Novak Calls It

Carville taunts him as a wuss with something to prove.

What can Novak do?

1. Shrink back and let Carville talk? If he does this, not only does he get cut off, but it makes Carville "right" that he's a wuss.


2. Get mad and try to yell over Carville? If he does this, Carville still stops Novak from making his point (because no one will hear anything coherent in the shouting), and Carville's still "right" that Novak has something to prove.


3. Sock Carville in the Face (for obvious reasons, this is a bad idea, not least of which is that Carville can probably take him)


4. Walk away.

Note that in none of these options does Novak actually get to make his point. In all of them, he is belittled by Carville. So yes, it was BS, and it's natural for someone to react with anger when confronted with such choices (especially if they were not expecting to hit a dead end like that on national TV). Not that Novak's outburst helped anything any.

Or was Novak just looking for an excuse to book?

Update 8/5 9:45pm: I should add that, like Glenn Reynolds, I was never a fan of Novak, and that I think his outburst was really stupid and juvenile. Also, there is a difference between walking off the set as a guest who is being insulted and as one of the hosts. Sometimes you should just suck it up and accept an insult (especially if you may have (in)advertently exposed a CIA operative's identity... in that case, a bit of humility might be in order)