CNN likes to position itself as the unbiased middle ground between Fox News and MSNBC. But Lou Dobbs, who joined the network when it launched in 1980, couldn't stomach that. "I tried to accommodate them as best I could, but I've said for many years now that neutrality is not part of my being," the former host of Lou Dobbs Tonight said after departing the network on Nov. 11 reportedly with an $8 million severance package. Dobbs, a former Republican who now describes himself as an independent, came under fire for advocating tough measures to curb illegal immigration and for giving airtime to members of the anti-Obama "birther" movement, which claims the President isn't a U.S. citizen. Despite feuds with CNN chief Jonathan Klein, Dobbs, 64, said the breakup was amicable. "I am ruling nothing out," Dobbs said in an interview, neither confirming nor denying rumors that he will run for the Senate. "Do I seek to represent and champion the middle class in this country and those who aspire to it? Absolutely. And I will."
The Top 10 Everything of 2009
- Top 10 Albums
- Top 10 Animal Stories
- Top 10 Apologies
- Top 10 Art Exhibitions
- Top 10 Awkward Moments
- Top 10 Best Business Deals
- Top 10 Breakups
- Top 10 Buzzwords
- Top 10 Children's Books
- Top 10 Crime Stories
- Top 10 Editorial Cartoons
- Top 10 Facebook Stories
- Top 10 Fashion Faux Pas
- Top 10 Fashion Moments
- Top 10 Feuds
- Top 10 Fiction Books
- Top 10 Fleeting Celebrities
- Top 10 Gadgets
- Top 10 Green Ideas
- Top 10 Heroes
- Top 10 iPhone Apps
- Top 10 Late-Night Jokes
- Top 10 Magazine Covers
- Top 10 Medical Breakthroughs
- Top 10 Movie Performances
- Top 10 Movies
- Top 10 New Species
- Top 10 News Stories
- Top 10 Nonfiction Books
- Top 10 Oddball News Stories
- Top 10 Pariahs
- Top 10 Pictures of the Year
- Top 10 Plays and Musicals
- Top 10 Political Gaffes
- Top 10 Quotes
- Top 10 Religion Stories
- Top 10 Scandals
- Top 10 Scientific Discoveries
- Top 10 Songs
- Top 10 Sports Moments
- Top 10 T-Shirt-Worthy Slogans
- Top 10 TV Ads
- Top 10 TV Episodes
- Top 10 TV Series
- Top 10 Tweets
- Top 10 Underreported Stories
- Top 10 Untruths
- Top 10 Video Games
- Top 10 Viral Videos
- Top 10 Worst Biz Deals
TIME charts the highs and lows of the past year in 50 wide-ranging lists