Lou Dobbs and CNN
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."