Novak on

Novak on Armitage:

First, Armitage did not, as he now indicates, merely pass on something he had heard and that he "thought" might be so. Rather, he identified to me the CIA division where Mrs. Wilson worked and said flatly that she recommended the mission to Niger by her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson.

...

Armitage's silence for the next 2 1/2 years caused intense pain for his colleagues in government and enabled partisan Democrats in Congress to falsely accuse Rove of being my primary source.

Let us examine these claims. While the first one may or may not be true, it smacks too much of "I didn't do it!" for me to easily believe it considering Novakula's record (see below for further proof). While his second claim is technically correct, it ignores the fact that although Rove was not Novak's source, he was Cooper and Miller's source and at the same time shields Rove - an all around nice guy - and blames partisan Democrats - the real enemy - for the pain the nation has experienced over the past two and a half years (Bob, style note - always write out the number if it is ten or under. Always. But you are a nationally published journamalist, so I am sure you know that, as does Fred Hiatt).

Novak on Novak:

I had long opposed military intervention in Iraq.

See what I meant about Novak's record? There is no reason to believe a man who was zero credibility.

Novak on Democrats:

Zealous foes of George W. Bush transformed me, improbably, into the president's lapdog. But they cannot fit Armitage into the left-wing fantasy of a well-crafted White House conspiracy to destroy Joe and Valerie Wilson.

Actually, Bob, you did that yourself, with no assistance from the progressive left. As for Armitage, at this point he is tangential to the other Plamegate developments, such as the Rover's discussions with Cooper and Miller, Dick Cheney's scribblings to get Wilson on the op-ed piece, and the Scooter Libby coverups. I would say all of those paint a pretty good reality of a well-crafted White House conspiracy to destroy the Wilsons. Speaking of which,

Novak on Libby:

...

Considering he has been indicted and his trial is approaching you would think Novak could be bothered with bringing up some of the other important aspects of Plamegate. What Novak says and does not say speaks volumes about where he really stands.

Marcy Wheeler has written an excellent diary that tears Novak's ever-changing story to shreds.