I never met Bob Novak, but I have met Tim Carney, who worked as a reporter for the Evans and Novak Political Report.  Carney used to lecture at the Leadership Institute while I worked there; while talking to aspiring conservative newspaper editors he would frequently impart a lesson he had learned working under Novak: “Nothing convinces people like facts they don’t already know.”

I promptly stole that line and repeated it as many times as I could.

That lesson is obvious in Carney’s heartfelt obituary of his former boss, who passed away today.

While clearly identified as a conservative commentator, Novak’s commentaries were rooted in fact and substance.  His subject matter came from a curiosity and investigative instinct that would put many current news reporters, let alone opinion writers, to shame.

As Carney succinctly put it: “Bob Novak was, above all, a reporter.”

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Bob Novak was, above all, a reporter.