# Bob Novak chickens out of debating Eric Alterman **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 27, 2005, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-novak-chickens-out-of-debating-eric-alterman/305785 "2005-05-27T17:57:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-novak-chickens-out-of-debating-eric-alterman/305785/1 "2005-05-27T17:57:10Z")
From Eric Alterman’s “What Liberal Media?” column in _The Nation,_ 5/23/05: > [@](#): > > The pundit Robert Novak has never given the impression that he cared much for the values of civility. He regularly insults his political opponents and questions both their honesty and patriotism. The last time I appeared on television with Novak, he termed my politics to the “left of Khrushchev” and slandered my late journalistic mentor, I.F. Stone, as a Soviet spy. After I tried to call him on it, he refused to appear again with me and has not done so for the past twelve years. > > \ > > On May 25, the 5th Annual Arthur N. Rupe Great Debate at the University of California, Santa Barbara, however, will feature yours truly debating Robert Novak on “The American News Media–Liberal or Conservative Bias?” > > It’s the first time he’s agreed to appear with me since 1992. What would you do? What would Dewey do? But Novak pulled out of the debate as soon as he learned he would be going up against Alterman. From the _Santa Barbara News-Press,_ excerpted in the Daily Kos website, [http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/5/13/0713/76429:](http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/5/13/0713/76429:) > [@](#): > > Conservative columnist and commentator Robert Novak abruptly canceled his scheduled May 25 appearance at a high-profile debate at UCSB about media bias, after being surprised to learn, he said, that he would going one-on-one with liberal critic Eric Alterman. > > Although he signed a contract for the appearance last February, Mr. Novak unexpectedly dropped out after a friend sent him a harshly critical article Mr. Alterman had written about him in the May 12 issue of The Nation. The conservative writer said he had been unaware until reading the article, which noted the upcoming debate, that he would be facing Mr. Alterman. > > …His decision left little time for organizers of the Arthur N. Rupe Great Debate Series to find someone of equal stature, so they canceled the event. They plan to refund ticket purchases and will try to organize a similar debate in the fall with Mr. Alterman and a conservative other than Mr. Novak. > > …Mr. Novak said there was a miscommunication somewhere in the planning of the event. Had he known that he was to appear with Mr. Alterman, he would not have agreed to participate, he insisted. > > …“There are plenty of people I don’t like, but apart from Alterman I can’t think of one of them that I wouldn’t debate,” said Mr. Novak, who in 2001 won a lifetime achievement award from the National Press Club for his almost five decades of journalism. “I’m not a politician, I’m a journalist. I do what I damn well please, and I’m not appearing with people I don’t want to appear with, no matter how large the fee.” But that begs the question: **Why** won’t he debate Alterman? What’s he afraid of? ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-novak-chickens-out-of-debating-eric-alterman/305785/2 "2005-05-27T18:38:42Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > But that begs the question: **Why** won’t he debate Alterman? What’s he afraid of? You mean besides the obvious? 😛 In a related vein, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan got [intimidated](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/5/25/18836/6234) by an 85-year-old woman. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Wartime\_Consigliori](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9d8465/32.png) [@Wartime\_Consigliori](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wartime_Consigliori)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-novak-chickens-out-of-debating-eric-alterman/305785/3 "2005-05-27T19:09:32Z")
I’ll come right out and admit that I have little use for Novack, but I think his unwillingness to debate this guy can be attributed in part to our media culture. Before the 24/7 news cycle, analysts and commentators had some degree of idealogical independence. That meant that they had to spend a great amount of time reading, researching and (gasp) thinking. When they reached a conclusion, it had at least some degree of logic, was consistent with their core beliefs, and could withstand examination in the forum of a debate. Nowadays, its like these folks **(on both sides of the political spectrum)** merely wait for their talking points to be faxed to them, then shout these points at the top of their lungs. Self-examination, philosophical consistency and well-thought reasoning simply take to long for these people who have to fill time on the TV and/or radio everyday. In short, many have become lazy, and as such are susceptable to being creamed when forced to defend their positions in an impartial intellectual forum. Take the “Liberal Media Bias” rigamarole, for instance. I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I can tell when someone is reporting the facts and when someone is pushing an agenda. I’ve been hearing about “Liberal Media Bias” for 20 years, but I’ve never heard a convincing argument that such exists. This “Bias” is merely an unsustainable talking point. But Novack, et al, have been banging this drum for so long that when they are put in the position of having to defend this charge, about all they can do is say “Dan Rather” (who is also pretty useless, in my estimation). ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-novak-chickens-out-of-debating-eric-alterman/305785/4 "2005-05-27T19:10:08Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > You mean besides the obvious? 😛 > > In a related vein, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan got [intimidated](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/5/25/18836/6234) by an 85-year-old woman. 😉 I knew that was going to be about Helen Thomas. God, I love that woman! Okay, not THAT way…she intimidates the hell out of me, too, and I don’t even have to try to justify the Bush Administration… ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-novak-chickens-out-of-debating-eric-alterman/305785/5 "2005-05-27T20:15:46Z")
