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RIP: Robert Novak

Morgan Clendaniel
By Morgan ClendanielAug 20, 2009
Morgan Clendaniel
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Robert Novak, political columnist extraordinaire, died today at the age of 78. Other venues will do an excellent job recapping Novak's career, from old-school Watergate reporter, to influential pundit, to "the prince of darkness." Here is the Times obit, for instance.My question is this: Will Novak, without question the more influential and important journalist, be honored with the same hagiographies that followed Tim Russert's death, despite the fact that Novak is almost certainly less universally adored than Russert?I'm not saying that Russert didn't deserve the week of tributes, I cried along with the best of them to some of those specials. I'm saying Novak deserves a good deal of credit for being a massive force in American journalism for a long time, and I hope he's honored for that, despite his prickly attitude.
elections and politics

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