Lou Dobbs for President?

Friends of Lou Dobbs say he is seriously contemplating running for president:

After months of telling reporters that he "absolutely" would not consider leaving his highly-rated CNN show in which he crusades against free trade and illegal immigration, Mr. Dobbs posted a commentary on his Web site last week predicting a surprise new presidential candidate in 2008. The mystery candidate is an "independent populist . . . who understands the genius of this country lies in the hearts and minds of its people and not in the prerogatives and power of its elites."

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.

That web commentary Dobbs posted is available here.

At The Caucus, Katharine Seelye reports Dobbs isn't interested:

"I don’t know where this is coming from," he said in a quick phone interview. "I have no interest in running, and I’ve said that throughout."

I think Dobbs is just trying to sell his new book.