Yes he did. Novak tossed a softball and Bush and his people treated it like a grenade. The cluelessness of Bush and the stupidity of people like Scooter Libby and Karl Rove was startling. I'll never understand why Cheney didn't step up. The story also exposed the cowardice and lying hypocrisy of people like Colin Powell and Richard Armitage. The whole thing was a mind-boggling clusterf+++ that didn't have to be.
That sums it up for me, as well.