Blogs and Stories
Is Lou Dobbs Too Mean to Be President?
by Lloyd Grove
Lloyd Grove is editor at large for The Daily Beast. He is also a frequent contributor to New York magazine and was a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio. He wrote a gossip column for the New York Daily News from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he wrote the Reliable Source column for the Washington Post, where he spent 23 years covering politics, the media, and other subjects.
Kathy Willens / AP Photo
Former colleagues at CNN tell Lloyd Grove that Lou Dobbs managed through intimidation, picked on subordinates’ weaknesses, and flew into rages. Given what Dobbs calls his “nature,” could he survive a race?
The political world is rife with insecure, self-aggrandizing egomaniacs who present a friendly face to voters while behind closed doors they belittle underlings, throw tantrums, demand flattery, and otherwise abuse their fellow humans—and usually they get away with it.
On that score alone, Lou Dobbs would fit right in.
The 64-year-old former CNN personality—a longtime apologist for corporate bigwigs who in recent years reinvented himself, and for a time found ratings gold, as the scourge of Wall Street, free trade, and illegal immigration—has been flirting with the idea of running for office ever since he abruptly quit the network on Nov. 11 over irreconcilable differences with CNN/U.S. president Jon Klein, and to the considerable relief of colleagues who felt he was tarnishing the CNN brand.
Dobbs “wasn’t sexist at all. He was as mean to the women as he was to the men.”
Dobbs’ political fancies were on display last week when he submitted himself to Telemundo host Maria Celeste for a hostile interview concerning his inflammatory claims about undocumented immigrants (they spread leprosy, they raise the crime rate, they take jobs from real Americans). Dobbs ultimately defused the clash by calling for a “rational, effective, humane” immigration policy and “the ability to legalize illegal immigrants on certain conditions.”
“You sound now like a politician,” a surprised Celeste told him.
“It’s one of the things I am considering,” Dobbs responded, flashing a grin. “I’m not sure you meant that as a compliment,” he added.
• Lloyd Grove & Rebecca Dana: What Happened With Lou Dobbs Dobbs has yet to announce his plans, other than to continue hosting his daily syndicated radio show. At Lou Dobbs Tonight, the prime-time program he anchored for six years, he was lord and master of 30-odd staffers and used to getting his way—an impossible scenario in a political campaign. How does a TV star, accustomed to dictating the terms of engagement, cope with an uncontrollable environment in which the electorate owes him nothing, his opponents are on the attack, and reporters are poring over his finances, dissecting his personal life, and possibly even going through his trash? Could Dobbs survive a race for senator, let alone for president, two possibilities being kicked around in the media, without having a meltdown?
“The degree of scrutiny that a candidate for public office, or an office holder in government, is subjected to is at a much deeper and more intrusive and all-consuming level than anything visited upon a television personality,” said former Bush administration official Dan Senor. “The idea that you could be an anchor on a television show, and know what it’s like to be under constant siege by the political opposition, is absurd. They are two different worlds.”
But veteran Republican strategist Ed Rollins, who was a frequent guest on Lou Dobbs Tonight, said his friend is ready for the fight: “No one knows what it’s like in a campaign until he’s actually in it—you never know until you start getting beat up by the media—but Lou has got all the assets. He has great communication skills, and I’ve never seen anything that would lead me to believe that he couldn’t be a great candidate.”
It’s worth noting that New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, a Democrat with anemic job approval ratings, seems worried about a possible Dobbs challenge in 2012. The senator’s press secretary, Afshin Mohamadi, recently claimed, unconvincingly, that his boss “would relish eventually having an opponent from so far out of the mainstream and who has never done a thing for the hard-working people of New Jersey.” In politics, you don’t shoot down.
Dobbs is coy about the prospect, and hardly Shermanesque. “I don’t know, Don—it’s one of the things I’ve been chewin’ on,” he confided Wednesday morning to Fox Business Network shock jock Don Imus when asked about his political intentions. “I’ve always said it doesn’t make any sense for me to run for office, given my nature. I’m not used to putting up with some of the nonsense that some of our elected officials have to put up with. So I don’t know. I can’t imagine it—but I still haven’t ruled it out.”
