Kidding around
Among those conversations you never thought would occur: Bob Novak and Maureen Dowd bantering back and forth about a “one-night stand.”
In his new autobiography, Novak says he was shopping for a liberal woman to take the place of Margaret Warner on CNN’s “Capital Gang,” and the New York Times columnist was his first choice.
Despite finding her “witty,” “irreverent” and “an exotic beauty,” Novak couldn’t persuade Dowd to commit to TV.
“I suggested she try just one ‘Capital Gang’ and see how it works out,” writes Novak, who told Dowd, “You know, a one-night stand.”
“Oh,” Dowd replied, “if you’re really talking about a one-night stand, I might be interested.”
Novak writes he then told her to “get serious,” but she still turned him down for the show.
Novak assured us the exchange was tongue-in-cheek. “I think it’s pretty obvious,” Novak said. “She likes to kid around.”
Dowd’s assistant told us she was on vacation and was unavailable to comment.
A final side note: There’s a curious typo in this section of Novak’s book. Referring to the New York paper, the text refers to “Tunes” instead of “Times.” A Freudian slip by the conservative columnist about the liberal newspaper?
