A lot of people in the Latino community have reason to be happy that Lou Dobbs decided to quit CNN. Dobbs was, after all, fiercely anti-immigrant (his supporters would say he was fiercely anti-illegal immigrant, but he often blurred the lines) and much of his ire was directed at Latino immigrants. That often meant that he'd air spurious accusations about Latinos, giving things like a smear about immigrants bringing thousands of cases of leprosy to the U.S. a large audience.
So one Spanish-language newspaper based in New York City, El Diario La Prensa, took the opportunity to celebrate a little. As you can see in the image that accompanies this post, the paper's cover on Thursday was a photo of Dobbs with a strikeout superimposed. The accompanying headline borrowed a bit of Spanglish that Arnold Schwarzenegger made famous: "Hasta la vista, baby."
Come on, people: Did you really think Lou Dobbs was going to run for president immediately after quitting CNN? I mean, he'd have to have a super-inflated ego and be immensely self-righteous to do that, right? So don't worry: Dobbs might just run for the Senate -- then he'll run for president.
At least, that's the latest from the New York Times, which has been hearing talk that Dobbs is considering a challenge to Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J. A spokesman for the former anchor told the paper, referencing the possibility of a presidential run, "I think Lou is realistically saying, that’s a long way off, but if he did run for office there’d have to be an intermediary step, such as the Menendez seat."
For the record, the idea that Dobbs could mount a successful campaign for Senate is almost as far-fetched as the idea that he could become president. (Then again, stranger things have happened.) But the real problem with his making a run for the Senate, if he does indeed harbor White House dreams, is that Menendez isn't up for re-election until 2012. That means Dobbs couldn't run for president until 2016 at the earliest. By then he'd be 71.
Back when Lou Dobbs announced that he'd decided to quit his post as a CNN anchor, there was plenty of talk going on about why, exactly, he'd made the move. In an article he wrote for Salon, Joe Conason appears to have hit part of the reason, at least, square on the nose. Shortly after Dobbs' announcement, Conason wrote: "Having observed the former CNN anchor for many years, including a number of recent appearances on his nightly broadcast, I suspect that he may well nurture ambitions to run for president."
On Monday, Dobbs was talking about just that; in two separate radio appearances, he said he's at least considering making a run for the presidency in 2012. When one interviewer asked Dobbs about the "crazy" idea of him entering the campaign, Dobbs replied, "What's so crazy about that?" He added, "I'll tell you this much: it's one of the discussions that we're having."
During an interview with former Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn. -- who himself made an abortive try for the Republican nomination in 2008 -- Dobbs responded, "yes," when Thompson asked, "Have you given any thought to perhaps running for president?"
When former CNN host Lou Dobbs stopped by Bill O'Reilly's show Monday night, the two had a lot of weighty questions to discuss: What's next for Dobbs? Is he going back to television, or perhaps into politics? Between the two of us, who's more pompous and self-righteous?
OK, that last one is a joke. But O'Reilly really did ask Dobbs this: "Final question: Barack Obama -- is he the devil?"
"He's not the devil," Dobbs answered, presumably to the relieved sighs of millions of viewers. "But he is certainly a man who is right now not making it easy to understand why he's making the public policy choices that he is."
O'Reilly followed up by paraphrasing Dobbs as saying, "You don't think he's the devil, but you think he's mismanaging the country." Dobbs agreed.
Video below, with a hat-tip to Wonkette.
The evening of Nov. 11, when Lou Dobbs formally ended his career in journalism, may mark the beginning of a political nightmare for conservatives. In his departing remarks, he surely hinted at bigger ambitions when he said that "some leaders in media, politics and business have been urging me to go beyond the role here at CNN and to engage in constructive problem solving as well as to contribute positively to the great understanding of the issues of our day."
The next day, in his first radio broadcast after resigning from the news network, he appealed directly to independent voters, whom he said "dominate the registration rolls in this country for the first time," and went on to criticize President Obama as a leader who "focuses on the partisan and racial" in a "21st century post-partisan, post-racial society."
Having observed the former CNN anchor for many years, including a number of recent appearances on his nightly broadcast, I suspect that he may well nurture ambitions to run for president, as reported in the trade press -- and could mount a formidable campaign drawing upon the same resentful remnant that Republicans hope to mobilize in 2012. Except that he probably won't be running as a Republican.
Thanks to the crusade mounted against him by Media Matters for America, Presente.org and a host of other progressive and ethnic organizations, Dobbs is known most widely these days for his inflammatory attacks on illegal immigrants. Stoking nativist paranoia, he has blamed undocumented workers for problems both real and imaginary, from lost jobs and violent crime to increasing leprosy and conspiracies against U.S. sovereignty. On more than one occasion, he has encouraged far-right suspicions about Barack Obama's citizenship, allowing the "Birthers" to spout their theories on a network that had already discredited them (even on his own program). As those incidents were documented repeatedly and amplified by his critics, the tension between Dobbs and CNN executives inevitably rose toward a breaking point.
