Robert Novak is no Howard Stern. Unlike the King of All Media, when the right-wing pundit decided to perform blue, he did it on cable airwaves not regulated by the Federal Communications Commission. But that didn't stop about 100 concerned citizens from sending e-mails and letters to the FCC complaining about Novak's August 4 CNN outburst. While facing off with Democratic strategist James Carville, the 74-year-old Novak responded to one Carville dig with, “Well, I think that's bullshit, and I hate that.” He then walked off the “Inside Politics” set (the on-air tantrum led to Novak's suspension from the network). Below you'll find a sample of the FCC complaint letters, which TSG obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request (the commission redacts the names of correspondents...). The scribes speculate about whether Novak was drunk during the fateful outburst and even consider the profanity's detrimental effect on the unborn.
Read the letters here:Bullshit: FCC Hears It On Novak Outburst - September 2, 2005
I watched the outburst 10 times, trying to figure out what exactly was on the mind of the Prince of Darkness that afternoon. Was the Frog March matter weighing on his conscious? Was the souls of all the people Novak besmirched over a long and dirty career dancing in his dreams, causing sleepless nights? Are there contract negotiations with CNN going on that we don't know about? Maybe that abysmal Q Rating was being bandied about by co-workers, and Novak was cranky? Maybe he regretted lecturing Carville about using a 'foul mouth' in 2002, and wanted to publicly apologize the only way Novakula could. Who knows, but at least Novak hasn't been able to foul the airwaves for a few weeks.
Tags: media
