Bob Novak dies of cancer -- and his right-wing pals rush to lie about his role in the Plame case
By David Neiwert Tuesday Aug 18, 2009 11:00am
Robert Novak died today of brain cancer.
Novak will perhaps be best remembered -- if at all -- as one of the most compulsive professional liars to have wormed his way inside the Beltway, and that's saying something. And when it came to the interference he ran to protect the Bush-Cheney administration -- culminating in his central role in the Valerie Plame affair -- and his resulting efforts to cover his tracks, it even had historic proportions. Novak himself had constantly lied about this role, and was fond of accusing the people uncovering his tracks of lying. (See Marcy's authoritative work on Novak for more.)
Unsurprisingly, his friends are now eager to make us all forget this. Tim Carney's remembrance omits any mention of it whatsoever. And then there was Fred Barnes on Fox this morning, who simply followed in his friend's footsteps and flatly lied about the Plame case:
Barnes: Bob -- you know, Bob was unruffled by the whole thing. He had to get a lawyer, but, ah, you know, it was no problem to him.
Of course, it turned out that he was the first one to hear from anybody in the Bush administration about Valerie Plame, uhm, being a part, and her husband, you know, helping her husband get this, go to this trip to Africa, and then say that President Bush had -- what President Bush had said about Saddam Hussein seeking uranium in Africa was wrong.
They're still discussing it. It turns out that President Bush was right.
But anyway, Bob was caught up in this scandal, he'd heard about it first, and reported it in his column, and then was perfectly comfortable being the center of attention in a legal case that went on for years and years.
WTF? It's long been an established fact that Novak's reportage was wrong, and in fact was just a propaganda-driven smear on behalf of the Bush administration, since Plame in fact had nothing to do with Joe Wilson getting the Niger assignment. (George Tenet himself explained: "Mid-level officials in CPD [The CIA’s Directorate of Operations Counterproliferation Division] decided on their own initiative to [ask Joe Wilson to look into the Niger issue because] he'd helped them on a project once before, and he'd be easy to contact because his wife worked in CPD.")
And since when has it "turned out" that "Bush was right" about the Niger yellowcake? Not only was the report on which he based the claim he made in the State of the Union built from set of hoax documents, but the White House ignored warnings that this was likely the case. Moreover, there has been no subsequent evidence to suggest that Saddam indeed sought yellowcake from Niger.
Ah, but such things as facts and truthfulness matter little to people like Robert Novak and Fred Barnes. All they care about is covering their tracks. Lying is what they do, right up to their final breaths.
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Novak may have been one of the last "good" old-school typerwriter reporters, but he lost it in his ideology. He became a bit of a snake.
No denying he had an impact, but not sure if you could call it a good one.
...old school reporter that fits him is old.
I always thought a 'reporter' was one who gathered actual facts, and then reported them. Bob seemed to have a penchant for just makin' things up.....
He could have been a repugnant con.
Sounds like one.
Sins of Fraud. That would be you, Mr. Novak. Watch your step.
...just endless oblivion where he and his kind belong.
it's events like this that make me wonder that IF god exists, perhaps his aim is getting better.
No god...no devil either..
Brain cancer eh?
Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.
..I can't, I just can't, its everything that's wrong in this world..I can't say the one word..rush...oh dammit..
To a self-serving coward and traitor to America.
I'm sure there is a pack of rabid jackals mourning this loss somewhere.
being hanged by the neck until well and truly dead, as he deserved. Where do mean-spirited traitors who do their betrayals out of nothing more than spiteful vendictiveness go when they die?
IMHO, following, of course, a guilty verdict by his peers.
That said, apparently Someone with more pull than I decided to save the taxpayers the expense of a trial.
why we hadn't heard from the douchebag of liberty in some time.
sucks that he had brain cancer, but regardless, he was still a traitor to America.
I say if one of us got to beat it, I'm glad it was me.
die young"...
Condolences to his family.
You didn't actually think they were going to tell the truth now did you?
WTF? "It's long been an established fact that Novak's reportage was wrong,.."
That's what I thought!
Fred Barnes isn't smart enough to be a good liar. He wrote a book a few years back praising bush. "Rebel in Chief" As someone said in the reviews it seems to be a love letter to bush from Fred. Need I day more?
I won't speak ill of the dead. I will respect the family's mourning period. But once that is behind us, I'll have a whole lot to say.
...five minutes is more than enough time for this...person?
