Much of what comes out of Lou Dobbs’s mouth is sensationalistic and unsophisticated. He is clearly not, as he claims, a reporter “on the nonpartisan independent reality” of this country; he is a political advocate with a political agenda – which is no less calculated just because he does not belong to a political party. Nevertheless, although his rants on immigration and other hot topics do not reflect “reality” in America, they do represent a viewpoint that is more common than we might like to admit. 

Should CNN market his program as news or news journalism? No. Should he be on CNN at all? As troubling as the statistics may be about the recent increase in viewers of his show, the number of people who have been galvanized to speak out against him is an encouraging sign. I am inclined to say that in a proper format Dobbs should indeed be on CNN, precisely because he forces both immigrant advocacy groups and “mainstream” “politically-correct” commentators (his bugbears) to coherently formulate a response to his views. Current and proposed policy on immigration remains problematic, and while a solution certainly should not be found on Dobbs’s terms, there are very few politicians or pundits in America who have themselves come up with adequate terms. Debate is what should be thrown Lou Dobbs’s direction. His views will not withstand the challenge.