Bob Novak Died

Oh, I was just wondering the other day why we haven't heard anything more about Bob Novak. He had that problem with his car a few months ago and that's the last I heard.

Now today we learn he died. All the best to his family and loved ones.

Lynn Sweet says Bob relished his “Prince of Darkness” public persona. I believe we saw that, over and over, on CNN's "Crossfire" and "Capital Gang" shows.

I used to watch "Capital Gang" very faithfully, and Bob was a good foil for the more level headed (from my point of view) Mark Shields and Al Hunt. Then there was Margaret Carlson and my arch nemesis Kate O'Beirne. I quit watching it toward the end, the last year or so, because I couldn't stand the terrible opinions of Kate. Blech!

But the terrible opinions of Bob Novak I could stomach a lot more for some reason, which is weird, since they were pretty terrible. I don't know. Maybe he looked like he half didn't really believe it. And was playing a part. He definitely seemed to smile a lot more when he said something incendiary and was rebutted.

I also remember seeing him on "Evans and Novak," and he seemed less like a guy playing a part there.

Somewhere I have a book that Evans and Novak wrote on Nixon, which I recall reading some of several years ago. There's some interesting anecdotes in there about Nixon. One I recall is the story of Nixon going out late one night and talking to some antiwar guys at one of the memorials. Seemed like a good book.

When I saw Bob Novak on TV I usually had that book in the back of my mind, so maybe that's another reason I didn't dislike him very much.

BREAKING: Deputy and Two Dogs

I see a disconnect from what's important on CNN. They're showing a few minutes of a Joe Biden speech. He's telling a pleasant anecdote about himself and John McCain, then he starts getting fired up, attacking the Republicans with some red meat, and guess what --

We're breaking away at this point for a story about a deputy somewhere who may or may not have killed two dogs.

Let me make it perfectly clear, I'm not saying there's something wrong with our media and their priorities. But maybe the dog story belongs on Animal Planet. Just saying.