Novak Hits Pedestrian; It's Not Joe Wilson
The Politico is reporting that conservative commentator Robert Novak -- known variably as the "Prince of Darkness" or the "Douchebag of Liberty" -- was cited for hitting a pedestrian with his Corvette in downtown Washington today:
A Politico reporter saw Novak in the front of a police car with a citation in his hand; a WJLA-TV crew and reporter saw Novak as well. The pedestrian was hospitalized but there were no details about the person’s condition. Novak was later released and left the scene.WJLA has a video interview of Novak at the scene. There's something mildly hilarious and reassuring in seeing Novak emerge from the back of a police cruiser, isn't there?“I didn’t know I hit him,” Novak told Politico. Novak said he was a block away when a bicyclist stopped him and said, ‘You hit someone.’ He was cited for failing to yield the right of way.
Though his run-in isn't nearly as shocking as exposing the name of an undercover CIA agent in a nationally syndicated column, it's still somewhat serious. The paper goes on to report that Novak is known in these parts as an aggressive driver:
In 2001, the longtime political columnist cursed at a pedestrian on the corner of Pennsylvania and 13th St., NW, for allegedly jay walking.Since we assume most DCist readers are compassionate but also don't run the country, make sure to let Novak know what you think of his driving skills next time you see him zip by in his Corvette. We propose a simple, "Learn to drive, [bodily orifice]!"“’Learn to read the signs, [bodily orifice]!’ Novak snapped before speeding away,” according to an item in the Washington Post’s Reliable Source column.
Novak explained to the paper: "He was crossing on the red light. I really hate jay walkers. I despise them. Since I don't run the country, all I can do is yell at 'em. The other option is to run 'em over, but as a compassionate conservative, I would never do that."