Three hours after Sarah Palin's interview on Oprah finished, Lou Dobbs was interviewed on Fox News. While both are called "populists," their appearances could not have been more different.
Palin spoke about the usual: complained about mistreatment by McCain staffers and the media, engaged in a spat with her almost-son-in-law, and defended herself all the way. She was retrospective, backbiting, and virtually silent about the trouble millions face during the worst economy in a lifetime. Dobbs could have come off the same way during his chat with Bill O'Reilly: slam his ex-boss, blame the media, say he did no wrong, and rip the president as a mortal threat to freedom in America as Palin has done everywhere but Oprah.
Instead, he was the anti-Palin. Dobbs did not complain about the way he
was treated by CNN, saying it didn't force him out and its executives
treated him well. He barely griped about his usual targets: immigration
groups and The New York Times. Dobbs even said he was partially to
blame for CNN's low ratings; Palin said she wasn't why McCain lost the
election. Finally, Dobbs said Barack Obama is "not the devil," but a
man whose policy choices are difficult to understand.
Palin and Dobbs said they want to be on the national scene
going forward, and that probably means politics, either as commentators
or as candidates. From the looks of an admittedly short interview,
Dobbs could make for a potent candidate. The message he sent could
be encapsulated as, "This is not about me, don't worry about me. This
is about you who are ignored by the the media, the parties, and the
government--all of whom sold the middle class down the river." Palin's
message has been constant self-defense, few policy prescriptions, and
little focus on the problems of Joe the Plumbers. With more than 15
million Americans out of work, the bailout regime mostly intact, and
few new jobs to show for billions spent to stimulate the economy, which
message has greater resonance?
Populism is the attempt to turn the political debate into "us versus them" and
appeal to "us" with ad hoc ideas. Populism is also the prerogative
to represent "us."* Palin is representing herself right now, not
trying to give voice to those Americans who feel like they've been left in the lurch. Dobbs tries to represent those who are middle class, politically independent, and
upset. That sort of populism has room to grow in a shrunken economy.
Maybe the talk show host should trade jobs with the politician.
* After publication I corrected "us" to "them" and changed the tense of "appeal" in the same paragraph.
Here's the cognitive dissonance in this line of thought.
Lou Dobbs is a multi-millionare (probably more than twice over given the length of his career). Do you, Mr. Miller, genuinely believe that he knows or *cares* about "the common man" or the "working poor"?
I think not. You argument is specious, your logic flawed, and I don't believe you - you need more people.
George Soros is probably thousands of times more wealthy than Dobbs, and he certainly pretends to care about the "working poor", if not the "common man". The great humanitarian John Kerry, thanks to his wife, is probably hundreds of times more wealthy than Dobbs. And, so on with a long line of munificent liberal stalwarts. Tip: next time choose another of the talking points.
P.S. Dobbs cares more about the American worker than most of the Beltway establishment combined; for a tangible example see this letter to the Center for American Progress. They never replied, oddly enough.
Thank you, 24aheaddotcom for posting that hilarious letter. I was having a bad day until I read that. I now agree that Lou Dobbs not only cares about the common man but is also a genius.
What's "hilarious" about the letter, "Jeff"? You do realize the letter is from me and has nothing to do with Dobbs, right? You did read the link, right?
Here's some space, "Jeff". Why don't you list below some of the objections you have to it:
24AheadDotCom is right on this one. I don't care for Lou Dobb's politics, but it's ridiculous to say that he can't really care about the working poor because he himself has a lot of money. Rich people can and do have genuine sympathy for the less fortunate.
I hope that Dobbs runs for office and attempts to put the plan he outlined in his letter to CEP into action. And I hope that there is a similarly snarky/self-absorbed commentator to point out his failure every step of the way. That would be poetic justice. As for comparisons with Palin, it seems to me they that they have much more in common than they are dissimilar.
Were Palin and Dobbs asked the same questions? Probably not. Palin has been asked about her book and her responses are based on that. How else is she supposed to respond "Well I said X in the book, but I really didn't mean it." Her tour right now is to sell the book. Nobody really knows what Dobbs is up to quite yet.
Actually I head Barbra Walters ask about how she rated Obama's presidency today and she gave him a 4 out of 10 and then further stated that she had some concerns about how he was handling the economy and foreign policy. Seems that when asked a question related to current events she gave a good answer. Maybe the interviewers should ask more of those types of questions and less about Levi Johnston. Then we might here some answers that satisfy you.
"Populism is the attempt to turn the political debate into "us versus them" and appealing to "us" with ad hoc ideas. Populism is also the prerogative to represent "them.""
That sounds like the Obama campaign mantra!
Wow - having the choice of Lou Dobbs or Sarah Palin or both - it's like an all-you-can-stand buffet of delusion and distortion and misinformation - just make sure to leave a little room for some xenophobia for desert.
I believe Lou Dobbs is sincerely concerned about the poor and about the future of our country. He is a little pompous at times, but I respect him for what he does and I think he is a valuable voice.
Sarah Palin would be a great populist leader if she just had more depth of knowledge about the issues, wasn't so vindictive in her personal and political relationships, and wasn't such a warmonger.
Dobbs is a serious player often misrepresented by his detractors. He seemed to me to be a man of principal. I recall him bashing Bush blissfully on CNN. He promotes, immigration, but as determined by the USA rather than my Mexico.
Palin was and is pulverized by MSM and my guess is that they will continue the onslaught whenever and wherever they can. I am a Democrat and I say to fellow Dems: Do not be fooled into thinking that she will evaporate in the mists of vilification. Rich, Dowd et al, only diminish themselves with their vitoriol. They provide her with more of a launchpad than otherwise would be the case.