Robert Novak terrified Washington. Elected and appointed officials, Democrats and Republicans, lobbyists and self-styled defenders of the “public interest” — few were comfortable when Novak had them in his sights. Nor should they have been. The reason was simple: Bob Novak didn’t play political games. He wasn’t partisan. If he came across useful information about anyone, it would appear in his syndicated column. Novak died today at 78.

It’s not too much to call Novak journalism’s last honest man in Washington. Ideologically, he was conservative, the more so the older he grew. He was quite up front about this. But he didn’t cover for his allies or mistreat his adversaries. If a conservative Republican disappointed him, Novak would let you know.