Dobbs considering Senate run before presidential?

The former CNN host is reportedly thinking about a precursor campaign before he goes for the big prize

Published November 25, 2009 3:45PM (EST)

Come on, people: Did you really think Lou Dobbs was going to run for president immediately after quitting CNN? I mean, he'd have to have a super-inflated ego and be immensely self-righteous to do that, right? So don't worry: Dobbs might just run for the Senate -- then he'll run for president.

At least, that's the latest from the New York Times, which has been hearing talk that Dobbs is considering a challenge to Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J. A spokesman for the former anchor told the paper, referencing the possibility of a presidential run, "I think Lou is realistically saying, that’s a long way off, but if he did run for office there’d have to be an intermediary step, such as the Menendez seat."

For the record, the idea that Dobbs could mount a successful campaign for Senate is almost as far-fetched as the idea that he could become president. (Then again, stranger things have happened.) But the real problem with his making a run for the Senate, if he does indeed harbor White House dreams, is that Menendez isn't up for re-election until 2012. That means Dobbs couldn't run for president until 2016 at the earliest. By then he'd be 71.


By Alex Koppelman

Alex Koppelman is a staff writer for Salon.

MORE FROM Alex Koppelman


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