Maybe he's continually imagining that he's hearing that "DUN-Dun" sound from Law & Order, and seeing Patrick Fitzgerald watching him from the shadows?

I think he snapped from having to play "defense" all the time lately.  He is being roundly criticized about his role in the Plame outing and constantly defending himself.  I think he is suffering from mental fatigue and just snapped. 

Or he could be laying the groundwork for an insanity defense re: Plame-gate...he did "appear" to go nuts today.

I guess Santorum blew up on the radio today also. It looks like Republicans can't handle an ounce of the scrutiny we face from the MSM 24/7.

Imagine how difficult it must have been for Novak, who has been enjoying fawning by CNN since his involvement in Plamegate became known (Remember the kissy video of Novak's conversion to Catholicism on CNN after the Pope died? Begala, for his part, was ribbed by Wolfie about not being a good Catholic.) I imagine Judith Miller would react the same way if her paper stopped treating her like the hero/martyr she's not. It's clear now the man should be fired. But I doubt he will.

I guess the way these "journalistic" outlets get in these pickles is that they let conservatives tell them who they have to hire to be "balanced". The NYT and CNN's protection of Judy and Bob is so tenacious, it makes one wonder if they fear facing the White House wrath if they insisted their conservative icons adhere to the same journalistic standards as everyone else.

I mean, who would conservatives insist replace Novak or Miller? I mean, there's no way they'd allow them to find someone who's conservative, yet honest and on the up and up. The White House wouldn't get away with anything, then. 

IMO it's true that Novak dreads having to drop another lie or evasion that will be rendered inoperative in a few weeks' time anyway, but that's not enough to set him off completely.  He could just do what he always does and refuse to say anything. 

But then, he can't do that anymore.  After his recent columns he can't credibly say that he isn't answering questions anymore.  So he has to say something.  Still, I'm sure that after years of turning it over in his head he should be able to put out a misleading non-answer that at least will get him to the end of the show.

It seems to me that Carville was the problematic factor.  You average CNN host would probably smile obligingly change the subject if you told him that you put shit in his coffee.  Carville, on the other hand, knows what's going on and would be more than happy to take some mealy-mouthed non-answer and beat Novak over the head with it mercilessly.  You know Carville was practically drooling on himself for the opportunity.

On the third hand I'm sure that everybody in DC expects Novak to lose it at any minute.  If that's the case then you know they have a bounty on whoever pushes him over on live TV.  Sort of like how defensive squad make a pool for whoever injures a rookie quarterback.  Carville collected tonight. 

Well, I was going to say he had just noticed the studio lights.  But then I remembered that it's sunlight that destroys the Undead.

Did Carville have a wooden stake under the table?? 

I agree with what you said over on TPM, that what Carville's jab about showing the right wing he had a spine was not out of line with the hard knocks that are normally exchanged between those two, and that it doesn't make sense for Novak to have walked off the set (thereby guaranteeing that talk about it would be all over the Internet) to avoid questions about the Plame case when he could probably have more easily BS'd his way through it.

I wouldn't expect that Novak would be fan of Democracy Now!, but he did come in for some very biting criticism on that program this morning from investigative reporter Murray Waas, who said:   

So if we believe Bob Novak's account, he engaged in substandard news reporting on not one aspect of this column, but several aspects of this column. And it's led to the jailing of a New York Times reporter, it's harmed the national security of the United States because it led to the outing of a C.I.A. operative. It's hurt the morale of the C.I.A. It's damaged the Bush administration endlessly, and it's hurt the credibility of the press, partly because reporters were engaged in this scheme or took the bad information, and also because they're now revealing their confidential sources in cooperating with the prosecutors.

So, all of this occurred because reporters were sloppy, because they didn't do their work. I mean, that, in effect is the cover story, or that's what Robert Novak is insisting. And I have interviewed Geneva Overholser, for example, the former editor at The Des Moines Register, and she said some strong words about Novak, but what's interesting is because he's really at the core of a elite group, a cocktail party crowd or kind of celebrity journalism at CNN, nobody will come out and -- the Washington press corps is pretty much silent. The big wheels and big guns are not saying anything. They're not policing themselves. And this could have really deleterious and damaging long-term effects on journalism.

 Maybe Novak is getting a lot of that sort of thing and his ego is feeling bruised?

