GARGAMEL Bob Novak wants to party with you

Valerie Plame-outing Karl Rove tool Robert Novak seems to have lost his luster. Only half of the 70 seats are filled so far for a $595-a-plate, strictly off-the-record April 26 forum with Novak and high-profile politicos. It's a sharp drop-off from past event attendance, a source close to the forum tells Radar.

"For the last two years, it's been full," the source says. Could D.C. insiders be soured by Novak's role in the Plame outing and subsequent Scooter Libby conviction? "If anything, I would think that would attract them," the source says.

So far, that's not the case. Novak cohort and Human Events president and editor in chief Tom Winter has sent out a letter to "friends" of the conservative columnist, urging their participation. The pitch, titled "Ultimate (Secret) Source," asks, "Have you ever dreamed of spending a few moments with the country's top leaders? Well, now you can. Thanks to a special private Forum organized by my friend Bob Novak, you and a few other lucky Americans can spend several knowledge-packed hours with many of America's leaders."

In the past, the event has been attended by Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice, Al Gore, Colin Powell, and others, but the pitch for the latest gathering doesn't promise specific VIPs.

Prospective attendees should feel safe and secure espousing any views, asking any questions, or outing any spies they choose to. "Each guest speaks briefly about the issues of the day, then opens the floor to questions—any question. The answers are frank and open because there are no reporters," the pitch letter states, ignoring the fact that the forum's organizer is a journalist who publicly disclosed the identity of a CIA operative then secretly squealed to investigators hunting for his leak sources. "This meeting is 100 percent off the record."

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