Lou Dobbs: Good Riddance!

Readers will have detected, I hope, a certain attentiveness to the ambiguities of life, including the life of faith, in my sense of the world. The “all or nothing” disposition of some is rarely accurate and almost never helpful. There is often a lot of pride in a good deed and misplaced hope in some bad ones. Life is messy, filled with conundrums, and navigating the moral choices we face and formulating the moral conclusions as human beings is the price we pay for being human.

But, the news that Lou Dobbs has been pushed out of his high profile perch at CNN is the exception to the rule. It is good news, pure and simple, no ambiguities involved nor qualifications needed. He had become the most visible bigot in America, casting aspersions against Latinos, documented and undocumented, in his crusade against immigration reform. He indulged crackpot theories when he coddled the “birthers” who questioned whether or not President Obama had been born in the U.S. His understanding of economics was laughable in an eighteenth century kind of way. And, for someone who seemed positively fetishistic about the English language, he often mangled it horribly.

On the radio this morning, someone asked what was next for Dobbs. Who cares? I suppose he will keep his radio show, but that does not have the reach nor the clout of his CNN post. Hopefully, CNN will get a centrist, moderate, interesting host for that prime time slot. (I am usually free at 7 p.m. on weeknights! LOL!) The only regret I harbored at the news of Dobbs’ departure was the thought that CNN might have gotten rid of him sooner. But, Hallelujah that he is gone now.