I remember him most over the last few years for the segment that closed “Political Capital with Al Hunt” on Bloomberg each week, this was mainly an "active" discussion between Bob Novak and Margaret Carlson - it was one of the few programs I tried to watch each week as it generally gave a more intelligent and clearer insight into the true differences between mainstream Republicans and Democrats than the grossly exaggerated distortions propagated by much of the media.US journalist Robert Novak dies
Veteran US newspaper columnist Robert Novak,78, has died after a battle with brain cancer.
Mr Novak made headlines in 2003 when he revealed the identity of covert CIA agent Valerie Plame in a column.
The leak led to a long-running criminal investigation into senior Bush administration officials.
From 1963 until his retirement in 2008, Mr Novak - a staunch conservative - wrote an influential political column that was syndicated throughout the US.
'Tireless reporting'
In 2003, he came under fire for a column in which he revealed that "two senior administration officials" had told him that Valerie Plame - the wife of a US ambassador who had voiced doubts about the Bush administration's case for the war in Iraq - was a CIA operative.
Disclosing the identity of a covert agent is illegal in the US, and as a result of the column a special prosecutor was appointed to look into whether Bush officials had broken the law.
An aide to Vice-President Dick Cheney, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, was eventually convicted of perjury as a consequence of the investigation.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell paid tribute to Mr Novak, saying he "explained the politics and the personalities of Washington to readers across the country through a mix of tireless shoe leather reporting and the kind of keen insight that can only be gained through years and years of dedication to a craft."
Although Bob didn't pull his punches he rarely hit below the belt, and if he did, it was without malice. This article, written by him after the discovery of his brain tumour, is well worth a read: See also: