What a relief to get the odious Lou Dobbs out of the news business, at least for a while. Of all the degraders of the trade, he has been, well, to borrow the title from Keith Olbermann, the worst. Unlike the other, often inept, purveyors of political hysteria, he possessed the gravitas, voice of authority, expression of earnest concern, that could convey conviction to the point of persuasion to the uninformed, all the while providing emotional reassurance to his Know-Nothing core. Birthers. Immigrants as conveyors of leprosy. Xenophobia. Much more damaging to the lingering public regard for the news business than the obvious chicanery and food-fights among his putative competitors. (more...)