By now you may have heard about the passing of the famous Washington columnist and reporter, Robert Novak, who died of brain cancer on August 18th at the age of 78. Novak covered the Washington beat for over 50 years starting with the AP, the Wall Street Journal, and his syndicated column “Inside Report” with Rowland Evans, which he continued to write long after Evans retired. Most of us know him from his television persona on CNN as a host and guest on many news shows such as “The Capital Gang” and “Crossfire” where he played the curmudgeon to his peers and was called “The Prince of Darkness”, which he said referred to his pessimism about civilization, not his conservatism.
I had the privilege of a brief encounter with Novak in Florida in February of 2008 just a few months before he was diagnosed with brain cancer. The Young American Foundation (YAF) was traveling to various cities on a promotional tour and, as a long time supporter, I was invited to the event. Bob Novak was traveling with the group as an after-dinner speaker about the coming presidential election and was promoting his last book, “The Prince of Darkness”, an autobiography about his 50 years in Washington. My wife had just suffered a heart attack, had triple bypass surgery, and was recuperating at home at the time and I was reluctant to leave her for the evening. However, she knew I loved Novak and urged me to attend. The meeting was held at the Ritz Carlton and following the afternoon session I asked Ron Robinson, the President of YAF, if Novak was around because I wanted to meet him and have him sign my copy of his book. Ron directed me to the patio where people were beginning to gather for the pre-dinner cocktails.
I spotted Novak standing with some young college students who were part of the YAF entourage. I immediately went over and introduced myself and asked if he would sign his book for me. He smiled graciously and signed it with a nice salutation. Thus began a most fascinating and memorable 30 minutes, in which we discussed his past and current experiences like friends who hadn’t seen each other for years. We had great chemistry and he focused on my questions, as I was mesmerized about his observations of several Presidents. There was no pretense or omnipotent preaching, just honest observation of first hand, uncensored interactions with Johnson, Carter, Ford, Clinton, Reagan,and Bush I & II. He had particular admiration for Reagan and Johnson, who hosted his wedding party because Novak’s wife was a secretary in Johnson’s White House. He had particular disdain for Carter, who he called the biggest liar of any President he covered. Needless to say, I was taken by his naturalness, his concern for my wife’s health, and his appreciation of my recognition of his accomplishments. He was a man comfortable in his own skin and at a time in life when interaction with your public was now more important than any hills to climb.
My admiration of Robert Novak stems from his obsession with the story and the facts rather than spreading his own ideology or opinion in his reports, a lesson that should be heeded by our modern day journalists. He had the unique ability to cultivate his sources and was always loyal to them. Although he was conservative in his views, he was not a partisan. Novak was hard on Republicans as well as Democrats and was skeptical about power and the intervention of big government in our lives.
Novak converted to Catholicism in 1998, so I expect he is continuing his column for Saint Peter, writing about the big stories in Heaven. We will miss his column here on Earth and also the prince of darkness, who was really a gentle and caring man.
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