YOUR FRIENDS
Collapse at CBS News
Rebecca Dana is a senior correspondent for The Daily Beast. A former editor and reporter for The Wall Street Journal, she has also written for The New York Times, The New York Observer, Rolling Stone, and Slate, among other publications.
The Shadow Over Obama’s Address
As vice chairman of Public Strategies and president of Maverick Media, Mark McKinnon has helped meet strategic challenges for candidates, corporations and causes, including George W. Bush, John McCain, Governor Ann Richards, Charlie Wilson, Lance Armstrong, and Bono.
Does Diet Soda Make You Fat?
Susan B. Roberts, PhD is Professor of Nutrition and Professor of Psychiatry at Tufts University and author of The "I" Diet weight-loss program. Weight loss on this program averages 16 pounds in 8 weeks and 30 pounds in 5 months.
The Wrestler Could Win
Lloyd Grove is editor at large for The Daily Beast. He is also a frequent contributor to New York magazine and was a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio. He wrote a gossip column for the New York Daily News from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he wrote the Reliable Source column for the Washington Post, where he spent 23 years covering politics, the media, and other subjects.
Christopher Plummer on Sex, Booze, and Dogs
Lloyd Grove is editor at large for The Daily Beast. He is also a frequent contributor to New York magazine and was a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio. He wrote a gossip column for the New York Daily News from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he wrote the Reliable Source column for the Washington Post, where he spent 23 years covering politics, the media, and other subjects.
Harry Shearer's Amazing New Orleans Documentary
Lloyd Grove is editor at large for The Daily Beast. He is also a frequent contributor to New York magazine and was a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio. He wrote a gossip column for the New York Daily News from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he wrote the Reliable Source column for the Washington Post, where he spent 23 years covering politics, the media, and other subjects.
xlntcat
Surely we aren't so hard up that we would get stuck with Lou Dobbs who may not be too mean or too unstable (LBJ and Nixon were hardly stable) but he is too stupid and we have had enough stupid to last a very, very long time.
crypto
Not a chance. He couldn't re-invent himself in three years. Right now he carries so much baggage there's not enough money around to get him in the top five.
gameon
And so begins the lou Dobbs smear campaign.What's wrong libs.,did you get tired of twit- picking on Sarah palin?
Conservative rule to live by number one; If a liberal tells me a politician is stupid,then he/she deserves a closer look by me.
It's too bad we know how Dobbs thinks,if he was a complete unknown like Obama he might stand a chance.He would be able to just tell everybody what they want to hear,you know,like Obama.
crypto
gameon: What I said before is not how I feel about Dobbs. But the "system" won't let him in if they can help it because not only does he know what's going on, He's against most of it, Pelosi etc. But being in the position he has been in for so long he has had access to most of the dirt and knows where the bodies are buried. Pelosi would have a hemorrhage if he ran for anything.
mortone
"It's too bad we know how Dobbs thinks . . . "
I think it's great that we know how Dobbs thinks. It's why many of us would never vote for him.
Orion12
Gameon, with due respect for your views, but we cannot compare Dobbs and Obama. And for that matter, you cannot equate the two by calling Obama an "unknown". Their backgrounds are poles apart.
I do not think that people are picking on Dobbs. They are just concerned that if he has such a personality, then he may not be fit for office.... apart from talking on the radio, which is OK. If he does have such a temperament, then it is dangerous for such a person to be in office.
And in the case of Palin, well that is another matter. Even though the lady may have some merits, she DID screw up by confirming her lack of knowledge and readiness to be vice president of the US. Irrespective of our political inclinations the woman did not project self confidence, knowledge and depth of thinking. It was not her fault but that of the short-sightedness of conservatives.. She messed their campaign.
