In a statement published in the New York Times following his sudden Nov. 11 announcement that he'd leave CNN immediately, Lou Dobbs blamed the country's changing political direction for forcing his hand. "Over the past six months," he said, "it's become increasingly clear that strong winds of change have begun buffeting this country and affecting all of us, and some leaders in media, politics and business have been urging me to go beyond the role here at CNN and to engage in constructive problem solving as well as to contribute positively to the great understanding of the issues of our day."

Yet the events that led to Dobbs' abrupt departure were months, even years, in the making.

So just what is that "wascally wundit" Lou Dobbs up to now that he's gainfully unemployed? Is he donating his time in a nearby soup kitchen? Is he taking a long trip to the Bahamas or Cabo San Lucas in order to "find himself"?

No, he's considering a run for president.

When asked by a New York Daily News reporter if talks about him considering a 2012 run were just "crazy talk," the former CNN anchor responded with "What's so crazy about that? Golly!" And might I just add a "Jilly-gee-wilikers" for good measure.

He said he's currently in talks about exploring the possibly for a campaign and said "For the first time, I'm actually listening to some people about politics." Hey, a TV news host actually "listening" to someone. Now there's a novel idea.

Lou Dobbs is getting his political ducks in a row following his abrupt departure from CNN.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Dobbs has confirmed rumors that he is considering a run for the U.S. Senate -- and possibly even the White House.

It is no secret that Dobbs' outspoken views made for squabbles with new CNN bigwigs, and likely hastened Dobbs' departure from the 24-hour news hub. His frequent criticism of U.S. immigration policies led many civil rights groups to declare him racist and uncaring. And though Dobbs says that he does not doubt Obama's citizenship, he is famous for demanding to see the President's actual birth certificate, adding fuel to the fire of those who feel that the document might have been falsified in a cover up.

Dobbs' opinionated reporting style was no longer a good fit with a new, more neutral CNN. So, while keeping his radio show, Dobbs left television for the time being, preferring to "be more engaged," he said, expressing himself "fully and straightforwardly in the public arena no matter what I decide to do next."

Bill O'Reilly did not make his Fox News 'Factor' audience wait, starting off his hour-long show with a coveted sit down interview with Lou Dobbs. O'Reilly promised he'd find out why Dobbs left CNN so abruptly last week, after 27 years with the news network.

By way of introduction, O'Reilly speculated -- as only he can -- that Dobbs was likely pushed out due to his hard stance on illegal immigration and criticisms of the Obama administration. He even showed a clip of a recent 'Saturday Night Live' parody in which the Dobbs character renames CNN to a Spanish-friendly Si NN. O'Reilly then joyfully referred to his guest as "recently emancipated."

It looks as though Lou Dobbs has picked up another spot on another cable news network. This time, he's not the interviewer. He's the interviewee.

Dobbs will appear as a guest on Monday's episode of The O'Reilly Factor where host Bill O'Reilly will grill the former CNN talking head on his sudden departure from his previous employer, his future career options and his never-ending quest to battle the invading armies of the Mexican empire aka illegal-immigrants.

Of course, the timing could not be worse. His appearance should only "fuel speculation" that Dobbs has scored a job at the Fox News Channel. The network's PR team continued to deny such speculation, something they'll continue to do until he scores a job at the Fox News Channel.

CNN's scramble to fill the programming gap left by the departure of Lou Dobbs has already come to an end. Whether or not the credibility gap he left will be filled as quickly remains to be seen. According to Variety, CNN has tapped veteran political reporter John King to take over the 7PM weekday time slot vacated by Dobbs earlier this week.

Dobbs, who had become a lightning rod for controversy thanks to his crusade against immigration, clashed repeatedly with his bosses at CNN before abruptly departing the network at the end of Wednesday night's episode of 'Lou Dobbs Tonight'.

If you thought CNN's ratings could not sink any lower, here comes a gaping hole in the ocean floor.

CNN's one man Minuteman force, Lou Dobbs, announced he's leaving CNN as of tonight. He's stepping away from his contract with the news network two years early and leaving television...for now.

He hasn't announced if he's leaving for another network or even another job in or outside of television, even though he was seen getting cozy with Fox's Roger Ailes two months ago. But neither Dobbs nor the network have confirmed if he's going to be hired by the Fox News Channel. Translation? He's going to be hired by the Fox News Channel.

The daytime segment of cable's first day concluded with four Turner-related panels: Joy Behar on her new HLN talk show; a CNN panel with John King, Christiance Amanpour, and Soledad O'Brien; a panel with Jerry Bruckheimer and the cast and producers of TNT's Dark Blue; and George Lopez, who is starting a new late night talk show on TBS.

Behar and Lopez bookended the session, and they were an interesting contrast. Two comedians, both opinionated, both with things to say about current events. But while Behar's gentle jabs played to mostly silence among the cranky writers in attendance, Lopez got more than a few of us to laugh. I've never been the biggest Lopez fan, but I have to admit, he was ready for us: he made most of us stand up to talk to him, he jostled us on our reluctance to be enthusiastic, and he was able to make pretty quick comebacks with ease. Must be the years of dealing with hecklers.

Anyway, after the jump, some details of Turner's day in Pasadena, including audio of an interview with O'Brien that I started with the word "cankles."

Walter Cronkite's passing didn't mark the end of an era in the TV news business. The era he helped produce and prolong died long before he did.

It's hard for me to ever imagine a time when people considered a major network news anchor as America's most trusted source for anything. Claims of bias and political persuasion being injected into every story with a meat syringe created a thick fog that made it very hard to cover anything with a modicum of honesty.

Cronkite, however, was the man people turned to when something blew up, exploded, imploded, launched, landed or any other number of descriptive verbs, because his goal wasn't to make news every time he stepped in front of a camera. His goal was just to report it.

First of all, an open plea from me to the promo people at Comedy Central: For the love of God, get some new pictures of The Daily Show correspondents. I'm tired of posting with these out-dated photos. Now, get to it. Chop, chop.

It seems like everyone has something to say about the Mark Foley scandal... Even Donald Trump. Best line (and it wasn't even a joke): "And, you know, if I were gay, which is perhaps a well known story that I'm not, I would admit that I'm gay. But he would come in with magnificent-looking women. It was like torture to me watching this. And fortunately, I'm married and very happy." And I'm glad Jon caught his tendency to crouch during impersonations. Was wonderin' when he'd finally notice.