Lou Dobbs talks to O'Reilly about Obama, CNN and who shot at his wife
During his short segment on The O'Reilly Factor Monday night, recently deposed CNN news anchor Lou Dobbs parried Bill O'Reilly's attempts to goad him into disparaging the Obama administration, but shed little light on his future plans. Dobbs said that in "the last 90 days," Jonathan Klein, the head of CNN, had made it clear that his vision for the network did not include "advocacy journalism" -- or Dobbs, a 28-year CNN veteran."Jon Klein and I talked about the issue of opinion itself and advocacy journalism and he wanted to take CNN in a different direction, and I tried to accommodate him." Dobbs, who graciously contented himself with $8 million to leave, also suggested that ideological opponents were responsible for an incident in which Dobbs's New Jersey mansion was fired upon.
Dobbs, who announced his intention to resign from CNN last week, had become a political lightning rod for his views on immigration, global trade and President Obama. Referring to CNN's management, Dobbs said, "They decided to take CNN in a direction in which advocacy journalism wasn't a part of it."
Fox News's O'Reilly, who hosts the highest rated cable talk show, tried to get Dobbs to talk smack about CNN, but Dobbs wouldn't bite, repeatedly saying he never felt any pressure from CNN management over news coverage -- a charge often directed at O'Reilly's employer, Rupert Murdoch.
Despite the fact that Fox News's slogan is "Fair and Balanced," an incredulous O'Reilly ridiculed CNN for seeking to maintain neutrality in its news coverage. "Every show which doesn't have an opinion is dying," O'Reilly boomed. "Look at Campbell Brown. They just want more of the same, but it's opinion that works. That's what works!"
"I'm just talent," Dobbs demurred, with unconvincing modesty. He said Klein had told him that CNN was moving "toward a more neutral presentation."
When asked about his future plans, Dobbs said, "I'm not going to be coy" -- and then proceeded to be coy. "A lot of things are on my mind," Dobbs said. "My wife and I are thinking about a lot of opportunities. But 100%, I'm going to remain in the public arena."
Dobbs addressed a recent incident in which he said someone shot at his wife while she stood outside the couple's New Jersey mansion. He said he had no doubt that ideological opponents were behind the shooting. "It's a demonstrable fact," Dobbs said. "It followed months and months of threats over our phone. And it became a matter of some intensity preceding that shot."
Dobbs added: "The threats stopped on that very day and we haven't had a threat since then."
Finally, O'Reilly asked Dobbs if he thought Obama is the devil. "He's not the devil," Dobbs responded, "but he is certainly making it not easy to understand the policy choices he is making."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 7)
11-16-2009 @ 11:02PM
ROBERT said...
Why doesn't Lou Dobbs rant against the Europeans who took land, life and limb from the Native Americans. Was there a Native American looking over his sacred land from atop a mountain to valleys below, demonizing the white man paid by the so callled enliightened religous right. There more soul in a man who walks the earth without shoes, trying to feed his family, then this self-important self-centered ego maniac blasting his poison against humanity. By the way I myself am fully white. We should return something to the native nations and ask WTF were we thinking when we took a natural landscape and turned it into a warming hell hole, full of garbage and stinch and callled it god's land. Don't ask forgiveness from your white god up there in the sky, ask for forgiveness from your brothers whom you took so much and called this land paradise while you misused, abused until the land is now scorced beyond repair.
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11-17-2009 @ 8:50PM
bud said...
get a life pal , they your offended ,are all dead. the same with other groups wining over them being on the short end for 300 yrs. lots were not right but living in the past is just that. give it a rest . others have came here since and asked for nothing just the chance. crying over spilt milk will solve nothing.
11-17-2009 @ 8:57PM
LARRY said...
What a angry man you are !
11-17-2009 @ 9:33PM
Aaron said...
Robert, out of all the bloggers here you're the most intelligent exercising logic and reasoning. These other numbskulls are living what they learned from negative parental indoctrination. One talked about shoving tolerance up your ***! He's only repeating what his mother told him for being late picking her up from the truck stop after bouncing around in the sleepers.
Where ignorance is tolerated, intelligence cannot prevail!
11-17-2009 @ 11:38PM
hdstyle1957 said...
We did give back to the Indians, they have casinos now.
11-18-2009 @ 12:53AM
Kathleen said...
Oh PLEEEEEEEEEZE!!! The Indians are doing just fine. Their children get a free college education, and a monthly check.The daughter of a friend of mine gets a check EVERY MONTH for FOURTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!!! she is 23 years old. Indians pay NO TAXES and get to keep EVERY PENNY of the BILLIONS of dollars they make on casinos every year!!! Give me a break!!!!
11-18-2009 @ 12:42AM
chris said...
