Lou Dobbs, who recently left CNN, told WTOP radio in Washington Monday that he has had conversations about running for president, though he framed it as part of a larger discussion about politics in general.
Dobbs said that he exited the network after it became clear that he was too opinionated for the channel. “I like to speak truth to power,” he said, adding that sometimes power does more than “just sit back and listen.” He said he “loved” being in the arena. Dobbs said he tried to excise the opinion for a couple of months, but both he and CNN concluded it wasn’t going to work.
Dobbs said that he has pondered a run for president in 2012. “Politics is one of the discussions we are having,” he said, though he said he didn’t think he had the “nature” for it. But he also said that “being in the public arena means you have to be part of the solution,” and he indicated he was looking for solutions. He said he had reached out to groups with which he has had ongoing debates. That would include groups opposed to his stand on illegal immigration, some of whom would appear to be hard to mollify given their rhetoric and efforts to have him taken off the air.
Dobbs said he did not feel like the fall guy for CNN’s ratings declines, but said instead he felt “liberated” by the move.
He called himself an advocacy journalist, and said he would continue to advocate for what he believes in. “I am looking forward to moving ahead in the public arena, journalism, public policy or public life,” whichever it winds up being.