Pardon the hijack, but I like to think it’s no coincidence that Novak outted a CIA operative, and then shortly after “broke his hip in an accident at home”. I’m sure it is a coincidence, but I still like to think it isn’t. I hope that UCSB sues him for as much money as it’s allowed to for breach of contract and wins. You’d think he’d have asked “who will I be debating?” when he signed the damned contract (and if they wouldn’t tell him, simply say “I won’t sign til you tell me who”). You have to admit though that it’s rare you find a “journalist” honest enough to say > [@](#): > > I’m not a politician, I’m a journalist. I do what I damn well please ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-novak-chickens-out-of-debating-eric-alterman/305785/6 "2005-05-27T20:17:49Z")
I wonder if he would [debate Jon Stewart](http://www.nydailynews.com/front/v-pfriendly/story/242541p-207741c.html) (the man who termed him “douchebag of truth”). ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-novak-chickens-out-of-debating-eric-alterman/305785/7 "2005-05-27T20:58:02Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I wonder if he would [debate Jon Stewart](http://www.nydailynews.com/front/v-pfriendly/story/242541p-207741c.html) (the man who termed him “douchebag of truth”). I would pay good money to see that. Maybe that should be the Great Debate: If they were auctioning off a ticket to see Jon Stewart debate Robert Novak, how much would you pay? Note, the only way to see this debate is if you have a ticket. I’d pay at least $100. ---
**Author:** ![Priam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/77aa72/32.png) [@Priam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Priam)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-novak-chickens-out-of-debating-eric-alterman/305785/8 "2005-05-27T21:47:54Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > I knew that was going to be about Helen Thomas. God, I love that woman! > > Okay, not THAT way…she intimidates the hell out of me, too, and I don’t even have to try to justify the Bush Administration… She was the commencement speaker at my graduation earlier this month. I thought my mom was gonna pitch a fit when Thomas started talking politics, but I thought it was pretty cool. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-novak-chickens-out-of-debating-eric-alterman/305785/9 "2005-05-27T21:53:46Z")
What the heck did Alterman say about him, anyway? It’s hard to tell if Novak lacs the sack, or if he hates Alterman so much he can’t be in the same room. Don’t get me wrong; Novak is the crème des douchebags, so I wouldn’t put it past him being a yellow bastard, but it’s really tough to gather what motivated him in this instance. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-novak-chickens-out-of-debating-eric-alterman/305785/10 "2005-05-27T22:45:06Z")
> [@Loopydude](#): > > What the heck did Alterman say about him, anyway? Basically, accused him of lax ethics. From [http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20050523&s=alterman:](http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20050523&s=alterman:) > [@](#): > > Of course, these are relatively inconsequential matters compared with what Novak has done to former CIA agent Valerie Plame, as well as to his fellow journalists Matthew Cooper and Judith Miller. In the former case, Novak destroyed the career of a loyal public servant and potentially endangered US national security because–alone among six journalists contacted–he chose to play patsy for a Bush Administration scheme to punish her husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, by revealing her identity. (Wilson had investigated, and found wanting, Administration claims that the African nation of Niger had sold uranium to Iraq; he thereby undermined its case for war.) > > Novak has also exposed two professional colleagues to possible jail sentences because he refuses to reveal the source of the Bush Administration leaker who played him so perfectly. Or perhaps he has testified about the leaker–or taken the Fifth Amendment; no one can be sure. Neither Novak nor the presiding judge in the case will say. While Novak has in the past deliberately burned a confidential source because he objected to the reason he was used–the Soviet spy Robert P. Hanssen, Novak said in 2001, “was merely using me to undermine [Attorney General Janet] Reno”–he will not do so in this case. Moreover, he explains, he does not really care about the fact that while he remains free to practice his trade, Miller and Cooper are looking at slammer time, pending a Supreme Court ruling. “I don’t know why they’re upset with me,” Novak told C-SPAN’s Brian Lamb. “They ought to worry about themselves. I worry about myself.” > > As Amy Sullivan recently demonstrated in a Washington Monthly profile, much of Novak’s journalistic career has taken place in a similarly insulated ethics-free zone. He regularly praises books published by the right-wing publishing house Regnery, without informing readers and viewers that his son, Alex, is in charge of the company’s publicity. Nor does he let them in on the news of his business relationship with the owner of the company, Tom Phillips, who also owns Eagle Publishing, which distributes the “Evans-Novak Political Report,” available to subscribers for an annual $297 rate. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-novak-chickens-out-of-debating-eric-alterman/305785/11 "2005-05-27T22:50:00Z")
