Lou Dobbs took over two hours of prime CNN time last night (while they were supposed to be reporting the results from the Michigan primaries, no less!) to plug his book about how only he has the answer to what ails America. What ails America, by the way, is Mexicans taking our jobs here and Chinese people taking our jobs elsewhere (then sending us back POISON TOYS). The entire spectacle exposed the uneasy position Dobbs has at The Most Trusted Name in News. The first hour, as usual, was given over, mostly, to "real" news about politics and Michigan. The second was mostly free-wheeling opinionated shouty interviews with a panel made up of Bill Bennett some folks Dobbs ignored entirely. As other networks broadcast early returns from Michigan, Dobbs appeared aggravated when he had to jump to Wolf Blitzer with actual "news" on the close Romney/McCain race. Wolf looked uncomfortable when his fellow Election Night coverage marquee anchor star referred to the Democratic Party's "screwing over" of the voters of Michigan. "That's one way to look at it," Wolf charitably mumbled through his beard.


Dobbs speaks in a jargon-heavy coded language reminiscent of a Scientology training video. Campaigning for the Latino vote is "pandering to socio-ethno-centric special interests" (that is a close-to-direct quote of some nonsense he said last night). Your house was foreclosed on because of "faith-based economics." You have to be a dedicated fan to understand the shorthand for his special crusades.

Today, Lou's weekly commentary went up at CNN.com. The subject is his usual pox-casting on both political parties for not being zealous enough in their protectionism or xenophobia.

But at least the ugly spectacle that Clinton and Obama created should serve as a reminder to all of us that group and identity politics have outlived their effectiveness and that pandering to socio-ethnocentric interest groups and special interests, whether as large as corporate America or as small as the construction company in a congressman's district, has no rightful place in 21st century American politics.

Yes! When will our politicians learn that they must stop pandering to brown people and start pandering exclusively to enraged middle class white men!

Addendum: We meant to tell you about this but then we got too depressed about the state of the nation and also the closing of the best restaurant in New York.

Campaign A Lot of Partisan Nonsense [CNN]
Earlier: Lou Dobbs, Scumbag