Robert Novak To Retire After "Dire" Prognosis

Just one week after being diagnosed with a brain tumor, Chicago Sun-Times columnist Robert Novak has announced his immediate retirement:

Robert Novak has announced his immediate retirement following the diagnosis of a brain tumor, a prognosis the Sun-Times' political columnist describes as "dire."

"The details are being worked out with the doctors this week, but the tentative plan is for radiation and chemotherapy," Novak said.

Novak has been writing his column since 1963. Last week, following the diagnosis, he said that he planned to be back at work soon, "God willing."

Comments

[WolfLarsen]

08:30 PM on 08/07/2008

How is this HuffPo......Bob you are a saint and please get well real soon so you can continue your diatribe on the less fortunate. God bless you Bob and may he overlook the hatred and mean-spirited attacks and grant you peace and comfort in your remaining days. There. Does that pass the censorship requirement? Did your moderators work for Dick Cheney?

You have much to learn about freedom of speech. But most hypocrites never hold themselves accountable.

[VivaZapata]

07:43 AM on 08/06/2008

While no one should suffer this kind of end (if only our resources went into medical research instead of killing, maiming and geographic destruction!), Mr. Novack has been a promoter of all of the basest human instincts: war, greed, class separation, etc. There may be those who would say that now is not the time to bring up these issues, but it seems that there's never a good time. What I feel about Mr. Novack is that I'm sorry he lived so long and never was able to wrap his head around what is most important for us all as a society: liberty, equality and fraternity. For him personally, I hope the radiation and chemotherapy are successful. As a cancer survivor, I know how heart wrenching this experience is.

[Roci]

01:36 AM on 08/06/2008

I don't care for Mr. Novak on any level at all. He's a journalist turned the worst sort of political shill. But my
heart and compassion go out to him, his family and his friends. I am a cancer survivor. I have lost family and friends to it. Cancer isn't a matter of politics. It is probably one of the only things, sadly enough, that transcends politics as a force which shapes destiny. While I disagree with him right down to the sub-atomic level on matters political and journalistic, my heartfelt hopes for the very best extend to him, his family and all who call Bob Novak a friend.

All my best thoughts Mr Novak,

Roci

[Tulka2]

07:54 PM on 08/05/2008

Buddhists have a saying: "One can never tell in the morning who will be enlightened by the end of the day". In other words, the path to enlightenment is not always obvious and every sentient being will someday be enlightened.

Christians surprise me when they demonstrate a disbelief in redemption. The possibliity of redemption is the soul of Christianity, isn't it? If i wanted to explain Christianity, "A Christmas Carole" by Charles Dickens, really does a more straight-forward job than the New Testament...and it never mentions Jesus. And who does Novak resemble more than old Ebenezer Scrooge? I've always been sort of fond of him for this very reason, even as he ran over other creatures in his path. Maybe the hungry ghost of Lee Atwater will visit him and we will see Novak redeemed even in this very life.

May all beings be happy; may all beings have cause to be happy.

[Skye]

07:40 PM on 08/05/2008

I love the way some of you people actually believe he's sick because of "karma". If it were the case then why have some wonderful people died way before their time? And what 's the explanation for why some innocent children become very ill. Is that also because of karma?

As someone who once had a benign brain tumor, .I've learned to wish people well when they're sick. I've never been a fan of Novak's but I still wish him the best. I've never understood how people can find joy in someone's else's illness.

[Arguman]

05:07 PM on 08/05/2008

"You won't have Nixo---er...Novak to kick around anymore"

[ramal]

02:01 PM on 08/05/2008

While I take no joy in Mr. Novak's diagnosis we all must be reminded that there is a tragedy of some sort every second of every day in someone's life. A tortured and unkind end to one's life no more alleviates or erases the evil one has done anymore than the quick and peaceful death of a good and kind person changes what he or she had done.

[Clarabell]

12:28 PM on 08/05/2008

Here's the entire paragraph

Taken from Wikipedia:

"Swift Boat Veterans
In August 2004, after other journalists had reported on it, Novak admitted that his son, Alex Novak, is the Director of Marketing for the Swift Boat Veterans' publisher, Regnery Publishing. At the time he said that he didn't "think it relevant." Two months later Salon.com reported that Regnery's owner is also the publisher of Novak's own $297 (annual rate) newsletter and that Novak is on the board of a foundation whose chief holdings are the stock of Regnery's parent company.[10]"

[Huffingtonposter231]

08:56 PM on 08/05/2008

Umm, that means anything at all relevant?