"Novak will perhaps be best remembered -- if at all -- as one of the most compulsive professional liars to have wormed his way inside the Beltway, and that's saying something."
This month the right'll be singing his praises. Next month they'll pin all GWB's plamegate on him and accuse the left on not letting it die with him.
The death of any man diminishes me, though some more or less than others.
this time.
I am sorry that I didn't return in time to change this.
On reflection I would rather have said: do not speak ill of the recently departed, if you cannot say anything good then say nothing at all…
And leave it at that, but alas…
respectfully, I admit to succumbing to the temptation of your post. I certainly meant your intent no disrespect.
and spot on.
add that I hope, for the sake of the nation, the funeral director double-checks that the stake is in place before he nails the coffin shut.
Of course, Saddam purchased yellow cake and met with Atta and worked with the Taliban and spoke to bin Laden daily and had WMD's and....
Rightwingers have never let a few inconvenient facts get in the way of re-writing history (even if it's irrefutable).
They're like that.
Condolences to his family but Count Novakula was a despicable, mean little man.
...if you disagree with them, which i did with this guy. Definitely not a fan and like this posting says, he will be remembered mostly for being the snake that published the identity of Valerie Plame as a a CIA operative. He never got the thrashing he deserved for it either.
Bush and his administration has never been prosecuted for their complete destruction of our country.
By the actions or lack of them by Obama /Emanuel Bush and his mob will never be prosecuted.
Just watch in the coming years Bush will receive the blessing he said and be praise for his criminal war and criminal actions in office..
Just who is this group ,, that are controlling our government...
and we can put this Kennedy assassination question to rest.
What about the complete destruction of Iraq and the 100,000s of Iraqis that perished?
Novak helped to enable that kind of horror. He provided the cover for the politicians.
...I don't have to honor the life of someone I consider a traitorous bastard. Him or any of his ilk. My only hope is that there is a hell for him to reside.
100s of thousands killed and maimed, the millions displaced, and suffering of generations to come, thanks to the lies and treason of this greasy little man.
Was one of the reasons Bush/Cheney/Rove were successful in having one of worst criminal administrations in history.
It also looks as if Obama , Emanuel , Pelosi , Reid and others will be the reason Bush and Cheney will never be prosecuted for their criminal actions. in having one of worst criminal administrations in history.
that brain cancer is contagious. Germs are easily spread in dark, stifling quarters devoid of basic hygeine.
Look.. I was no fan of Bob Novak's lies while he was alive. I think he was a terrible apologist.
But let us not be everything the Right says we are. Let them be the people who malign the dead. Who leap up with fiendish glee to say someone got what they deserved.
Let us instead, please, as progressives and liberals, take a pause, consider his family, and wish the man a simple passing.
To me, that's the decent thing to do.
I'm not prepared to give Right Wing any more fodder to consider we're monsters.
All the Best folks. Rest Easy Mr. Novak.
Jack
but i am not ashamed to admit that when i heard of his passing, my partner and i engaged in an exuberant high five. the only people i feel for, in this hour, are those that he left behind. for his family, my deepest sympathy and peace be with you. as my mother often says, he is now in the "world of truth" where he will see things as they are, and perhaps, repent for all of the awful things he said and did.
It is something to be hoped for.
but I don't get this "never speak ill of the dead..". I'm not religious. I don't believe in god. We are judged by our actions while we are alive. Not what may or may not happen in some fantasy afterlife.
Hitler died today. You know, I wasn't a big fan of his policies but let's consider his family and wish the man well.
Ted Bundy died today. Although I never agreed with his actions, we should let the man die with some dignity. RIP
Jeez.
I didn't say no one should speak ill of the dead, I just said I don't. It's my personal belief that when someone dies whether it's Bundy or Hitler or Novack, they are no longer living and can do no more harm, but they have family who loved them and those people are hurting now. So I show any family the same respect people showed me when my father died. As I grew up I was taught to respect the dead and I do.
I get no particular feeling of justice or elation when someone dies. Their life has ended and nothing can be done to go back to change anything they did or said.
The evil that men do lives on long after they are buried. The good is interred with their bones.
Novak's deeds will continue to do harm, like ripples in a sewer, regardless of the fact that he's dead.
"The evil men do lives on forever. The good is oft interred with their bones." "Julius Caesar," William Shakespeare
that's why I didn't put it in quotes.
up yourself.
Up yourself, buddy.
and I do understand you have that belief, but I feel that the evil that men (and women) do certainly lives on after they've died. It lives on in the pain and suffering of those still alive who were unfortunate enough to be subjected to their wrath.
