Blast From the Past: Robert Novak Edition

The late Robert Novak sure knew how to call them. Novak didn't think Richard Nixon could beat George Romney for the 1968 Republican nomination. America would have been much better off if Novak's prediction proved to be true.

Shield Us From the Prince of Darkness

Robert Novak is a very enthusiastic supporter of Rep. Mike Pence federal shield for journalists bill. Only Novak could write about Patrick Fitzgerald and Judith Miller without mentioning that he leaked Valerie Plame's CIA status to the world. Novak has no shame.

Democrats: The Lack of Action Movie

It's a shame that Bob Novak became a vindictive shill. He used to be a good journalist and shill. Novak's assertment that the Democrats continue to screw themselves to give Bush what they want is astute.

Democrats' public objections to Mukasey centered on whether water-boarding fit the definition of torture. Raising these objections allowed them to turn the Mukasey nomination into another flashpoint for rallying their base against the Bush Administration's conduct of the War on Terror, but their eventual capitulation also followed their pattern on this issue area: Raise a cry, attack the White House and then give the White House what it wants.

Democrats offer bluster but are terrified of following through with actions. The National Review's Bryon York asked Garance Franke-Ruta why Democrats couldn't even pass a resolution against Rush Limbaugh's phony soldiers remark. Franke-Ruta did not have a convincing reason. York gets Franke-Ruta to admit that the Democratic base probably wouldn't bothered by a resolution condemming Limbaugh's remark. Franke-Ruta is smart enough to know much of the base would be thrilled.

Gonzales Has No Supporters

It's really bad when the Prince of Darkness states that Republicans aren't going to fight to save Alberto Gonzales. Robert Novak quotes an anonymous Republican.

"Gonzales never has developed a base of support for himself up here," a House Republican leader told me. But this is less a Gonzales problem than a Bush problem. With nearly two years remaining in his presidency, George W. Bush is alone. In half a century, I have not seen a president so isolated from his own party in Congress -- not Jimmy Carter, not even Richard Nixon as he faced impeachment.

It's always good to take Novak with a grain of salt. It's still is disturbing to read a conservative columnist say Gonzales is more hated by Congressional Republicans than Donald Rumsfeld. The op-ed notes that Republicans are finally realizing that Bush always asks them to make political sacrifices, but will never go to the mat for them. Only took them six years to figure that out.