Robert Novak Dies At Age 78

The former host of CNN's Crossfire and major figure in the Valerie Plame case has passed away today after a battle with cancer.

Novak retired in August 2008 after being diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.

He was a longtime columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times and a regular commentator for CNN for 25 years, beginning when the network launched in 1980.

For most of that time, he was a co-host of the political debate program "Crossfire."

In 2003, he found himself at the center of the scandal over the exposure of CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson, when he published a column revealing her status days after her husband challenged a key Bush administration justification for the invasion of Iraq.

Not to speak ill of the dead, but that Valerie Plame column really was one of the worst examples of Bush-era Village nasty out there. Cheney basically used Novak to wreck our covert operation in Iran in order to get revenge on Plame's husband Joe Wilson, which led to Scooter Libby's conviction as he took the fall for it.

That's damn unfortunate for Bob Novak, I'd never wish anything like brain cancer on anyone, not even Dick Cheney. But Novak's role as Cheney's tool is something he'll be remembered for.