There's a considerable number of people calling for the ouster of CNN's Lou Dobbs, over his reporting of the "birthers"--the fringe, right-wing group who insist Barack Obama was not born in the United States despite repeated evidence to the contrary.
Dobbs himself has acknowledged he believes that Obama was indeed born in Hawaii, yet still gives the group airtime on both his TV show and syndicated radio program.
The affair has been both an embarrassment for Dobbs and CNN itself; in fact, just today, Howard Kurtz, who hosts the "Reliable Sources" program on CNN, did a lengthy segment on the matter and was quite critical of Dobbs.
And the criticism has not come merely from traditional left-leaning media and pundits; even ultra-conservative Ann Coulter has criticized Dobbs over the birthers affair.
There have been calls from critics that CNN should lower the boom on Dobbs, whose TV show used to be one of the most popular on CNN. Dobbs heated programs on immigration reform, for example, were both ratings winners and provided a counter-balance to those critics who contend CNN is a left-wing network.
CNN news President Jon Klein called the whole Obama/birther story "dead", yet Dobbs did two ensuing stories on the subject. Although Klein still defends Dobbs work, there are signs he may eventually pull the plug, although that would be counter-productive.
Dobbs ratings have been sagging of late and this birthers stand could be his death knell. CNN shouldn't fire him and probably doesn't have to. Those critics and their supporters should just ignore him. Judging by the ratings, most people are doing just that.
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