Novak's public service: Exposing the power game

My column today pays tribute to my old boss:

With his columns, Novak helped foster a salutary skepticism of government and reinforced the distrust of power that lies at the core of American liberty.

Much of Novak's work involved tracking political horse races and getting inside dirt on candidates and elections. But Novak also loved digging into the bowels of the legislative and executive branches, and showing readers how the sausage is actually made.

In these days, when the president (like his predecessors) calls his critics "naysayers" and "cynics" and says the day for skepticism of government is past -- and when even many conservatives believe that government is responsible for solving all of the nation's problems -- Novak's lesson is indispensable.