I also believe that something *can* be done when their life has ended: speak the truth. I don't accept the notion that death somehow makes someone unaccountable.
I didn't mean to imply that death makes someone unaccountable, I just meant they had done whatever they did during life and those facts could not be changed after death. The man is dead and the facts of his life are what they are. Nothing can be done to undo what he did, but he can no longer continue to make things any worse.
Totally agree. Just because he's dead doesn't mean he wasn't a dick when he was alive. Being dead doesn't make him any better.
Nor does it make him any worse.
we don't know all of the other evil he has done.
reincarnates back into this world on a regular basis? Changing forms and identities every time? It's worth considering. If just even for entertainment.
Bob Novak comparable to Adolf Hitler, Ted Bundy.
Stay classy, Walrus.
I was about to say:Burn in Hell Motherfucker..but your point is well taken..and I'll take mine back.
I hope though Bobby, where ever you wind up you get what you deserve.
they can't have it both ways. Either we're bleeding heart liberals, falling over ourselves in our rush to forgive evil men, or we're not. I'm going with not.
We just happen to have a different definition of the word "evil"
I'd like to advise them I will be a monster right
quick if it comes to that.
What they really think is, we're a bunch of granola eating, Volvo driving wussies.
What we are is, just like them, also the sons and daughters of the men that landed at Normandy and Gaudalcanal (my father).
Somebody should have pointed that out about 8 years ago. Knuckles would have worked then while it's looking like it's going to take AR-15s now.
Kerry should have knocked some teeth out as well as
John Murtha and about 100 other people I saw bearing
the insults of "coward" and "un-American" without
so much as a wince. They allowed the situation to become what it has in order to protect their image of reasonable gentleman. There are some insults which preclude a gentlemanly response and I can think of none greater than un-American. Fascist and Hitler and socialist roll off the lips of the enemies of reason now as a foregone conclusion and the children of the "tyrants" are eating it up with a spoon and duct taping 30 round clips together. Joseph Goebbels owns
half the media and radio Rwanda is back on the air.
A few right hooks could have saved us. Win or lose
the line should have been already drawn.
Better the tree of liberty is watered with a few bloody noses than bullet wounds.
Lies need to be called lies. Not un-truths, not misrepresentations, not mis-speaking.
They are lies and at every turn should be refuted and disproved beyond a shadow of a doubt. And Novak was a liar. A dangerous and self serving liar of the first order.
I wish he had the opportunity to call me un-American to my face.
Buh-bye Bob, you urine stain on the fabric of civilization.
Death panels, birth certificates, fascist, commies, yellow cake,
WMDs..
Wow... children afraid of the boogey man and lined up to hear more.
You are OUT of rational arguments ditto heads.
Your arguments are "self evidently" laughably false.
Yea your working too hard and getting screwed at every turn but get the FACTS right and we can work together
to fix it. Figure out who really is screwing you.
Who really has you by the balls. It's not Obama and Pelosi.... Their balls are in the same squeeze as yours.
Who's got hands that big?
He jeopardized the lives of many by being a traitor to his country.
And brain cancer is usually painless, for those who wished him agony. I don't wish a painful death on anybody.
Disliked him from the first time I saw him on the McLaughlin group. Was certainly "full of" himself. Should also have been prosecuted for the Plame incident.
exactly!
we don't have to spend a whole lot of time with this dispicable man.
Not to jab a fork in some people, but,
fear sure sells a whole lotta stuff,
scaring people sure work's dont it?
just like in the valerie plame case..remember how they mentioned,
'yellow cake'?...weapons of mass destruction, an nukleer weapons..
here..is a website to fool you folks into war..
http://leadingtowar.com/
hey, follow the money...they sure have lots, and lots of money lost to the dept of defense..
he had other choices but that was his choice no one did it to him.
Vampires don't die. They just crawl back into their coffin.
o.O
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5I3Lt8PwyQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWS4xfoM0Os
... what that he must have accidentally stumbled into a beam of sunlight, leaving only a pile of ash as a result.
Sad, but true (that I would think this, not that it really happened).
I have no sympathy at all for this sorry sack of shit. How many service people died because of his support for war criminals Bush and Cheney?
Isn't it enough that he outed a CIA agent and was never held accountable?
Good riddance. The world is a better place with him dead.
I'll celebrate with a cold beer, and hope there's a hell hot enough to burn your worthless soul.
