Robert Novak Runs Down Obama Supporter

The Politico reports that conservative columnist Robert Novak "was cited by police after he hit a pedestrian with his black Corvette in downtown Washington, D.C., Wednesday morning." The pedestrian who rudely got in Novak's way is attorney David Bono, a partner at Hawkins Cunningham who has given $1,000 to Barack Obama's campaign. While I understand that the McCain campaign has been having difficulties getting its message out with the media swooning over Obama's overseas trip, I'm not sure that having surrogates run over Obama partisans is the most efficient strategy for winning the election, though it is admittedly better than the ideas they have come up with so far.

Calling voters whiners and running over the opposition's supporters with a Corvette might have worked in previous elections, but I don't think they are going to work in this one. Using such old-fashioned campaign tactics just reinforces the idea that McCain is past his prime and that he is still fighting the last war instead of formulating a vision for the future. And using men like Phil Gramm and Robert Novak, one of the few working journalists who is actually older than McCain, though only by a few years, as surrogates just reinforces the idea that a bunch of old men are trying to help McCain get elected.

It is unlikely that Novak hit Bono unintentionally and didn't realize what he had done since one witness said Bono was "splayed across the front of Novak’s convertible," although it is possible Novak didn't have his reading glasses on. Novak's hit-and-run actually sounds like the brainchild of Karl Rove, who is advising the McCain campaign. Rove and Novak last worked together when they attacked the credibility of Joe Wilson by outting his wife Valerie Plame as a CIA agent. Although that operation was largely successful, Novak didn't do as well this time. Novak failed to get away with it, as he did in the Plame operation, because Bono ran after him and forced him to stop. And he didn't even manage to take Bono out, which is a serious blow to Novak's reputation as the Grim Reaper. All in all this operation was not a success, although Novak did get a break from the legal system since he could have been charged with hit and run, just as he escaped serious charges in the Plame operation. At least Rove is still apparently able to pull a few strings.

But even if this particular operation had been a success, I have to question Rove and Novak's judgment. They are going to have to run down a lot of pedestrians to make any dent in support for Obama. Perhaps they thought running down just one Obama partisan would send a message to others that there are consequences for supporting the wrong candidate. But the fact that Bono emerged with only minor injuries isn't likely to scare anyone and may in fact embolden the opposition.

I am pleased that the McCain campaign has apparently decided that just waiting for Obama to make a mistake is not going to win the election. At least they are starting to go on the offense instead of playing defense. But I think they need to come up with better strategies, such as, and I'm just thinking off the top of my head here, offering a positive vision for the country.

Update: An alert reader points out that Bono was not actually the victim of Novak's hit and run but was just a witness who stopped Novak when he tried to get away. This just reinforces my point that the operation was badly botched. Novak apparently hit the wrong guy.

Update 2: Robert Novak has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. Our prayers go out to him and his family.

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