Weeks Before Election CNN Helps General Dobbs Wage War on Bush

October 11th, 2006 11:24 AM

It's 27 days to the election and persistent Bush critic Lou Dobbs has a new book out detailing what he sees as the "War on the Middle Class." While Dobbs faults both the GOP and Democrats for policies he disagrees with, the lion's share of his criticism has fallen to President Bush and the Republicans, particularly for tax cuts and free trade policies.

So perhaps it's no surprise that CNN is ramping up Dobb's TV time. Not only will the business reporter/commentator have a role in election night coverage, but:

Associated Press television writer David Bauder noted in an October 10 article that anchor “Dobbs’ weeknight news show will expand to seven days a week, with the two weekend editions presenting highlights of the week’s reporting beginning Oct. 28.”

“Dobbs is also anchoring three pre-election special reports: ‘War on the Middle Class’ on Oct. 18, ‘Broken Borders’ on Oct. 25 and ‘Democracy at Risk: E-voting's Threat’ on Oct. 29,” Bauder noted.

But viewers don’t have to wait that long for even more Lou. With an October 10 appearance on “Larry King Live” and an interview the next day on “American Morning,” the business reporter has already begun peddling his just-published “War on the Middle Class.”

While King is famous for his decidedly non-hardball approach to interviewing, Dobbs received a similarly soft reception on the October 11 “American Morning.”

Anchor Soledad O’Brien began by urging Dobbs to give viewers some election advice. “Is there one direction you think politically the middle class is leaning or should be leaning,” O’Brien wondered.

Dobbs insisted he is frustrated with both Democrats and Republicans before slamming the Bush tax cuts “since 2001, have all benefited, disproportionately, the wealthy in this country.”

“Not exactly a surprise there,” O’Brien quipped before asking Dobbs for “ways in which the middle class has been underserved or poorly served by Republicans.”

For more, read my article at the MRC's BusinessandMedia.org Web site.