There were those who believed Lou Dobbs was running for president during last year's elections while anchoring CNN's 7 p.m. news broadcast, such was the tenor of his rants on illegal immigration and the hardships facing America's middle class.

In fact, Dobbs may yet run for political office, likely from New Jersey, where he lives these days, but that or any other career decision appears to be some time off for Dobbs, who walked out of CNN's New York studios last Wednesday after informing viewers that he was quitting the network. His career there ended after 27 years, following a showdown with management over the tenor of his broadcasts.

In the time since, Dobbs, who is 64, has been explaining why he left, that in fact he wasn't pushed, and what he intends to do next.

First, he says he wants to meet with the groups that have been attacking him for his on-air rants, chiefly Hispanic groups, whom Dobbs says have been distorting his views on illegal immigration.

"This has been an orchestrated campaign of both distortion and outright propaganda for the purpose of the open border and unconditional amnesty agenda," Dobbs told one interviewer over the weekend.

"That's politics. I understand that. But I'm going to reach out to everyone with whom I've had a disagreement and see if there's a way in which we can calmly and dispassionately discuss our differences and talk about solutions."

Dobbs may also land somewhere else in journalism but probably not at Fox News, contrary to much speculation.

Dobbs claims to be an independent, and the idea of fitting into another network harness doesn't appear to appeal to him, though he will appear tonight on Bill O'Reilly's show to discuss his exit from CNN, among other things.

What path Dobbs might take in politics is unclear.

While he has talked like a candidate on a number of occasions--an American flag fluttered behind him as he told viewers he was leaving last Wednesday--as a newsman of so many decades he may not have the thick skin political life calls for, where your every statement is up for challenge.

But then Dobbs really doesn't have to worry about deciding on a career or finding a job anytime soon. His separation package with CNN came in around $8 million, enough to cushion him against the adversities of retirement, if he should choose not to seek work or political office.

Of his departure from CNN, Dobbs stresses it was by mutual agreement, though clearly it was not friendly. Dobbs had been put on notice to tone down his rhetoric, and he had refused. It was only a matter of time before he would have been shoved out. The settlement agreement simply formalized the terms of that separation.

In his replacement, John King, who anchors a Sunday morning political show, CNN has its new 7 p.m. anchor and a man who fits neatly into the image of neutrality CNN works to hard to project. The big puzzle now is whether ratings will shoot up, tumble, or remain the same.