Robert Novak, the "Prince of Darkness," is dead at 78

For decades, the conservative voice of Joliet, Illinois native Robert Novak served as a guide for those on the right.

Novak succumbed to cancer earlier today in Washington, he was 78.

Tributes to Novak, a University of Illinois graduate, are rolling in, including these two:

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said:

For more than half a century, Robert Novak explained the politics and the personalities of Washington to readers across the country through a mix of tireless shoe leather reporting and the kind of keen insight that can only be gained through years and years of dedication to a craft.

He was a Washington institution who could turn an idea into the most discussed story around kitchen tables, Congressional offices, the White House, and everywhere in between.

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) said of Novak:

Bob made remarkable contributions in the field of journalism and to the American political landscape. He gave us a lifetime of dedication to the work he loved, and it is hard to imagine Washington without him.

Although he was based in Washington, the Chicago Sun-Times was his home newspaper.

Novak's memoir was entitled "The Prince of Darkness."

Related posts:

Robert Novak donating $1.5 million to University of Illinois

Bob Novak: Univ. of Ill. alumni group's conservative curriculum faces opposition

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