Lou Dobbs Breaks Free Of CNN to Appear With Imus

Ever the cordial guest, Lou Dobbs innocently wondered how the I-Man was doing today. "You don't care how I am," Imus replied, pretty much setting the tone for the rest of the conversation.

Dobbs, who left his longtime home at CNN a few weeks ago, still hosts a nationally syndicated radio program, which he said is "very fun" because of the "rewarding" relationship he has with his audience.

"I have no relationship with my audience," said Imus, proudly. "My mantra is, I talk and they listen. Please don't contact me."

He then offered Dobbs the opportunity to "tell us what really happened at CNN." Because we're not buying this "amicable parting" bull crap.

The truth, Dobbs said, was that he couldn't bear the public relations office at CNN denying him the chance to appear on Imus's show. But really, it came down to Dobbs's unwillingness to do something that made him uncomfortable.

"They had asked me not to include opinion in my broadcast," he said. "I tried it for a couple of months, and it became apparent to management and myself that it wasn't going to work. We agreed to go our separate ways, and I left."

Dobbs took a lot of heat from the media for his oft-misconstrued positions on things like illegal immigration and President Obama's birth certificate.

"You've been around a long time, so you know...if you say something stupid, you can't whine about what the news media is going to do," said Imus, comparing Dobbs's experience — in only that regard — to his own a few years ago.

"It's a road I've been down for many years," said Dobbs, laughing that Imus tried to draw a "moral equivalent" between their two circumstances. "The media right now, the national left wing media, is absolutely agenda-driven."

"Unlike the right," Imus chimed in. And by the way, Dobbs, Imus wasn't comparing his troubles with yours on any other level than to say, "We all know what the media will do."

"As you recall, dimly, I was one of your biggest supporters," Dobbs told Imus.

To be clear: Dobbs has not spoken with CNBC about a job there, but he has spoken with Fox's Roger Ailes, because, you know, "He's an old friend." Dobbs is weighing a run for political office, which Imus cautioned him against.

"You have fairly nice hair," Imus said. "You need to have really ugly hair. The guys with the nice hair, like John Edwards, it never works out for them."

-Julie Kanfer