Opinion: Brian Lamb takes on Robert Novak

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It’s not true that conservative columnist Robert Novak covered the Second Battle of Manassas. It just seems like he’s been around that long, probing, pontificating, preaching. You may recall it was a Novak column that got this whole Scooter Libby business going.

The 75-year-old Novak has built quite a career branching out from his syndicated newspaper column to countless television appearances where he comes across as the well-informed irascible crab that he is. Novak has, as they say, a face for radio.

Well, he’s got a new book coming out--’The Prince of Darkness 50 Years of Reporting in Washington’--so naturally we’re going to see a lot more of that face on TV in coming days.

Novak was part of the press panel on ‘Meet the Press’ this morning. Here’s the transcript.

But tonight is your best chance. C-SPAN’s Brian Lamb does another one of his calm, thoughtful discussions with an author about his new book in which we learn that the Bush Administration did not intentionally leak Valeria Plame’s identity as a CIA agent, Novak didn’t appreciate the vitriol directed at him including charges of treason, could have used some more support from fellow reporters and once made $1.2 million a year between his column and his numerous regular appearances on CNN, including the thankfully departed verbal food fights he had on Crossfire. That’s pretty good money for someone who started at $42.50 a week on the Joliet Herald-News in 1948.

And it’s pretty good listening for a summer Sunday evening. C-SPAN at 8 and 11 Eastern time. C-SPAN2 also visited the Novak home for another episode of the Writing Life. That 34-minute segment will be broadcast tonight at 10 P.M. and midnight Eastern time on C-SPAN2.

--Andrew Malcolm