Kerrys problem with the Swiftboat vets is that they highlighted a period of his life in which he lied about his experiences in Nam in order to make himself the leader of a movement he felt would lead him to political power.

No, I'm not saying they got it all right. But Kerry did lie about his discharge from the service and has yet to produce the documents....don't hold your breath. He lied about fighting in cambodia....and his shipmates who were on his same boat that Christmas acknowledge Kerry lied. Kerry lied about tossing away his medals. Kerry lied about all his wounds being inflicted in combat. He lied about atrocities he supposedly saw. Some of these lies Kerry himself has tried to back out of saying such things as "I may not have been in cambodia". "I may not have seen but I heard" Blah blah.

So lets be honest here, Kerry OUTRAGED a lot of VETS with LIES and they finally got even! Was it political, sure. May they have gotten a few things wrong? Sure. But what KILLED KERRY was that he had lied and he didn't know how to deal with it. A president would know how to deal with it.

[Clarabell]

12:18 PM on 08/05/2008

According to Wikipedia, "In 2004 Novak admitted that his son, Alex Novak, was Director of Marketing for the Swift Boat Veterans publisher, Regnery Publishing."

[schoolmaster]

11:32 AM on 08/05/2008

let us all wish him a speedy recovery, as it is a civil thing to do.

[fishsandwichesr2good]

10:58 AM on 08/05/2008

Does Huffpo have an auto-post generator or something that they invoke every time a prominent conservative dies or is diagnosed with a serious medical problem. It's always some variation of "Never agreed with him, but I hope he doesn't die too quickly."

[PeacefullyYours]

12:11 PM on 08/05/2008

No, they just screen out anything slightly contrary (even if its honest)

[Mauiloa]

09:47 AM on 08/05/2008

I realize that it is my own failure that makes me say this, but I just can't have any compassion for a man who has shown so little compassion towards the less fortunate and less well-compensated than he has in his own life and writing

Perhaps the bad karma he has created in his own life will serve him well in future lives.

[grn1]

10:55 AM on 08/05/2008

What failure is there in your own compassion to recognize the failure of it in this man life. Wishing someone did not exist, if their existence caused suffering of others is about as compassionate as one could be. Ask the current administration, they thought it was being "compassionate conservative" to publicly display Saddams sons mutilated bodies and to decapitate through hanging a once close ally of theirs. So go lightly on yourself, and feel compassion for the miserable life this person has chosen.

[happycat]

06:55 PM on 08/05/2008

I have to agree with you unfortunately. I am saving my prayers and sympathy for all of those killed needlessly in this stupid war and for all those many others who have been hurt by the words and actions of this man.

[txgal44]

08:59 AM on 08/05/2008

The best to you and your family Mr. Novak.

[HatingTheGame]

08:25 AM on 08/05/2008

People, stop using your cell phone so much. Use hands free. Kill your bluetooth.

Cell phones will kill more people than cigs or asbestos (put together).

Use a landline for long calls.

Novak must have been on the phone all the time, busy outing CIA agents, and conspiring to destroy America. Happened to Teddy too.

Word to the wise.

[comacoma]

08:56 AM on 08/05/2008

It's okay if you wrap your head in tin foil.....

[alieninvader]

10:53 AM on 08/05/2008

There does seem to be an epidemic of powerful people with brain tumors.

[Tommygun264]

07:27 AM on 08/05/2008

No one, neither Robert Novak's supporters, nor his detractors, and certainly not Mr. Novak himself, want his final exit from public political discourse to come in this manner - cloaked in a polite silence from his critics in the media and with nothing but well wishes from all sides of the political spectrum. From my observations of Robert Novak, he loves nothing more than a spirited debate, especially with someone who holds opinions contrary to his own. I do not know Robert Novak personally, so I cannot say I am certain of this, but from what I have observed over the years it is the impression I get.

Best wishes to you, Mr. Novak. I sincerely hope you will return to public life in the near future, as I am reasonably sure you would rather pass away during a spirited debate than to fade quietly from the public forum with no one challenging your position.