Broken Borders and Dover Sole: My Lunch With Lou Dobbs

[groovedaddy]

So I was having lunch at the Four Seasons with Lou Dobbs the other day, locked in disagreement over who cared more about working people, him or me.

Him: CNN host, biggest and loudest gun in the battle for tougher immigration policies, leader of a nightly crusade to expose the misdeeds of those he views as elitist fools and scoundrels.
Me: editorial writer whose views on immigration qualify, to Mr. Dobbs and many others on his side of the debate, as elitist, foolish and scoundrelly.

Meeting at the Four Seasons was his idea, to continue a long, civil and inconclusive phone conversation about immigration. I got there early and waited at Mr. Dobbs’s banquette. I looked around the hushed room, full of dark suits and a wintry glow. Mr. Dobbs appeared and settled in, his drink, cranberry juice and seltzer, materializing at his right elbow.

In the spirit of the occasion, I ordered strictly within our borders: lobster bisque, filet of bison and New York tap water. He had the Dover sole.
Among people whose immigration views I admire, Mr. Dobbs has a reputation as a hopeless blowhard. I did not dwell on that at lunch.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/21/opinion/21thu4.html?th&emc=th