But in Lou's own mind, at least, there is more to the Dobbs brand than stoking white fears and resentments. Unlike Patrick Buchanan, a populist who more or less admits that he is a racist and Nazi sympathizer, Dobbs resents accusations of prejudice (and happens to be married to a Mexican-American woman -- with whom he lives on a 300-acre horse farm in New Jersey).
The image that he has crafted for himself over the past several years is "Mr. Independent," an identity that has always seemed more appropriate for a political candidate than a news anchor. Mr. Independent is a star-spangled superhero, dazzling enemies with his ferocious smile as he restores truth, justice and the American Way to a grateful "independent nation." If that sounds like a ridiculous exaggeration, check out his Web site.
It is true that LouDobbs.com provides much of the same right-wing rhetoric available from Rush Limbaugh or Fox News Channel, featuring guests such as Mike Huckabee, Bill Donohue and Frank Luntz. Glancing at the Web site or listening to him on the radio makes Dobbs appear to be a "lifelong Republican," as he has occasionally described himself in the past. He lambastes ACORN, the "national liberal media," Nancy Pelosi, "government-run healthcare" and, of course, Barack Obama, all in the usual frothing style.
Yet there is much about his fundamental outlook that simply cannot fit within the Republican party today -- and in no fewer than three bestselling books, he has poured scorn upon the GOP and its free-market idolatry. His skepticism of open borders has long extended to trade as well as immigration, and he has fervently denounced the corporate greed that led to the outsourcing and offshoring of millions of American jobs. That pugnacious attitude won him the George Kourpias Award for Excellence in Labor Journalism from the International Association of Machinists in 2004. ("We would canonize him if we could," said the union's president as he presented the award to Dobbs.)
He despises corporate lobbyists, complains about corporate tax evasion, and has supported public financing of elections. He blasted the banking and credit card industries for pushing through the bankruptcy "reform" that ruined families while fattening their profits. In the past he has even criticized Republicans for promoting cultural warfare over abortion and gay marriage, although he recanted last September with a groveling address to the Values Voters Summit (another possible signal of an incipient candidacy).
Does the Dobbs catalog of outrage make sense as a political platform? Or is he merely another demagogue who encourages dangerous bigotry without offering any real solutions?
As anyone who has debated him will acknowledge, Lou is smart and informed as well as skillful and telegenic -- all of which makes his pandering to the Birthers and the bigots even more disappointing. But the history of third-party movements in modern American presidential politics, from Ross Perot to Ralph Nader to Buchanan, suggests that those who should fear him most are his fellow conservatives.
Not only would he be capable of splitting at least some of the right-wing "tea-bagger" vote away from the GOP, but he might insist on exposing the most damaging effects of the market idolatry that has hypnotized the Republican establishment. Speaking of that establishment on his morning-after radio show, Dobbs warned against the Republicans as "absent" and "inadequate" in the "contest of ideas and values," while promising to "recommit ourselves" to "a contest of ideas in the open and public arena, unconstrained by notions of orthodoxy or political correctness."
He sounds like he's running already.
For a time, Lou Dobbs was one of CNN's biggest stars. Now, though, after having watched his ratings steadily fall, he's leaving the network.
Dobbs announced his resignation, which is effective immediately, on his show Wednesday night. There's been some speculation recently that he could be heading to Fox News or its sister Fox Business Network, but that doesn't appear to be the case now.
“Some leaders in the media, politics and business have been urging me to go beyond my role here at CNN and engage in constructive problem-solving,” Dobbs said. “I’m considering a number of options and directions,”
A CNN spokeswoman has not yet responded to an e-mail from Salon seeking comment.
As a general rule, if you don't work for the Onion, it's best to stay away from parodies. Sports parodies, especially, can be treacherous. But as a colleague who sent me a link to one story from eTrueSports.com observed, the site's article about Lou Dobbs, the border fence and the NBA is actually pretty funny.
From the story:
The news that the NBA’s percentage of Mexican-born players plunged from 2% in 2008 to 1% in 2009, was hailed by CNN television personality Lou Dobbs as proof of the efficacy of tall border fences.
“Mexicans can’t jump,” said Dobbs, a longtime anti-immigration activist, who attributed the new, higher fences along the Mexican border for the reduction of Mexican players in the NBA.
I'll leave a few jokes to the parody itself -- just know that President Obama makes an appearance, too, and it's pretty great. But I did have to share my favorite part of the story, which I like because, based on my experience, it rings very true:
An emotional CNN spokesman, when Dobbs' statement was read to him by a reporter, said, "Oh no, not again," before abruptly ending the telephone interview. CNN is currently last in cable network news ratings.
Thanks, CNN, for making Lou Dobbs
Illegal Alien Costume is Racist 
Racist Anti-Obama Sentiment Inevitable