You are an idiot. The "Native Americans" you refer to are doing just fine, thank you, due to America's GENEROUS and UNPRECEDENTED treatment of a defeated foe. Every country in the world has had wars for land. Why do you single out America? Why do you hate America so much?
11-18-2009 @ 2:50AM
eileen vicente said...
FINALLY THE TRUTH! FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
11-17-2009 @ 12:14AM
Arthur said...
Hey, Robert, why don't you cut your links with the civilization created by the white men - I won't apologize for saying this and have plenty of factual support for the statement - and go live off the land somewhere in the reservation? Just don't take any toilet paper with you, use poison oak instead.
You and your eco-nazi friends should learn a little history.
Or at least read "Liberal Fascism" - excellent book that may clear your convoluted mind.
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11-18-2009 @ 12:17AM
lanajeane said...
hate.
Hate.
HATE.
Well, at least there's something you're good at....
11-17-2009 @ 7:28PM
don kane said...
Lou Dobbs was the one CNN program I looked forward to every evening for as long as I can remember. He kept things interesting. How dull these last few nights at 6 PM Central time have become. I"M through with you folks now.
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11-17-2009 @ 10:03PM
abbyvlle said...
CNN isn't worth watching anymore without Lou, so I don't. There is still freedom of speech at FOX. Beck is bringing up good questions too.
11-18-2009 @ 12:26AM
Holly Marcyoniak said...
You have it right !! Lou Dobbs brought up what's really happening in our World! Oh "NO" we liberals wouldn't want that. When & IF they get what they are promoting, wonder how they will like it ?????
11-18-2009 @ 12:28AM
lanajeane said...
Abby: Truth at FOX???? LOL
Whatever they spew is a sound bite to fit their hate. If you back search ANY story/comment there is ALWAYS more to the story that they don't bother to tell. That said, I don't think you can get unbiased news from any news outlet these days. It's all about what sells. However, FOX has the religious zealots and profit mongering big business convoluting their presentations.
11-17-2009 @ 1:11PM
dave said...
Lou Dobbs was the only person on tv or any were that I could find that had an opinion that was not paid for by the corporate world. It may have not always been 100% right but it was always 100% based on facts. Such as why fight a war on terror if anyone can cross a border and work any were in the US of A. Why have the most expensive military if you are going to buy planes from another country. Why pay banks over 1 trillion dollars when to stop every foreclosure and just pay the mortgages costs less than 12 billion.(for you math dummys 1k*1mill*12 months) Why have a stimulus bill for over 700 billion when it only cost 300 billion to put everyone to work and just pay it(Again for the math dummys 30k*10mil)
So I think Lou Dobbs was 100% correct.
Stop all foreclosures for 12 billion.
Put every one to work on say clean energy for 300billion.
Save all the state and local taxes lost and stop all local and state budget crissis's.
Bank the over 1 trillion idiots like ben are spending.
Tell the congress to go home for a year and rest! Whew!
Again Lou was right!
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11-17-2009 @ 8:15AM
docl said...
You really are clueless.....Lou Dobbs does not own an opinion....he is ranting and creating hyperbole...basically making up sensationalist news because thats what YOU want to hear. The truth is actually quite boring to most people so people like Mr. Dobbs well THEY MAKE THINGS UP so you watch and don't turn the channel. If you believe Dobbs then you must think Glenn Beck is Abe Lincoln.
11-17-2009 @ 9:16AM
joe said...
your math is a little fuzzy as I think your mind is....fanny and freddie alone control over 12 trillion dollars of mortages in which 30 percent are 2 and 3 payments behind...and 10 percent are even more behind ,,,and that doesn't include any bank mortages,,,,do you really think in your warped mind that 12 billion dollars is going to get it done.....lol... you must be retarded....but I did love lous show
11-17-2009 @ 11:07PM
Eric said...
The 1 trillion dollars was a loan, not a gift. So it couldn't have just been given to homeowners.
As for the stimulus money. My guess is that the intent is to revitalize the private industry, not replace it with government jobs.
So you need to somehow pump money into the system that will reward effective private enterprises that provide actual goods and services, and does not get diverted through corrupt schemes.
This is no easy task given the massive amounts of money they were trying to infuse into the system.
11-18-2009 @ 3:43AM
Ed said...
I agree with stopping the forclosures for 12 billion. Putting all the unemployed to work on clean energy is not practical. Each job will require certain skills. For example you can't hire someone with a degree in history to be an engineer. I agree that there should be some type of full employment for those who want to work. To be a cashier at Walmart does not require a special degree or skill. How can you feed your family on wages of $8.00 per hour with a 40 hour work week? You can find a cashiers job. You can't make ends meet. It's ok if you are living at home and saving for college.
11-18-2009 @ 5:49AM
Jeff said...
I agree with almost evrey thing you wrote.Lou was great.Then he became a Birtha, and lost a lot of credibility.