daley"... but at the same time you want Fitz to stop bashing criminals on TV and be nice and cuddly? Talk about a contradiction.
“Didn’t always agree with the crotchety old guy, but he had some very good points”
Yeah.
Rest in peace Mr. Novak.
So you don’t think jailing the second highest ranking elected Democrat in Chicago (city clerk James Laski), the biggest Dem fundraiser in the state (Tony Rezko), and half a dozen alderman who are “top allies” of Daley on the city council is “pursuing substantial corruption of folks closely affiliated with Daley”... but at the same time you want Fitz to stop bashing criminals on TV and be nice and cuddly? Talk about a contradiction.
~~~
You tell me ... is that as high, wide and deep as
the decades-long corruption goes and has gone ? Do
you think he’s truly after all the crooks and corrupt
city officials and the huge network in that Machine?
And no .. I don’t expect him to be nice and cuddly.
He was completely unethical in the Blago presser;
any state attorney/legal professional will plainly
tell you that. He betrayed the standing of his
office .. it was evidence of temperament, self-
control and judgment issues.
My opinion doesn’t matter a hill of beans, but I
see him as unpredictable and quirky and at times
prone to being carried away by plots and fantasies
only in his head, which aren’t good traits for
top law enforcement officials.
I get the sense he’s being very choosy about
his targets in Chicago, etc..
And the Peter Lance issue. Stunning ..
Needless to say, he doesn’t have my implicit trust.
“Plamegate” was the biggest bunch of a hooey the media ever coughed up.
Indicting Libby was ridiculous and a waste a time for Fitzgerald who has plenty of real crime to deal with in his district, more than plenty. His case against Conrad Black may have been hinky as well but I didn’t follow the details of that so I don’t know.
But I won’t cast him as a villain him for those things.
He’s pretty much shown he’ll go after anybody he thinks he has a case against.
We’re lucky it would be politically difficult for Obama to replace him. Just imagine the combine hack that Dick Durbin would recommend to take his place. I forget who PatFitz’s predecessor was but I’m sure it was a combine hack.
I used to drive home from school at top speed so I can see him “Crossfire”.
RIP Mr. Novak...you are a conservative icon and stood strong through the tough years when being conservative in the media was a very lonely voice.
I'll never forgive Colin Powell and Richard Armitage for that either.
As for Valerie Plame and Joseph C. Wilson, thirty pieces of silver will buy them a StyxxBoat ride to Six Flags Over Hades. Yes, and sadly, he let President Bush take the heat when he most needed the truth to surfsce.
I didn’t always agree with him but I did enjoy his wit.
Prayers for Geraldine and the Novak family. This man was the last of the true noble journalist.
Some people don’t understand him because it’s been so long and there are so few journalists left.
Now everyone thinks they are the modern form of Hunter Thompson and that their opinion needs to be heard. And 99% of them all agree.
Anyone who hasn’t read his memoirs in 2007 should try to get it or pick it up at their library. It’s a great read over the decades of government in Washington.
Was fortunate enough to email Mr. Novak and tell him how much I enjoyed his book. He wrote back and thanked me.
Love this guy for years. Back in the day, he was the only and sole voice that you could see on CNN and say, “That guy is saying what I”m thinking no one else is remotely close.”
He’d take on a whole panel of liberals and say the contrary. It would upset them but you could see at times, the look in their eye told them, he’s right.
The talking heads were the aligned voices of liberalism. Bob stood up against them and reminded them that the people out in America were not with them. He did this often and vociferously.
Frankly, just for that alone, I love the man. But I also grew up under Reagan and he and Rollie’s column. It was maximum power per letter, short and powerful.
A man’s man and a journalist’s journalist.
God bless him. I miss him already.
good spec
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