Nah, Novak always slurs his words and appears three sheets to the wind

I just sent CNN some suggestions for a Novak show.  I think 'Pure Bullshit From Novak" has a nice, honest ring to it.

I agree that Novak doesn't look too good, but we should acknowledge that he has always looked a bit like a bloated corpse.   If the Plame affair is having a legitimate toll on his physiology, then that has to be a bad sign for BushCo.  I agree with some of the commentators who say that Novak was probably looking for some type of escape from the Plame questions.  This is the same guy who just cancelled a public appearance with Eric Alterman for similar reasons....

<CITE> Maybe he's continually imagining that he's hearing that "DUN-Dun" sound from Law & Order, and seeing Patrick Fitzgerald watching him from the shadows?</CITE>

Funny and hopefully true. What would make it better is if Fitzgerald came in and arrested him one day and spat out of those great one-liners that Jerry Orbach used to say like: "You're under arrest for assisting in the outing of a CIA agent and for general douchebaggery, unfortuantely for you neither of which is really newsworthy."

Film here. 

In a nutshell: Bob Novak walked off the set of CNN's "Inside Politics" today.  Carville had made some crack at him, but nothing unusually biting, certainly no worse than Novak himself gives to others.  The host had warned Novak before the broadcast that he had intended to ask him about his involvement in the Plame case, and the speculation is that he used Carville's crack as an excuse to walk off in a huff to avoid the issue.

Hello:

Novak is unequivocally, indisputably, egregiously WASTED on this clip. Drunk as a skunk. Speech blurred and slowed, claims amazingly weird, saucer-eyed and barely hanging on. This was clear to me from the first frame. Comments?

DPC

If you watch the video, he slurs his words and looks somewhat glassy-eyed.

That's the way Novak always looks to me!  But yes, being under the influence would certainly explain it. 

Diarrhea attack?  It's usually coming from his mouth so perhaps this caught him by surprise.

For whatever reason he let slip a blatant "BS" on air and I think at that point he decided it was time to bust a move and act outraged by the same sort of stuff these guys fling at each other on cable news night after night.

Impairment sounds like a good reason for him to let slip a BS.  It's not like a he's a rookie at this stuff.

I wonder if this will force Jon Stewart of the Daily Show to revoke No-fact's "Douchebag of Liberty Award."

Of course No-fact is pissed, Carville simply pointed out in public, to his face that he is a snitch out to save his own ass at the expense of his alleged principles, and that even his political allies recognize it.

it shows with crystal clarity that No-facts has no philosophy, but instead is a rank opportunist who will betray his political fellow travelers to prevent his own incarceration.

there is no honor amongst thieves, or neocons it appears.

I see that the FCC has no authority here, but does that mean we cannot make a little noise?

Whatever CNN may have been planning before, it seems they've now sent him to the penalty box for a while.

I think it was a pre-emptive strike by Colostomy Bob to avoid being questioned on the outting of Valerie Plame.  He seized the moment, pitched a contrived fit, stomps off the set and avoids, for the moment, further on air embarassment about why he is such a snake.  The action of a coward.

Larry Johnson

Absolutely positively no question about it. Novak was f*cking HIGH! Now we're all so used to his 2-martini demeanor that we don't even notice, but this afternoon he had had a couple more. Trust me.

Not sure if I buy the "contrived fit" theory.... Novak has been spinning BS about his role in Plamegate for two years; why would he clam up all of a sudden?

I'm most intrigued by the last thing he said, "Just let it go."  Let what go?  Given the context of the discussion and Carville's mild snark, that comment seemed out of place.  Henry hadn't yet asked any questions about Plamegate, so.... let what go?

Sign me up for the "snapped under the pressure" camp.  Life in Novak's shoes can't be too much fun these days.

Honestly, it's nearly comical that any theory other than drunkenness is even being discussed. He was so drunk I thought he was going to grab my ass! He was so drunk I went and checked my liquor cabinet!!

Please, people--attributing strategy at this moment (he was preempting questions about Plame, etc.) gives him too much credit. Absolutely the extra martinis are symptomatic of an inner life in crisis: my guess is Rove's thugs own this guy's sad, cable-tv balls right now.

You asked ... "Can't you be conservative AND honest?"

