Lou Dobbs Mulls Presidential Run, Switches Stance on Immigration
Former CNN anchorman mulls presidential run, says he's "enamored" by options.
Jan. 13, 2009— -- Sometimes it seems like there are two Lou Dobbs.
"Angry Lou" became a raging populist, cable-news crusader in recent years, turning his nightly CNN program, "Lou Dobbs Tonight," into a soapbox for rants on illegal immigration, federal spending, President Barack Obama and other things that made him mad.
But then, there's "Affable Lou." And as we found out on a visit to his 300-acre horse farm in rural New Jersey, Dobbs is a hard guy not to like.
Since November when Dobbs abruptly left CNN, the network he joined when it launched in 1980, he spends more time down on his farm.
The longtime anchorman's contract was not set to expire until the end of 2011, but CNN agreed to release him early, after months of tension with management.
Dobbs quickly hinted at a future in politics -- and told Moran he was even mulling a 2012 presidential run.
"I was thinking about running for office, thinking about politics," he said. "A number of people have asked me to think about president, Senate, and as I have said, it's flattering. It's heavy stuff. And I would be lying if I told you I wasn't enamored at various junctures of my thinking, with the idea."
Dobbs said he's been approached by people who want him to run as an independent. But while he admits he's thinking about the White House, he's clearly not sure.
When asked if he is qualified to hold the highest office in the land, Dobbs said, "I am not sure that I am. I think one of the most important qualifications, I am starting to believe, is first that the person not want it. ... We've got too many people who want that job. That job requires a sense of ambition of political purpose that I think is an enigma for most America. The idea that you think you are the best person of 300 million people to run this nation? I guarantee you, I don't think that."