Maybe the Republicans should put Palin and Dobbs as POTUS and vice, respectively. Then America will have a real conservative leadership.... And you, Gamon, may change your views about them.
gameon
Hey look,i'm not saying I love Dobbs or Palin.What i'm saying is the amount of scrutiny these two conservatives are getting three years out from the pres. election seems odd to me and a little to excessive to just be coincidence.Your opinion of Dobbs and Palin makes you excepting of liberal bias in the media.For a conservative like me,an article right about now on Al Gore and his links to fraudulent science would be refreshing,instead of twelve articles on Sarah palin and a hit piece on Dobbs.
I mean what's more important than a former Vice-President being involved in the largest fraud in history,"Human Caused Global Warming".Gore is a scheister,and he stands to make a large profit if we buy his junk science.
Surely this website could have one thorough article on the subject amongst the dozen Palin articles.It's just one more example of media bias.
Had Obama received just half the media scrutiny that Palin has he would have never been elected by the American people.He's an empty suit,a con man that knows how to work your emotions to get what he wants.Why should he be in charge of the military,he has no military experience.Why would you put him in charge of the economy when he's never even ran a business? He's a smooth talking lawyer,like Johnny Cochran, who's in way over his head and you're the starry eyed jurors who refuse to look at the evidence.
Kitwyk
For several months, Dobbs has exhibited the cognitive symptoms of my dementia patients. He would lose the thread of conversations, repeatedly fail to remember numbers that a guest had just stated and become angry when the guest corrected him. His frequent bouts of irrational anger and his inability to follow logical arguments are signs of the same mental decline.
Kitwyk
For several months, Dobbs has exhibited the cognitive symptoms of my dementia patients. He would lose the thread of conversations, repeatedly fail to remember numbers that a guest had just stated and become angry when the guest corrected him. His frequent bouts of irrational anger and his inability to follow logical arguments are signs of the same mental decline.
Lynnie99
Dobbs seemed changed completely after he came back from his tonsil surgery. I often wondered if he'd been deprived of oxygen while undergoing the surgery. He was always pretty testy, and gruff, but he seemed to become extra cruel after the surgery, and he's taken his anger to new and soaring heights. I had always loved his show, and thought of him as a very smart savvy man - very professional - but not any more. He doesn't even make sense most of the time, and argues just for the sake of arguing. It's actually sad.
Mixpixlix
I made a similar observation a few months ago. I, too, think something went wrong with the surgery and/or we weren't told the truth about the operation.
However, I've always wonder how Kitty Pilgrm could stand him. Though I understand the need for a job and paycheck.
I couldn't help but notice that he always and I mean ALWAYS had to have the last word be it with one of his own correspondents or a guest.
It seems that once their ratings soar they become oxygen deprived. Dobbs is just the latest in a string of talking heads who actually thinks they're important to the public discourse.
SWFLORIDA
I'll be el presidentia de Estados Unidos, or senator from New Jersey before this bigot,racist hate merchant Lou Dobbs is...Por favor..
This user is no longer registered.
crypto
Miight be just what this country needs. Don't forget about 'ol go to hell, the buck stops here, Harry Truman. Too many politicians didn't like him but you could pretty well depend on Truman to tell it like it was. And he had the guts to stand up for this country. Democrat to the bone but got things done.
urban16
no, just too stpuid
Winski
not too mean..too stupid.
gameon
Ya,and you two are rocket scientists.
JaimeFW
Dobbs & his admirer gameon are both a little mean & stoopid, methinks...
GaryBoldwater
possibly the dumbest question ever posed by TDB
StewartIII
ChickaBOOMer: The Daily Beast's Political Opposition Research Concludes Lou Dobbs Is A D!@*head
http://chickaboomer.blogspot.com/2009/12/daily-beasts-political-oppositi on.html
hammer
If comedian and radio host Al Franken could run a successful Senate campaign, then Lou Dobbs could do the same. He just has to pick the right state and office to run for.
StellaRay
Um, no. Al Franken is smart as a whip and not an angry man with a lose cannon temper and a history of increasingly racist and stupid remarks.