No, rightwing conservatives can't. It's an ideological defect, and unless they accept evolution, they are stuck where they are generation after generation, I'm afraid.

I don't know why the meltdown, but to me it was almost as funny to see Novak the same complaint as Katherine Harris. From the transcript:


HENRY: Bob Novak, have you been investigating this make-up story?

NOVAK: No, but I've had the same experience that she did. A lot of my trouble in the world is that they've doctored my make-up and colorized me in a lot of newspapers on my picture. So, I sympathize with her.



It's the Conservative Culture of Victimization, Hideous People Division. Sure, Novak and Harris don't really look like shit--it's the Liberal MSM that makes them look like that!

Novak bolted because he did not want to discuss the Plame outing affair. So he ran home to Mommy.


Host quote

Thanks, James Carville. And I’m sorry as well that Bob Novak left the set a little early. I had told him in advance that we were going to ask about the CIA leak case, he was not here for me to be able to ask him about that. Hopefully, we’ll be able to ask him about that in the future

Notice how the official CNN transcript scrubs the Carville comment about the Wall Street Journal.

Listen to him in advance of walking off.  He stutters, he stammers, he slurs.  That which impairs speech also impairs judgment.... not that he generally demonstrates great judgment IMO.

Most likely, in my opinion (given what Carville said that set Novak off), is that Carville knows that Novak spilled the beans on who his source was for the Plame story. Bob Novak most likely doesn't like the idea of jail and gave up his source. "Show 'em you're tough." He didn't, and Carville _knows_ this...

And now, suddenly, the link to the video at CNN is nowhere to be found.

I think it's fairly obvious that Novak was trying to make a joke about having the same makeup problems as Harris. Which just adds violent mood swings to the mix.

I go with the martini theory. 

I'm happy to see speculation that Novak was bombed, because that was my first reaction, too. I try to avoid watching him, in general, so I don't know what he's normally like.

Who knows though?  He could have snapped under the pressure of the investigation. Maybe Carville's dig hit a little too close to the bone. Maybe he thought the host and Carville were ganging up on him.

In any case, what an unexpected delight! 

Novak did not appear drunk to me, and there was nothing particularly odd about the body language between him and Carville if you've been watching both men for the last however many years.  Par for the course for both of them.  Novak has bad false teeth, slurs his words, stutters and frequently approaches incoherence.  If he was drunk, he's also been drunk before virtually every television appearance in the last 10 years or so.

Re the transcript-- most folks probably aren't aware of this, but none of the networks do their own transcripts.  It's all farmed out to one of several independent transcription companies, who employ a mix of part-timers and freelancers of varying skill levels, all of whom are under extraordinary pressure to get the transcripts out instantly, with accuracy a secondary consideration to speed.

Personally, I found it impossible to untangle the back and forth on the video and figure out what Carville said just before Novak flipped, so I imagine it wasn't clear to whoever was transcribing the show today, either.

So CNN didn't "scrub" the Wall Street Journal remark, the transcriber just didn't hear it clearly through all the noise.

I'm also most intrigued by the Ed Henry statement at the end.  What purpose did that serve, other than to signal the audience that either Henry and/or the producer of the show and/or the director, whoever was calling the shots at that point, were pissed as hell and believe the upcoming Plamegate questions were the reason for the temper tantrum.

I can't think of any other reason for that statement, nor for the fact that the director kept the camera shot framing Novak's departing back, and then at a wide enough angle to keep his obviously empty chair in the picture for some time thereafter.

 Hey, Josh, got any inside CNN contacts that could pass on the scuttlebutt?  The whole thing was really extraordinary, and totally out of line for the way networks typically handle these kinds of things.  Somebody's sending a message....

He's manifestly different here from his usual persona. Yes, he seems languid, aloof, olympian sometimes; here he seemed sloppy, vague, unfocussed. The remark about Reagan was totally incoherent. The trajectory of his thoughts is bizarre. he;s drunker here than W was at that wedding some years after he'd given booze up. He and W should go mountainbiking and perhaps grab a pretzel when they return home.

(Bush is obviously still a drunk--the inexplicable bruises, the chainsmoking wife...)

Carville was, I think, trying to bait Novak about squealing before the Grand Jury.  The Right knows he talked and thinks he's a wimp for not going the full Judy Miller on Fitzgerald.  It was like Ali's knockout in the second Lison fight.  Nobody saw it but it knocked Novak out.

