Novak Admits Smear Column Is Even Weaker Than It First Appeared

Bob Novak took to the airwaves today to defend his recent controversial column, in which he claimed that Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign was sitting on a bit of juicy dirt concerning her rival, Sen. Barack Obama.

Why the need to defend? Well, to put it bluntly, Novak's Saturday column has been ridiculed as - among the more noteworthy descriptions --- "shamelessly unethical" and "unconfirmed crap," for naming no names and containing no tangible information. So, to clear up the facts and keep his name in the news cycle, Novak went on Fox News this morning.

Novak disclosed that his source for the story was not anyone close to Clinton but rather, someone who was "told by an agent of the Clinton campaign" about the alleged dirt. Got that? So Novak was not privy to the dirt itself, nor did he talk to Clinton's people. Rather, he heard it from someone who had heard it from someone else. Another secondary source, Novak went on to say, claimed to have heard the same thing. Fact-checking = completed.

For the record, in the original column, Novak suggested he had more personal knowledge of that rumor-mongering. "Agents of Sen. Hillary Clinton," the piece began, "are spreading the word in Democratic circles that she has scandalous information about her principal opponent for the party's presidential nomination..." There was no mention of a source.

Also during his Fox appearance, Novak used his unconfirmed rumor to further smear Clinton, calling her campaign's supposed tactic "very similar to the kind of tricks that Richard Nixon used to pull, where he would say, 'I know some very bad information about the communists supporting George McGovern, but I can't put that out because it wouldn't be right, because I'm too good of a guy.'" Again, Novak is dragging down both Obama and Clinton.

And if it seems that this whole episode was just concocted up by some Republican operative to make Clinton and Obama look bad, rest assured.

"I haven't spoken to a single Republican," Novak told the Fox and Friends hosts. "This is all Democrats. That's the whole method of the Clinton campaign is when anything derogatory comes up, they say the Republicans are spreading it, but there was no Republicans involved in my reporting on this."

Don't worry, a source who is close to a source told the Huffington Post that this episode will all go away soon.

Watch the video:

Comments

[dartagnan]

What a disgusting little toad Novak is. When is America going to tell all these neo-CON bastards to shove it?

[ceciboloca]

Didn't this idiot do enough damage with the Plame leak? Why does anyone pay attention to him?
Just amazing! He us unethical. Had he been a lawyer doing equivalent shenanigans he would have been disbarred. He is not a journalist. He commits journalistic "malpractice" He is a hack. CNN fired him for good reason.

[shrinkrap]

Where are all the critical thinkers out there?
Please stand up and be counted. Who stands to benefit from these accusations from the traitor Bob Novak- The republicans or democrats? Novak is a bought and paid for shill for the Republicans. He is an unrepentant, angry and delusional old man. Any self respecting journalist should avoid him like the plague and villify him daily in your column. The venom that spews from his ill formed mouth has an antidote, it's called the truth. Shut him up or make him more cautious about what he writes by being more critical about facts vs. hearsay.
You liberals better wake the hell up!

[dobermangang]

If Hillary has any dirt on Obama, she better use it soon. She's now falling in the polls like Howard Dean. She might even finish 3rd in Iowa.

[tbone57]

Strap it on kiddies!

This is brief future-vision of Election '08.

We wont believe our eyes. It will be a year of profound absurdity, lead by Novak, Rove, Fox Spews, et al.

Guess what? It works. Were talking about it. Its a way to manage the short-term news cycle. Lather. Repeat.

[cliveohclive]

Ethically and physically repellent.

[eddieinc97]

If he was only half the man Ann Coulter is.

[MACS]

How appropriate for this SMEAR to appear on FAUX.

[JimLarkin]

rovak.........: "hey, still beating the wife?"

[Abram]

Didn't this dwarf appear in one of the Star Wars movies?

[A Meat Beetle]

Why is this filthy wad of ofal still getting air time?

[Stevelagain]

Hillary is falling behind, it's time for her to have one of her foot soldiers take the dirt to some conservative news source so she can launch her attack and then declare...."it's not me, it's the neo-cons".

LAUGH. God, this is just going to be one of many such issues if the Clintons get back into the whitehouse. They will institutionalism their brand of corruption. And charge more for pardons this time around I bet.

[MetalCanuck]

Who wants to bet Lieberman is involved.

[VivaZapata]

either novak or clinton is engaged in dirty tricks, and i wouldn't put it past one or the other. obama, however, needs to consider the source before he acuses. he's a lawyer, so he should know that.

[CheneysACoward]

I have it from a "good" source, not naming names or giving tangible information that....
Wide Stance Larry thought it was Bob Novak in the next stall in The air port mens room. They had been meeting for years in air port mens rooms all over the Country. They had arranged these "meetings" by the use of "Dead Drops"
Another secondary source heard the same thing checking their facts. Someone told someone something was going on someplace. So I would call this about as solid as it gets....