My latest favorite was a recent interview where he angrily asked, regarding President Obama, "who the hell does he think he is?" The answer of course is painfully obvious and Dobbs looked foolish spitting spittle over it. One could not help but think, and who do you think you are Mr. Dobbs?---besides a guy who just lost his show because CNN finally figured out he was damaging what's left of their brand. I agree with the poster who said he's showing signs of the onset of dementia.
gameon
Al Franken is not as smart as you say he is,i've heard him get his rear handed to him on talk shows before.I bet you Dobbs would destroy him in a debate.But good luck getting Frankenwierdo to honestly debate his idea's.Debate doesn't go well with liberalism.
gameon
And didn't Franken have a radio show?The fact I don't know shows how successful he's been.Not to mention ,I don't think I ever laughed at one of his unfunny SNL sketches.Frankenweirdo must have been created in the basement of the Democratic headquarters.I never knew ackward ,weird and unfunny were qualifications for government office.I guess that would also explain John Kerry's success.
whipmawhopma
Go for it, Lou Dobbs. Your insanity and meaness will be needed for the next bit of oversteering a POTUS-style change. And it might explain all that 2012 crap on the History Channel.
grannybetty
Too mean to be presadent? We lived through Cheyneys last eight years as a behind the scene president and Bush sr.,Nixon,Reagan etc.
camrahn
Thanks for the heads up on Lou . This is the kind of information we need to cast an informed ballot in the nest election. If woulkd be helpful if the beast would come up with some ideas and possible names of people to run for the NJ US Senate seat. I know it's a lot to ask but what if anything has Launghtenburg (sp) and Mendendez done for NJ in the past few years. And who is on the horizon that we in NJ can seriously look at.I really would like Tony Soprano (can't spell his true name) to get into the mix. Just for eight years so we can get rid of the hangars on and get some new blood. Chris Smith has been in congres for 30 Years and he seems to have no juice aggod guy but not a Shark. Frank Pallone is finished he apparently is out of touch with the people in his districk.
Will someone tell WHY Congress and their staff are excempt from this new Medical reform bill? I am sure there is a legitimate reason. Serious question please no wise replies they would go over my head. Thanks for your answer and thanks to the beast for the story on Lou. We need all the info we can get from the media and they have a serious obligation to be honest and avoid agendas. BTW I think (not a fan of him) VP Biden was right on in Afgan. Those Taliban will sit it out forever as soon as we leave they will be back.Pakistan shoukd be inviting us in on a time table that is a country that can tighten these guys up with a little help.
Let the Afgans do their thing eventually the people will get tired of us and our surgical strikes (no offense to Doctors) and kick the bad guys out.
The French how in the world did they ever get back in NATO?
Were the Turks sleeping. Quid Pro Quo. The French should stop blocking the Turks from membership in the Ecommkt. I lived in Turkey and worked with their soldiers and also worked with the South Korean Army. We should keep in mind who are friends are and who the opportunist are. We also need the DRAFT. Congress should require the ARMY to report the number of waviers it has given to meet its manning goals. That ain't gonna happen. Any way enough incoherrence. But I still wish to know the reason for the excemtions for congress and their staff from the new fiasco they are formulating in DC.
BluLobster
What has Lautenberg done? He has supported public transportation, gotten our NJ family farms money, supported tax breaks for families with children in college, kept our NJ ports in OUR control, and tried to help those who are currently losing their homes. I'll agree Menendez is a lame duck, but Lautenberg's done a lot for my state. AND he's from New Jersey, lived here all his life, except for his stint in the army. Dobbs is just some out-of-stater who moved here when he got rich. He doesn't know New Jersey, and I don't want him representing my state. Of course, given that you're willing to support James Gandolfini (a great guy, but not a politician) for the senate, you clearly don't give a wit about politics.
camrahn
What happened to my blog?
Thank you.
As a first time user, your comment has been submitted for review. It can take anywhere from a few hours to a day or two for your comment to be reviewed, depending on the time of week and the volume of comments we receive.