CNN just announced Novak's suspension, and issued an apology (but not an apology for inflicting Novak on the viewing public for all these many years).

Agreed. Some say this is normal for Novakula, but it's the first time it's ever struck me that he was drunk. And it was soooo obvious.

So what would make an experienced commentator drunk on the air?

Dull analysis:

1. It's got to be much worse than "Novak shows up on TV drunk"; Novak's done TV before.
   
2. It's not good news; that was no celebratory drunk. (see: the cast of Cheers after their last show).
   
3. If he was actually drunk, he knew going in that his career was already over. You don't go to your job drunk if you expect to keep your job.

So what would force him to drink?  Any of these might (aka fan, meet feces.):

1. A realization of the inevitability of fate: he learned 3 or 4 hours before broadcast that someone squealed.
   
2. Papers were served (privately).
   
3. He just figured out that he's the fall guy, and he's going to fall really really hard.
   
4. He's just been betrayed (could this be why the comment about "acting tough for the right" have hit home?).

The only thing I've seen that fits the 3-4 hours-before-showtime timing is the AIPAC charges, which seem unrelated.

I'm looking for clues in Carville's apparent snickering before the blow up.  Perhaps Carville was needling Novack about how squeelers are treated in the big house. 

"gotta show them your tough if you don't want to become someone's bitch. Ok wait, you're already Cheney's boy. Well, you'd better start showing them how tough you are before you become everyones play sack."

Novakula has always been a pain in the ass. Probably the charlatans in the White House have finally left him by the roadside as road-kill. He is alone now and will have to fend for himself. He is not equipped to do so. Some of his arrogance is still there, but his power is definitely diminished. His name should appear in the has-been column.

This is really not that complicated. Novak's supposedly bizarre "on the set" behavior was simply the culmination of something that must've started "off the set." It is almost certain that before they got on the set, he and Carville had a discussion on Plamegate during which Carville -- usually blunt and to the point -- must've said something that novak did not find amusing. Carville must have said something to the effect that Novak's now infamous column had no purpose other than to out Plame and punish Wilson on behalf of Rove and the White House. This ticked Novak off quite a bit. Now, they go on to the set, and Carville again suggests that that Novak is nothing more than an attack and lap dog for the wingnuts. This was more than Novak could take, and he snapped...

Yeah, the old man needed some time off and his dismissal tonight has not come a day too soon... I say: Good Riddance!

Time to jump in with my pet theory...

They say that confession is good for the soul. And by acccounts I've read here, Novak has converted to Catholicism.

I think what's eating Novak is that he really wants to come clean, and he's been told in very pointed terms to keep his mouth shut if he knows whats good for himself.

There's no telling what was said off camera before that segment or in the green room.  Carville might have been ribbing Novak about something like being a wimp just to get under his skin, then the comments on-air were a culmination of a previous conversation that just sent him over the edge.

The only reason I think that's what happened is because it doesn't make a lot of sense that those comments alone would get to Novak, I think there's more to it that we didn't see. 
Who knows, they could have been going at it good for a while before the cameras started rolling with Carville landing all the punches, rhetorically speaking. 

The other thing that tipped me off was the comment "just drop it."  Drop what?  It's not like Carville was harping on something, or was he?

"high-mindedness" = tpm cafe = frequent intellectual masturbation

Novak had already announced yesterday (8/3/05) in a speech to the Young America's Foundation National Conservative Student Conference that he would end live TV or radio interviews if any questions came up about his Plame treason.  

This was documented in today's (8/4) Financial Times's Observer section on their editorial page (ft.com, subscription required).  

Novak faked outrage at Carville's comment so he could leave before the host could bring up Plamegate.

What was that hesitation after his comment?  He waited a moment, for the camera to focus on Carville maybe, then got up.  Like a professional actor waiting for his cue, then he gets up and stomps off, and the other two don't even look up at him.

I'm sure we'll hear sad stories about his condition any minute now, a death in the family, but really, he can't take the heat, he's a hack, and he's bitten off a piece of the real world and it's stuck in his craw.

Hopefully he can do some good in prison, teach the cons to write or something.

I sensed, at least in the Daily-Show repeat, that Novak was startled/surprised by something. I think he suddenly reali