Oh lord. John Fund floats a trial balloon for a Lou Dobbs presidential bid:
Friends of Mr. Dobbs say he is seriously contemplating
a race for the first time, although it's still unlikely. They spin a
scenario under which the acerbic commentator would parachute into the
race if Michael Bloomberg, the New York billionaire and favorite of
East Coast elites, enters the field as an independent. With Hillary
Clinton continuing to score badly in polls in the categories of honesty
and integrity, and with the public's many doubts about Rudy Giuliani
and other GOP contenders, Mr. Bloomberg may well see an opportunity to
roil the political waters by entering the race late. If so, Mr. Dobbs
then sees a niche for a "fourth-party" candidate who could paint the
three other contenders as completely out of touch.
His playbook would be similar to that of Ross Perot in
1992, who didn't enter the presidential race until the major parties
began holding their primaries but quickly shot up to 25% in many polls.
Similarly, Mr. Dobbs could leverage his name ID and
popularity to secure a place on 50 state ballots and generate a
mountain of free publicity.
The only thing that makes this scenario less depressingly plausible is the fact that a Dobbs candidacy hinges on a Bloomberg one--and I just don't see the latter happening. But does Dobbs really need Bloomberg? As Fund notes, a Dobbs presidential bid--and even the mere rumors of one--will probably do wonders for his ratings. And that's what Dobbs is after more than anything.
P.S. If Dobbs does get in the race, three words for oppo researchers: Space Dot Com.
--Jason Zengerle