Robert Novak

Robert David Novak (born February 26, 1931) is a U.S conservative columnist ("Inside Report", since 1963; until 1993 co-written with Rowland Evans) who is also well known as a television personality, appearing on programs like CNN's Capital Gang or Crossfire or NBC's Meet the Press. Born in Joliet, Illinois, he attended the University of Illinois from 1948 to 1952 and earned a bachelors of arts degree. He wrote for the Joliet Herald-News and The Champaign-Urbana Courier while in college. After serving in the Korean War as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army, he joined the Associated Press and covered politics in Indianapolis. In 1957, he covered Congress for the AP in Washington, D.C until he joined the D.C. bureau of The Wall Street Journal in 1958 to cover the Senate, eventually becoming the chief congressional correspondent in 1961. Novak has strong conservative views, yet does not strongly identify with the current direction of the Republican Party. Like Pat Buchanan, he is ideologically similar to what many call a paleoconservative. In 1966, he teamed up with Rowland Evans to create the Evans-Novak Political Report, until Evans' death in 2001. In 2003, he disclosed the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame in his newspaper column after receiving a leak from a member of the Bush administration. The leak is currently being investigated, but at the present time, the nature of the leak itself is in question. The operative status of Plame, her function, and her involvement in her husband's trip to Africa all factor in to the issue. In March 2004, he insinuated on CNN's Crossfire that Richard Clarke had revealed government mistakes in his book dealing with the war against terrorism because he resented Condoleezza Rice's position as a black woman on the cabinet. The Daily Show responded by pointing out Novak's previous statements and labeling Novak 'a douchebag for liberty'.

Books

\n* Agony of the GOP, 1964 \n* Lyndon B. Johnson: The Exercise of Power\n* Nixon in the White House: The Frustration of Power\n* The Reagan Revolution

External links

\n*Novak's column in the Chicago Sun Times\n*CNN Crossfire Transcript