Novak Is Mad As Hell, And He's Not Gonna Take It Anymore!!!!!!

Oh. My. Gawd. Bob Novak went off the reservation today on CNN's "Inside Politics." Nothing of note has happened on that show since, well, ever. Yet I've always TiVo'ed it as a sort of Dean Campaign carry-over (we had a bank of the puppies pulling down every day's politically-themed piece of televised detritus). And today it paid off. Before Sarah headed in for an overnight call "we" watched it together (translation: I watched it while she tried to read or something equally productive). The conversation between James Carville and Novak was uninsightful, as always. Ed Henry, the surprisingly effective reporter serving as a rotating temp host as CNN tries to figure out who best might fill Judy Woodruff's recently emptied lightweight and impossibly uninteresting shoes, got things going after the third break (ugh!) with a question about Katherine Harris's makeup controversy (or complete lack thereof). Carville played G-rated "Crossfire" with Novak. And Big Bad Bob lost his shit. Completely. Blogs from sea to shining sea are burning up their servers playing with this one (thanks to everyone for allowing me to piggyback my linking for free). The Washington Post has gone early with the news that CNN has asked Novak to "take some time off." No word yet from Crawford from the assembled gaggle where it's assumed Dubya's mountain-biking through a "working session" to scout new brush to clear.

Still (and HERE'S THE RUB) Judy Miller sits in her prison overalls, waiting for Patrick Fitzgerald to finish up his investigation of who besides Rove and Libby leaked Valerie Plame-Wilson's name in an egregious and UNQUESTIONABLY illegal act of political hackery. I hope Novak's phone is ringing off the hook tonight. Because his meltdown was the funniest bit of impromptu theatre I've seen in decades. Rock on.