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By Lee Pfeiffer
Cinema Retro generally stays away from the world of cable news, but this is a big story. Lou Dobbs, the last of the original CNN news personalities, shocked viewers by announcing he will be leaving the network after his Wednesday night broadcast. He has been with the network since its inception 29 years ago. Dobbs prides himself on being "Mr. Independent" and, although he primarily espouses conservative viewpoints, he was harshly critical of many aspects of the Bush administration. Those views were virtual love letters, however, compared to his nightly lambasting of President Obama and his policies. Dobbs, who once anchored finance-oriented shows, has been a lightning rod for controversy since he switched to analysis of hard news. Dobbs' signature issue - criticism of both Republican and Democratic administrations over weak enforcement of immigration laws - has drawn protests from Hispanic groups that accuse him of being racist. In reality, Dobbs is married to a Hispanic woman and has repeatedly reiterated he is only against
illegal immigration and actually endorses increasing legal immigration limits. Hispanic advocacy groups have been petitioning CNN to drop Dobbs and they are claiming credit for causing his departure. However, there is no clear evidence that this is the case. Dobbs did not give a reason for
his sudden resignation, except the old standby that he is looking at
other options to spread his brand of public advocacy. (At least he didn't say it was to spend more time with his family, the familiar refrain chanted by scandal-scarred politicians.) CNN could have insisted
that he continue his program through 2011 but the network president allowed Dobbs to end his contract early. Both Dobbs and CNN indicated his departure is amicable but its abrupt nature is fueling speculation that he was pushed. Â
Ironically, since the beginning of the year, Dobbs seems to have lost the audience of independent voters that he most associates with. He generally runs third in his time slot behind Fox News' Shepard Smith and MSNBC's Chris Matthews. Dobbs has been ridiculed and criticized by even some conservatives for publicizing
extremist conspiracy theories ranging from alleged plots by the Obama
administration to seize American's guns to the notion that Obama
himself is an illegal alien and not actually president of the United
States. Dobbs has countered by saying discussing such issues doesn't mean
he embraces them, but his ratings have gone into a free fall since
these became staples of his program. There are rumors that Fox
News has been courting Dobbs but the network denies any discussions have taken place. Dobbs will continue his daily radio program.
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