Robert D. Novak from Creators Syndicate

An "Underwhelming" Nominee for 07/10/2008

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

WASHINGTON, D.C. — "I would say he was pretty underwhelming," said Lawyer Gus several days after he and some 200 other big-money supporters of Hillary Clinton's failed presidential campaign met with the victor, Barack Obama, in Washington on June 26. Lawyer Gus is a longtime Democratic activist, who will support and contribute to Obama as the party's nominee, but will not be ent ...

Updated: Thu Jul 10, 2008

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Goodbye, Joe? for 07/12/2008

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Despite assurances to the contrary from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Democratic insiders are certain Sen. Joseph Lieberman next year will be kicked out of the party's caucus and lose his Senate chairmanship if he addresses the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., as planned.

Lieberman's Democratic colleagues willing to accept his support of Se ...

Updated: Sat Jul 12, 2008

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Goodbye, Joe? for 07/12/2008

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Lieberman's Democratic colleagues willing to accept his support of Se ...

Updated: Sat Jul 12, 2008

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Oil Paranoia for 07/14/2008

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, back from the Fourth of July break, last week delivered a typical harangue on Republican obstructionism and Democratic virtue that included a promise: By week's end, he would show Republicans his proposal to deal with "this speculation thing" that he calls the root cause of $4-a-gallon gasoline. It would attempt "to end specul ...

Updated: Mon Jul 14, 2008

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Cost of Cronyism for 07/17/2008

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As financial storm signals appeared the last 18 months, there were Bush officials who urged drastic reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But, according to internal government sources, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson objected because it would look "too political." The Republican administration kept hands off the government-backed mortgage companies that are c ...

Updated: Thu Jul 17, 2008

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Obama's CEOs for 07/19/2008

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sen. Barack Obama has been meeting secretly with heavy industry CEOs in Washington to discuss issues that he would face as president.

On the campaign trail, Obama has been highly critical of corporate executives and promised them nothing but tougher regulation and higher taxes. But the unannounced, small evening sessions with them since he clinched the Democratic ...

Updated: Sat Jul 19, 2008

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Obama's Iraq Spotlight for 07/21/2008

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

WASHINGTON, D.C. — I asked one of the Republican Party's smartest, most candid heavy hitters this week whether John McCain really has a chance to defeat Barack Obama in this season of Republican discontent. "No, if the campaign is about McCain," he replied. "Yes, if it's about Obama." That underlines the importance of Obama's visit to Iraq, beginning weeks of scrutiny ...

Updated: Mon Jul 21, 2008

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The Soldier Voting Scandal for 07/24/2008

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rep. Roy Blunt, the House Republican whip, on July 8 introduced a resolution demanding that the Defense Department better enable U.S. military personnel overseas to vote in the November elections. That act was followed by silence. Democrats normally leap on an opportunity to find fault with the Bush Pentagon. But not a single Democrat joined Blunt as a co-sponsor, and a ...

Updated: Thu Jul 24, 2008

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Romney's Value for 07/26/2008

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The principal reason why former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has climbed to the top of Sen. John McCain's practical wish list for vice president is the possibility that he could bring Michigan's 17 electoral votes to the Republicans for the first time since 1988.

Private polls show Romney could make all the difference in Michigan. A McCain-Romney ticket carries ...

Updated: Sat Jul 26, 2008

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Can McCain Back in Again? for 07/28/2008

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700

WASHINGTON — In the contest for president, Barack Obama is a magnetic candidate supported by a disciplined, well-organized campaign. John McCain seems wooden, with a campaign that appears to be in shambles. Yet Obama's lead in the polls over McCain is fragile because he so far has not won the support of a majority of American voters.

An effective and massively publicized foreign tr ...

Updated: Mon Jul 28, 2008

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Avoiding a Lieberman Disaster for 08/26/2008

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Creators Syndicate is pleased to announce that Robert D. Novak will be writing occasional columns. All his groundbreaking election analysis will be available on creators.com. Read it here first.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Reports of strong support within John McCain's presidential campaign for Independent Democratic Sen. Joseph Lieberman as the Republican candidate for vice ...

Updated: Tue Aug 26, 2008

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McCain Comes Through for 09/02/2008

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Partisan Democrats and many members of the news media consider John McCain's choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate a terrible mistake. But McCain need not worry about their criticism. His unexpected selection satisfied the people he needed to please. Republican conservatives assembling in St. Paul for the party's national convention were described as "ecsta ...

Updated: Tue Sep 02, 2008

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My Brain Tumor for 09/05/2008

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The main reason I am writing this column is that many people have asked me how I first realized I was suffering from a brain tumor and what I have done about it.

But I also want to relate the reaction to my disease, mostly compassionate, that belies Washington's reputation.

The first sign that I was in trouble came on Wednesday, July 23, when my 2004 black Corvette s ...

Updated: Fri Sep 05, 2008

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Book of the Year for 09/22/2008

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0700

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As I perused Sunday's New York Times best-seller list, I wondered whether it might be topped by the newly published "The World Is Curved: Hidden Dangers to the Global Economy -- The Mortgage Crisis Was Only the Beginning" (Penguin Group (USA), 305pp, $26.95) by David M. Smick, a Washington-based international financial consultant who also is editor and publisher of th ...

Updated: Mon Sep 22, 2008

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What Is a "Loophole"? for 10/01/2008

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- How would Barack Obama pay for the $800 billion that John McCain claimed in the first presidential debate Sept. 26 in Oxford, Miss., that his Democratic opponent would spend if he were elected president? Obama replied, by "closing tax loopholes."

Obama was no more specific in the debate, and tax experts doubt that structural changes without increasing taxes can rai ...

Updated: Wed Oct 01, 2008

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Credit Default Swaps for 10/09/2008

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- "60 Minutes," the popular CBS news program, normally doesn't deal with global finance, but last Sunday (Oct. 5) its lead story tried to isolate the cause of the current global financial meltdown. It selected a financial derivative: credit default swaps.

A credit default swap is nothing more than insurance that a bond transaction will be repaid. The problem is that ...

Updated: Thu Oct 09, 2008

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An Illegitimate Baby: A Blessing or a Punishment? for 10/16/2008

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

WASHINGTON -- Not until 30 minutes had elapsed in the third and last presidential debate Wednesday night did the national candidates turn their attention to abortion -- the country's most explosive social issue, which divides millions of Americans. What makes this remarkable is that Sen. Barack Obama was vulnerable because of a rare departure during his bitter primary campaign with Sen. Hillary Cl ...

Updated: Thu Oct 16, 2008

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No Mandate for Obama and No Lopsided Congress for 11/05/2008

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The national election Tuesday was not only historic for the election of the first African-American president in the nation's history but also for how little the avalanche of Democratic votes changed the political alignment in Congress.

The first Democratic Electoral College landslide in decades did not result in a tight race for control of Congress.

When Fran ...

Updated: Wed Nov 05, 2008

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Newt in 'One-Two'? for 11/07/2008

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

In serious conversations among Republicans since their election debacle Tuesday, what name is mentioned most often as the Moses, or Reagan, who could lead them out of the wilderness before 40 years?

To the consternation of many Republicans, it is none other than Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House.

Gingrich is far from a unanimous or even a consensus choice to run for ...

Updated: Fri Nov 07, 2008

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"Pray for Me" for 11/19/2008

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Interview by Barbara Matusow

This article was first published in the November 2008 issue of The Washingtonian magazine (www.washingtonian.com).

Whether you like him or hate him, Robert Novak's combination of insider dope, political pronouncements, and glowering TV presence have made him a Washington institution. So the announcement in ...

Updated: Wed Nov 19, 2008

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