Robert Novak on John McLaughlin, Hillary Clinton, and the Future of Conservatism on Think Tank With Ben Wattenberg

Robert Novak on John McLaughlin, Hillary Clinton, and the Future of Conservatism on Think Tank With Ben Wattenberg

WASHINGTON, June 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In advance of the publication of his forthcoming memoir, The Prince of Darkness, nationally syndicated columnist Robert Novak looks back on fifty years of covering Washington personalities in an upcoming two-part edition of the PBS series Think Tank with Ben Wattenberg.

Novak, who was a regular panelist on the long-running television program The McLaughlin Group, says of host John McLaughlin:

"John McLaughlin may not be purely evil but he's close to it. I don't
think John believes in anything, but it's a great country and with his
character he has been a successful person. I was on every week for
years and it was amazing it lasted as long as it did. One thing that
John McLaughlin did is he gave birth to The Capital Gang on CNN because
I couldn't stand being on the program anymore."

When asked about CNN host Larry King, Novak responded:

"He's an entertainer. I mean what do you want? He loves show business.

He's not as serious about politics. He's a liberal but he's been very
successful. He's not an educated person, and he's done very well,
hasn't he?"

Novak provided his insight into the two frontrunners for the 2008 Democratic nomination. When Wattenberg asked about Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, Novak responded:

"Oh my goodness. She [Clinton] is an unlikable person. I think you
have to be likeable to be in politics, Ben, and that's why you've never
gone into politics ... Hard to figure Barack Obama. He's really a very
engaging person. He is likeable. But he certainly is a big government
liberal who wants to redistribute the income -- take it away from you,
Ben, and give it to the poor people."

Novak did have kind words for one Republican candidate:

"I like Fred Thompson a lot. He reminds me of Reagan in some ways. He
doesn't work too hard. I don't think he would micromanage."

When asked about the future of American conservativism, Novak responded:

"I don't know. It's a problem. Even the rich would like the government

to pay all their medical bills while they go off to the Bahamas. So I
am saying that I don't know if conservatism has any future. What I am
saying is that it is very hard for politicians to say to the American
people, 'That's enough. You can't have the government spoon-feeding you

all the time.'

I worry about America. I think we are the richest country in the world.

We're the most powerful country in the world because we have a global
society but we have a lot of cheap politicians on both sides who want to

close off immigration, who want to have protectionism, who want to have
the government regulate everything. So I worry about the country.

But I'm seventy-six years old, and I have had a great life. I love this
country, and I'm very thankful."

Think Tank with Ben Wattenberg is a half-hour weekly discussion show focusing on the trends, conditions, and ideas behind the week's headlines. Since 1994, this award-winning series has presented a range of authors and thinkers uniquely qualified to discuss topics such as public policy, politics, arts, entertainment, culture science and technology and medicine on PBS member stations nation-wide.

Think Tank with Ben Wattenberg is a production of BJW, Inc. in association with Grace Creek Media, a Washington-based television production and communications company.

The interview airs in two parts on PBS stations nationwide starting June 14. Check local listings for date and time. Transcripts and national listings are available on http://www.pbs.org/thinktank.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Grace Creek Media

CONTACT: Lynn Hoverman of Grace Creek Media, +1-202-363-1000,
lynn.hoverman@gracecreek.com

Web site:

http://www.gracecreek.com/
http://www.pbs.org/thinktank

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