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

[repugssuck]

When is somebody going to send this ass-hole down the river without a paddle. This old bastard has done nothing but spew hate and discontent with his articles..­.about time they retire this idiot to the neo-con funny farm. He should be writing from jail for the Valerie Plane article when he refused to name his sources!!!

[USMC1980]

This friggen vampire looking traitor, should be cooling his heels in a federal prison...n­ot writing bullshit articles that only a half-wit would believe.

Great journalist my ass.

[PrairieDog]

Novak has disclosed his source. Some guy called Curveball

[Tellmethetruth]

I hope this sheds some light on the media distortion taking place as an attempt to manipulate the voters. Here is a wonderful article in the Boston Globe about the media's inability to report on all the candidates running.

http://news.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/columnists/view.bg?articleid=1045906

So here’s the question: why then is Biden still in single digits? Light years away from Hillary, Obama, and Edwards, the three top Democratic contenders?

The answer’s “pretty simple,” said Biden in a telephone interview yesterday with the Herald and 96.9-WTKK. “Money ... we will have raised $12 or $13 million by the time this is over,” he said, an amount that would have been competitive not long ago. “Now we’re talking about two candidates spending that much in Iowa alone (Hillary and Obama) ... a state with just 3 million people.”

In any case, in the national newspapers that set the national political coverage of the day, here’s how often reporters of the main stories mentioned Hillary and Obama vs. Joe Biden. The New York Times [NYT]: Clinton, at least 21 mentions; Osama, 9, Biden, 2. The Washington Post: Clinton, at least 25 mentions; Obama, 17; and Biden, 0. USA Today:Clinton, at least 14 mentions; Obama, 6;Biden, 1.

“We pushed for three or four months to have just one debate about Iraq and the only one who would take us up on it was Dennis Kucinich,” who’s hardly mentioned either. Said Rasky, “The trending of America toward celebrity culture, it’s a huge problem for the future of our democracy.­”

Joe Biden’s son Beau, by the way, is Delaware’s attorney general and a National Guardsman likely to be deployed to Iraq in 2008. But Beau is not a celebrity. So most of us didn’t know that, either.

The article goes on to conclude that others have come back in Iowa such as Carter, Kerry, and Bill Clinton a month before the primaries.

[Boadicea]

Obama is direct and honest.

And for that, Hillary says he shouldn't be president.

what does that say about Hillary's attitude toward the office of the president?

[ashabot]

Novak is a mushroom.

[Alessan]

Obama moved up in the polls in Iowa, Hillary down. So I guess some people that were mislead by Hillary are finally seeing the light. I believe the hack, he got that rumor from somewhere, and yes Hillary's campaign people are probably responsible for this, to try and make Obama feel insecure, already Wolfson's response was that Obama fell for article because he is easily tricked by republicans, well when a democratic candidate acts like a republican, going along with the Bush policies (it's how she votes that counts) because no one knows what she is going to do on any issue, "first you say you do then you don't" Hillary flip-flops and waffles on most issues she's not quick, she has to practice everything first. She couldn't even response directly to Obama a fellow Senator, she had her campaign response, what a phony.

[shaefromTn]

Who in their right mind reads Novak??? He is a old worn out republican that needs to give it up and retire and never be heard from again!

[rollingdivision]

We shouldn't accept any uncorroborated "news" such as this current Novak story and including those about Republicans. So many here are all too willing to change their standards for belief based on who the story is about. And oddly, don't think they have double standards.

[FirstBlowupDollLaura]

Obama, Clinton, Obama, Clinton, Obama, Clinton, Obama, Clinton, Obama, Clinton, Obama, Clinton, Obama, Clinton, Obama, Clinton, Obama, Clinton, Obama, Clinton, Obama, Clinton, Obama, Clinton, Obama, Clinton, Obama, Clinton, Obama, Clinton, Obama, Clinton, Obama, Clinton, zzzzzzzzzz­zzzzzzzzzz­zzzzzzzzzz­zzzzzz zzzzzzzzzz­zzzzzzzzzz­z

Is anyone else running?

Kucinich Richardson Edwards - three who represent change.

[bluesky49876]

If what Novak wrote is not true since he does not have any direct sources why are Obama and Clinton fighting one another rather than taking Novak to task. Novak has been writing such trash as long as I can remember. That is how you become a columnist for Washington Post and and other newspapers.

[esl]

What I don't understand is why Obama took this obvious partisan swipe at both him and Hillary seriously. Just proves what I already thought--that he is not ready for the big time yet.

[Tabasco]

Robert Novak

235 lbs of dogsh*t stuffed into a cheap suit with a bad haircut.

[mike53]

Just wait until the Clintons get back in the white house. I bet she can't wait to get her hands on a fresh batch of FBI files.

[ceciboloca]

Novak, the "Prince of Darkness", should take his final bow once and for all. He is despicable and he is NO journalist. He is a hack. Why does anyone give a hoot what he has to say. Enough already. Having said, I do not put it pass the Hillary camp to plant anything against her opponents. Particularly Obama,.