Lou Dobbs takes flak from many directions. He fires back too.

Lou Dobbs is a controversial CNN broadcaster obsessed with the dangers of immigration. Now someone may have taken a potshot at his house. He blames his critics.
By Brad Knickerbocker | Staff writer/ October 31, 2009 edition

CNN’s Lou Dobbs is a man with a mission: Keep hammering on immigration in the United States.

He’s been at it for years, warning that immigrants (illegal and sometimes legal) are a threat to the country’s economic and social well-being, maybe even its domestic tranquility and security.

Whether or not he believes everything he says — and apparently he does — it’s a very effective broadcast shtick, a hot-button political issue and one that’s easily played (and manipulated), especially when the economy has been faltering and terrorist attacks from abroad remain a threat.

And especially at a time when polls show hardening public attitudes toward immigrants.

For CNN — which projects an image of relative moderation (at least compared to its cable rivals MSNBC on the left and Fox News on the right) — Dobbs comes across as fire-breathing.

“If anybody thinks we’re not engaged in a battle for the soul of this country right now, you’re sorely mistaken,â€