"Bob was unruffled by the whole thing" --thing barnes
oh, unruffled? cute. i seem to recall that the agents and associates that were outed as a result of this unruffling-bullshit were pretty ruffled. possibly even ruffled to death.
fred barnes: class a fuckjob
I'll miss his arrogance, contempt for those that disagreed with thim, and his ability to turn stinky smell lies into a bouguet of roses.
-snip-
I had to edit myself. what I'm thinking is so appropriate to what novak was in real life, but Novacula will suffice. Many thanx to the creative comedy stylings of Jon Stewart's writers.
Novacula, sucking the blood out of journalism.
I hope he has a good air conditioner.
with a slow freon leak...
...if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. So I got nothin'.
...Mom never met Novacula.
His mom probably met or witnessed worse individuals in her time. I know that my mom did.
Face it: We act like children.
stand their and look cool.
That would be the day James Carville (admittedly a bit of a wanker at times) either (1) got under Novak's skin on CNN's 'Inside Politics,' or (2) Novak used a not particularly sharp exchange between the two as an alibi for walking of the set before Ed Henry could ask him about new evidence in the Valerie Plame case.
http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200508040004
Speaking of Novak's legacy, the BBC's online announcement of Novak's death began "Robert Novak, the conservative columnist who revealed the name of the CIA officer Valerie Plame, has died. . . "
At least the BBC didn't bury the lead.
thanx 4 the memories.
..
...the dude looked like he was already dead for as long as I had seen him on TV.
I don't believe it is correct to say that Valerie Plame had no role in Joe Wilson going to Niger. My recollection, and this would not be based on Novak's reporting or the reporting of Judy whatever her name was at the NYT, is that his wife was asked to ask him to come into the CIA. Now, whether or not she initiated his selection or even discussed the Niger mission with him before those at the CIA did, is anyone's guess.
By the way, despite all the denials, the public record is that Cheney in fact asked the CIA to look into the phony Italian/Niger documents, and Joe Wilson was the product of Cheney's request. If you ask me, I bet it's even likely that Cheney approved Wilson for the role knowing what a good egg he was during the first Gulf invasion.
P.S: It now appears that all the kerfuffle over Valerie Plame had very little to do with Joe Wilson or even Valerie Plame (or, better, the outing of Valerie Plame had little to do with Joe Wilson). Rather, it seems that the reason they (they being the Bushco. cabal) outed her is, according to Sibel Edmonds, that some Turks, who do some of America's dirty work, were about to hire Brewster Jennings, which Plame "worked" for, and those within the US establishment had to let the Turks know that Brewster Jennings was a front for the CIA!
I am not holding my breath waiting for the MSM to report the real story behind Valerie Plame, Joe Wilson and the phony Niger documents, although I bet they all spring from the same well.
true wanking. do you wear tinfoil suits, or just the hats?
n/t
He'll no doubt get an "A."
Novak dies and escapes earthly justice. Hopefully our legal system or another country's can administer justice to these 50 living war criminals before they go in front of their maker.
They probably can't rush very far without panting and getting drenched with flop sweat.
his passing...
to never speak bad about the dead. He's dead ..... good.
...from Novak's passing; I had NO idea so many people actually listen to their mothers.
I had no choice.
In my case, I listened to my grandmother first and my father, who was a mortician and embalmer, second. I don't think anyone ever listened to my mother.
Because we often lived upstairs over the funeral home where my dad worked, I grew up around dead people and although my dad failed in so many ways as a father, he always showed and demanded great respect for the dead and for the family they left behind.
Hey Bob, that's a helluva way to get yourself in a borrowed suit.
There's not enough urine in the world to give his grave the soaking it deserves.
best post!
LAST OF THE GREAT SHOE LEATHER REPORTERS
Remarkable and long-running career in journalism...
'Always love your country — but never trust your government!'
Pat Buchanan: 'Best columnist-reporter in last fifty years. And a reliable friend in times of trouble'...
...your government; unless they're a bunch of war loving, hate mongering neocons.
A real . . real . .
anal wart?
Odd title for a memoir, but apropos.
.
No he's not. More blood for HIM.
Lord Of Darkness is chainey's title.
as well as "Sultan Of Waaaagh"
... in honor of SOB (Sweet Old Bob) I pour some fine whiskey over his grave... after I passed it through my kidneys!
I think I will just skip Morning Joe in the morning because I am pretty sure Joe and Buchanan will only be mourning. I won't speak ill of the dead but I sure as hell don't have to listen to someone lie about the dead either.