OK. He’s chicken! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Orbifold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/779978/32.png) [@Orbifold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orbifold)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2005, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-novak-chickens-out-of-debating-eric-alterman/305785/12 "2005-05-27T23:27:05Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I wonder if he would [debate Jon Stewart](http://www.nydailynews.com/front/v-pfriendly/story/242541p-207741c.html) (the man who termed him “douchebag of truth”). Douchebag of _liberty_, I believe. ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2005, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-novak-chickens-out-of-debating-eric-alterman/305785/13 "2005-05-29T11:17:08Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > **Why** won’t (Novak) debate Alterman (about media bias at UCSB)? What’s he afraid of? [Pie?](http://www.calpatriot.org/images/2901115629988.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2005, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-novak-chickens-out-of-debating-eric-alterman/305785/14 "2005-05-29T15:36:45Z")
Maybe Alterman is a better debater. I seem to remember Al Franken admitting that Rush Limbaugh would clobber him in a debate. So he settled for flaying Limbaugh alive in print. I admire the ability to handle oneself well in a debate forum, but after hearing politicians scream at each other for years over who is or isn’t “chicken” for not participating in a debate, I don’t place much importance in all the fooferaw. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2005, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-novak-chickens-out-of-debating-eric-alterman/305785/15 "2005-05-29T16:17:25Z")
Yeah, but you also gotta take into account the IRD, the Index of Relative Douchebaggery. ---
**Author:** ![brickbacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2005, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-novak-chickens-out-of-debating-eric-alterman/305785/16 "2005-05-29T17:10:07Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Maybe Alterman is a better debater. > > I seem to remember Al Franken admitting that Rush Limbaugh would clobber him in a debate. So he settled for flaying Limbaugh alive in print. > I admire the ability to handle oneself well in a debate forum, but after hearing politicians scream at each other for years over who is or isn’t “chicken” for not participating in a debate, I don’t place much importance in all the fooferaw. Since when has Al Franken said Limbaugh would clobber him in a debate? Everything I’ve heard him say would lead me to believe he would never say that, because he doesn’t believe that to be true. Franken has challenged him to a debate which Limbaugh has declined (as has, Bill O’Reilly). Unless you have a cite, I believe you may have your facts mixed up. Besides, Limbaugh would be a terrible debater. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2005, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-novak-chickens-out-of-debating-eric-alterman/305785/17 "2005-05-30T01:10:18Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Maybe Alterman is a better debater. But Novak was confident enough in his own debating skills that he willingly signed up to debate an unspecified party on the issue of liberal or conservative press bias in a highly public setting. He backed out only after he saw Alterman’s name on the roster. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2005, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-novak-chickens-out-of-debating-eric-alterman/305785/18 "2005-05-30T01:35:28Z")
> [@Wartime Consigliori](#): > > Take the “Liberal Media Bias” rigamarole, for instance. I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I can tell when someone is reporting the facts and when someone is pushing an agenda. I’ve been hearing about “Liberal Media Bias” for 20 years, but I’ve never heard a convincing argument that such exists. What was unconvincing about Bernard Goldberg’s arguments? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2005, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-novak-chickens-out-of-debating-eric-alterman/305785/19 "2005-05-30T02:22:24Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > What was unconvincing about Bernard Goldberg’s arguments? You could always read [Alterman on Goldberg](http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:jTxmSK_ui1sJ:www.thinkingpeace.com/Lib/lib015.html+%22bernard+goldberg%22+arguments+book+-townhall&hl=en)😃 ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2005, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-novak-chickens-out-of-debating-eric-alterman/305785/20 "2005-05-30T05:54:59Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > I seem to remember Al Franken admitting that Rush Limbaugh would clobber him in a debate. _This_ I gotta see a cite for. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bob-novak-chickens-out-of-debating-eric-alterman/305785.md?page=2)