The latest speculation making the rounds about Lou Dobbs’s political future is that the former CNN anchor won’t run for president in 2012, but will instead aim for a Senate seat. The New Jersey resident is considering a challenge to Democratic senator Robert Menendez in 2012 as “an intermediary step” to the White House, a surprisingly honest spokesman told the Times. But apparently Dobbs is aware that targeting the nation’s only Hispanic senator might not reflect well on someone already burdened with a reputation for hostility toward Hispanic illegal immigrants. Maybe that’s why Dobbs has already begun to reverse his outspoken opposition to what he used to call “amnesty,” a path to legalization for illegal immigrants. The Wall Street Journal reports that in an overlooked interview with Telemundo last Friday, Dobbs “twice mentioned a possible legalization plan for the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S., saying at one point that ‘we need the ability to legalize illegal immigrants under certain conditions.’” Looks like he’s getting the hang of the politician thing already.
Lou Dobbs Weighs Senate Run, as a Steppingstone [NYT]
Dobbs Reaches Out to Latinos, With Politics in Mind [WSJ]
