by Elizabeth M Young

Created on: November 30, 2009

Lou Dobbs built a reputation for "telling it like it is!", but descended into a bizarre bias, given confusion about his own national origins and citizenship, concerning illegal immigration from Mexico. But he was highly effective in discussing the problems with the trade deficit with China, the economic disaster that was happening before our very eyes, and the increasing set of disasters that were faced by the middle class.

It is a big mistake these days to label someone a racist when dealing with immigration from Mexico. In many cases, nationalism against massive immigration from one country is at play. Thus, Lou Dobbs could have been obsessed with illegal immigration from Mexico, to the exclusion of illegal immigration from all other nations, on a nationalistic basis. The Mexican push for repopulating the Western states has been clearly bragged about and clearly stated by the Mexican immigrant community and large segments of the Mexican-American population for over thirty years!

In this sense, Lou Dobbs nationalistic bigotry is clear. But, did he compound his problem by aligning with extremist or controversial leaders of the Minutemen and other groups to give them repeated air time, conducting softball interviews that clearly left out confronting such "guests" with questions about their more problematic and extreme attitudes and conduct? Yes.

Finally, in his last years as a part of the CNN news lineup, he developed an increasingly emotional, shrill and brittle affect, especially when he was accused of being an extremist and racial bigot. His clenched jaw, shivering rage, and other disturbing inabilities to maintain a cool and responsible posture became disturbing. Whatever the personal problems of a televised opinionator, failure to maintain a professional coolness has been the downfall of many, regardless of political or other leanings.

But the bottom line is that Lou Dobbs was clearly monomaniacal when it came to Mexican Immigration and the Chinese. But, he exhibited a patently false and strange split of affect, intent, content, and personality when he discussed the challenges to the American Middle Class. He discussed American experience with the economy in a way that appeared to be regardless of race or national origin, but focused on China and the Chinese as the sole source of our trade deficits. He made the serious mistake of failing to mention the vast array of other countries which contributed to job out sourcing and imbalances in trade, thus reinforcing the idea that he is a racial bigot.

He also pointedly refused to deal with the Canadian border security, illegal immigration from Russia, Poland, Australia and other predominantly White countries. His obsession was solely with the Mexican border and with Mexican immigrants. This is the very scheme of the problematic pundit: to exhibit clear bias, bigotry, unfairness, prejudice or racism, while emoting with expressing explosive outrage after being confronted.

The bottom line is that a credible broadcaster cannot discriminate, withhold, deny, ignore, or otherwise cut out discussion of the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth in matters of the news. A pundit can do those things. As a result, it is obvious that Lou Dobbs had descended to a level of punditry that was becoming problematic and was clearly racially and ethnically biased.

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