Lou Dobbs Quits CNN Abruptly Last Night

On his television show last night Lou Dobbs abruptly announced without warning that this was his last broadcast on CNN after 29 years. He reportedly told his staff only yesterday afternoon. He contract with CNN was to run for another 2 years, but CNN's president has released him from that obligation, he said. What will Lou Dobbs be doing next? As you will see if you watch the 3 minute clip from his show last night that is embedded below, he was very broad and vague when discussing his future plans. Will he be running for political office? (He will reportedly continue his daily radio show.)

Did he jump? Or was he pushed? His outspoken views about illegal immigration and continued questions about where President Obama was born seemed out of step with much of the rest of CNN's "hard news" programming. Might he be a better fit on Fox News or, given his background as the host of CNN's "Moneyline" for many years, perhaps even the fledgling Fox Business Channel?

I'm always a little skeptical when public figures abruptly resign their positions without any clear future plans. Did CNN become upset about reports that he had recently met with Roger Ailes, the head of Fox News? Or was this really about the fact that his ratings had reportedly dropped by over 30% in the last year, and that he had sunk to a close 3rd behind Fox News' Shepard Smith and Chris Matthews on MSNBC? Or might something else have happened behind the scenes (perhaps of a personal nature) that has yet to be revealed?