TVSquad

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.

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.

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.

Here's a rather amusing clip from CNN. They were doing a story about Congressman Barney Frank's partner being arrested for having pot plants in his home a couple of years ago, and this leads to Wolf Blitzer saying he knows what marijuana smells like but not what it looks like. Lou Dobbs? He knows both.

[via TV Newser]

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.

Every year, The Boston Phoenix publishes a list of the 100 Unsexiest Men of the Year, where they judge 100 males involved in everything from sports to politics to the internet. They always include several TV faces (and other body parts), and this year they've included a cartoon character.

No, not Dr. Phil, though he is a bit of a cartoon. The "doctor" is on the list, but the cartoon character I'm talking about is Quagmire, from Family Guy. The Phoenix sends a note to creator Seth MacFarlane that "nothing screams hilarity like jokes about date rape!" Giggity.

What's going on at the other TV blogs via the internets.

• Could TV ratings actually increase because of the strike?
• Here's The Shield's Shawn Ryan on the strike.
• First Diane Keaton, and now Colin Farrell.
• Lou Dobbs, interviewed by Esteban Colberto.
• Which cast member of The View has had a threesome?
• Oh, never mind, Chris Daughtry actually meant to say he loves American Idol!
• Breaking Bad debuts on AMC tomorrow night.
• Why Margaret Cho won't do Ellen Degeneres' show.
• Brian Williams grabs a red-eye flight.

Here's what's happening on other blogs via the interweb.

• FOX is playing around with its Monday night schedule.
• Happy 10th Anniversary, William Shatner and Priceline.com! [via Best Week Ever]
• Is Lou Dobbs angry about his lack of airtime during CNN's Iowa Caucus coverage?
• We've talked about this here before, but what five cable channels would you choose if you could only have five?
• The longtime Leno vs. Letterman battle is over. Leno won.
• The effect that Tom & Jerry had on the making of cartoons.
• Pictures from the season two premiere of Jericho.

Um...I'm really not sure what to make of this video from CNN. It's not Dancing with the Stars exactly, but there is dancing and there are stars.

It shows the new Fab Four - Anderson Cooper, Wolf Blitzer, Lou Dobbs, and Larry King, with Cooper definitely the "Paul" of the group - dressed as Christmas elves (complete with funny hats, green suits, red and white stockings) and doing a bizarre dance to the tune of "Jingle Bells." OK, obviously, it's just their heads pasted on top of elf bodies. I wonder if they had to get the permission of the four anchors to do this or if it's just something CNN decided to do on their own. I can't imagine Dobbs being thrilled with it but I can see the other three laughing at it. Oh, I'd pay money to see Dobbs or Blitzer do their shows in those outfits.

You can "Elf yourself" at Office Max's elfyourself.com.

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.