RIP, Robert Novak

The AP reports on powerhouse conservative columnist Robert Novak’s passing:

CHICAGO (AP) – Political columnist Robert Novak, who was a central figure in the Valerie Plame CIA leak case, has died after a battle with brain cancer.

His wife, Geraldine Novak, tells the Chicago Sun-Times that he died at his home in Washington on Tuesday. He was 78.

Novak was long known as the co-host of CNN’s “Crossfire” and had been a columnist for the Sun-Times for decades.

He was diagnosed with a brain tumor in July 2008, less than a week after he struck a pedestrian in downtown Washington with his Corvette and drove away.

Lynn Sweet, who writes for the Chicago Sun-Times, the same paper that has been home to Novak’s columns since 1966, has a good profile piece on Novak’s career that you can read here (via Memeo). The Sun-Times’ farewell to Novak is here.

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family. He will be missed.