Lou Dobbs a complicated figure, deserves credit

   Lou Dobbs left CNN.

   I’m excited, honestly. I personally hope CNN replaces Mr. Dobbs with Fareed Zakaria, but I’m not optimistic about the idea, since they’ve already replaced Dobbs with John King. I do not mistake being timid with being neutral, and viewers shouldn’t either.

      I found the current Dobbs to be a commentator who never found a conspiracy theory he didn’t like. But before this turns into a partisan hack job, let’s look over two of the major topics he openly (and routinely) espoused on his program.

    The first idea is that there is a sinister conspiracy, at the highest levels of government, to hide the fact that the president of the United States is not a naturally born citizen of this country. This charge, oddly enough, got debunked on his own show by someone filling in for him when Mr. Dobbs was sick. He would keep it going, until the rumor ran its course. By contrast, there is no evidence that the birther movement has dug up that holds to any reasonable measure of scrutiny.

       The second is that (and this is no exaggeration) the Mexicans crossing the border illegally, by the thousands, were infecting America with their leprosy.

   The context is important to recognize here. If I told you that was a recurring punch line on It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, you’d believe it. More frighteningly, if you replaced Mexicans with Irish or Italians, you would have a reasonable facsimile of the last 300 years of vicious prejudice based on place of birth. Dobbs, factually, was incorrect (he said 7,000 cases [of leprosy] in the last three years, but the number, according to the Health Resources Services Administration, was 7,000 total in the last 30 years), but would continue to spread the smear for years.

  Let me go further than Lou Dobbs and commit to the idea, openly and without coercion, that I believe him to be a complicated figure that is ultimately overshadowed by the lies and untruths espoused on his show. He started out as a straight-laced financial reporter and slowly unraveled (or perhaps found his niche) afterward as a commentator on the news.

      He couched his commentary by saying he was trying to protect the middle class, which may be how he truly feels. I don’t know.  To be fair, he’s been straight-forward fiscally conservative from day one and that hasn’t changed, even with the war in Iraq. The sad part is that Lou Dobbs, a person who has a long history with CNN before his own talk show program, will be remembered as a raving xenophobic whose primary options will be a tell-all book, a Fox News residency or both.

   It is easy to call him a xenophobic blowhard and walk away, but that’s too easy. He left CNN a crank, but I don’t think he joined them that way.
 
james.hepplewhite@gmail.com
class of 2010

4 comments

NL

Wed Nov 18 2009 21:00

Fred Polin:

In my opinion, the "Becks O'Reilly's, Dobbs and a few others" are the REASON why "real journalism is on its way out." The American people want to be entertained by their news, and O'Reilly's frequent verbal abuse towards his guests and Beck's overdramaticism are driving the news away from what the Golden Age of journalism was all about: TRULY fair and balanced news that was more about informing than about showmanship.
I'm not saying that those on Fox News are the only ones (Jon Stewart is the most trusted broadcaster in america, and half of the staff of CNN are somewhat milder versions of the two aforementioned anchors), but I think that if you're looking to Glenn Beck and "Papa Bear" O'Reilly for real news, you're barking up the wrong tree.

Fred Polin

Wed Nov 18 2009 16:49

At what point do we finally throw up our hands and surrender to the fact that real journalism is on it's way out, being replaced by politically correct news broadcasters that play to the fiddlers in Washington. The Becks, O'Reilly's, Dobbs and a few others at least raise the questions that the people want and need to ask. I personally don't agree with a lot of their positions on issues but like the fact that I am hearing another side to controversial subjects. I will probably refrain from any future CNN broadcasts and will be tuning to Fox even though I don't feel I am a conservative.

Ed in Sac

Wed Nov 18 2009 14:17

Neither of your conspiracy theories are things that Lou said on CNN. Lou, asked why the President would not show his actual birth certificate to deprive the "birther" claim. On the second point, he never said that about illegal immigrants and has repeatedly played back the alleged broadcast to clarify that he did not. Yet for people who have a radical social agenda the facts don't matter. It is apparently all about drowning out the voices of those with opinions that differ from yours. Our is it more accurate to say you believe that your beliefs are the only valid ones?

Personally, I think Lou did a pretty fair job of trying to give air time to both sides of issues, a rarity in todays broadcasting. He was not shy from having his critics on and I think he treated them fairly. I was amazed how he sometimes would allow Acorn, LaRaza, and SPLC representatives to pretty much say what they want and make vile claims about him on the air. Again, this is unique amongst todays broadcasters. They are groups, which like you, seem to be the most interested in silencing their detractors rather than debating issues, who is the most paranoid?

In short, you may not have agreed with his point of view on some issues (or all) but IMO he did yeoman's job of of allowing voices on both sides of issues to be heard in national prime time.

As to your cheap "blowhard" comment...please grow up a little.

Pat

Wed Nov 18 2009 12:22

Sorry, but this is a hack job -- and Lou Dobbs does "deserve credit" for speaking to the Americans who have been "overwhelmed" by the illegal immigration that is, indeed, a problem, especially in California!
Dobbs has pointed out that illegally crossing the border is against the law. Thank you - that's true.
Ask Nancy about that. She is in favor of rewarding those who broke the law with amnesty - because we should not break up families. Americans paid for the birth of the anchor babies that were born after parents sneaked across the border.
I think I won't pay my taxes this year. Money is tight and my family will suffer. Will Nancy come to my defense with amnesty because my family will suffer? Probably not. Unfortunately, she knows I'll never vote for her. But those who broke the law crossing the border will vote for her.
Thank you Lou. Americans are frustrated. We have been displaced from services in our own country by those who are legal residents of another country.
To be fair, the "leprosy" controversy was really a Christine Romans' issue, not Lou Dobbs. Also, the two organizations who disputed the numbers are "less than honest" in their counts and assessments, perhaps because of their radical left wing status??

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