I regret that he did not die in prison.
of the Bush Administration at least he did something right.
they stole two trillion dollars as they were walking out the door!
Now he is living with the real Prince of Darkness. Right along with Jerry Falwell.
Of people,that if given the opportunity, I would gladly dance at the funeral of.And end a sentence with a preposition for.( Damn I did it again).Screw you Bob.
Since when did "old school" reporting include lying and making yourself an integral part of the stories you report?
Everybody knows where the hateful Right Wing-nut and habitual liar is going to now.
Disney World?
.
whats the next buzz?
A hemorrhoid on the asshole of history.
If he hadn't been such a dutiful tool for Cheney's plan to discredit Joe Wilson, which had little impact on the war, his legacy would be mighty thin. He would be remembered only as a crank with more longevity than talent.
striving to bring Peace, Harmony, Understanding and Brotherhood to the planet that's obvious.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMOeBTHbTUs
..hit your arse on the way out Bob.
Jon Stewart to Crossfire: "You're hurting America. STOP."
(They went off the air shortly after.) :-D
Well, rest in peace Robert Novak,
That being said:
YOU don't have the "final say" on how you will be remembered.
That goes also, for myself.
That goes for us all.
why would novak be ruffled? he was riding into the sunset of his life. nothing could be or would be done.
because they love having the weak kiss asses they use to accomplish their goals. Novak was not an honorable hardworking journalist.
Wait until you hear what James Carville is saying about him. He is praising the hell out of him.
is an honorable man.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X9C55TkUP8&fe...
She threatened Carville with the full monty(with the lights on!) if he didn't.
That was pretty effin funny!
.
The little needle on my gross-o-meter just flew off the meter and fell on the floor.
"I'll Sleep When I'm Dead" when you really need one...
My wonderful Mother told me as a child, that if I don't have anything nice to say about a person, I shouldn't say anything at all...
.....................................
I'm going to take your mom's advice too.
"If you can't say something nice about somebody, come here and sit by me...
But I'll save my condolences for the many innocents Novak assisted in sending to Hell with his lies when he was alive.
give a person, no matter what their personal failings, time to get buried before cutting loose on them. He may have lacked empathy for anyone but himself but surely his family deserves some consideration. I always thought this policy distinguished C&L from lesser sites. Believe when I write this criticism that I had some difficulty in holding back myself. Better angels are sometimes hard to find but they are there.
My lesser angels and my better angels are at battle right now but so far the better ones are holding their own in this fight.
I keep thinking about the day we hear that Senator Kennedy has passed away and all the truly awful things we will read about him on right wing sites. I just don't want to be like them. I know not to dish it out because I won't be able to take it that day.
“In battle, in the forest, at the precipice in the mountains, On the dark great sea, in the midst of javelins and arrows, In sleep, in confusion, in the depths of shame, The good deeds a man has done before defend him" from the Bhagavad Gita. I expect when the Senator passes we'll hear only about Chappaquiddick.
to Novack's family.
However, the man was an asshole.
I suspect we'll dish out the same treatment when Rummy, Cheney or any of that crew passes away.
We're human. We're not divine beings ourselves.
What a Piece of Work is Man
Do you want to see my wings and my halo? I would show you my little harp but it's at the shop getting tuned.
You got issued a halo? Wow. I'm impressed.
Yep and I even have a spare in case this one gets tarnished.
And that was because it was stuck in me as I was running away.
You may have knocked on the wrong door.
Perhaps Hannity will inform them, though.
** Don't we usually give a person, no matter what their personal failings, time to get buried before cutting loose on them. **
Yes, we do.
But don't we also usually keep the identities of our deep cover agents secret from our enemies?
Yes we do.
Fortunately, I am not cursed with any better angels, so I don't mind saying that this planet is better off without that lying sack of shit sucking up any more resources or attention.
The man was a cancer on our Republic and it's all too fitting that his brain got eaten by his own body.
Why should I say any different?
If his family is coming to C&L for words of comfort, they're bigger fools than he was a villain.
how you really feel! :=D
and that includes people from whom we try to distance ourselves. The person who should have been most considerate of Novakula's family was the douchebag himself. But guess what? It's pretty clear by his public behaviour that he felt they weren't important enough to consider his own legacy, as he was putting it together. They were his beard, to make him look like he was some kind of decent human being. He wasn't, and I am always enraged by a fraud.
We're humans and we'll vent, and some will say "We're better than this." No we're not. We're all human. Both 'sides,' the same.
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