Longtime right-wing CNN anchor Lou Dobbs announced on his show Wednesday that he's leaving, effective immediately.

"Some leaders in the media, politics and business have been urging me to go beyond my role here at CNN and engage in constructive problem-solving," Dobbs said before listing issues such as the growth of the middle class, health care and immigration.
 
"I will continue to strive to deal honestly and straightforwardly with those issues in the future."
 
Dobbs did not announce his next move but did say he is "considering a number of options and directions."
 
"I'm the last of the original anchors here on CNN and I'm proud to have had the privilege to helping to build the world's first news network," Dobbs said. "I will be eternally grateful to CNN, to Ted Turner, and to all of my colleagues and friends, and of course to you at home."
 
Dobbs, 64, had recently come under fire for his stance against immigration and for U.S. border enforcement. He told listeners of his syndicated radio show last month that a gunshot had been fired at his New Jersey home and that he had received threatening phone calls.
 
Dobbs has been with the network for a total of 27 years. He served as the host of Moneyline from the network's 1980 launch through 1999, when he displayed his anger on-air at the then-president of CNN, Rick Kaplan, and left his post days later.

His departure was first revealed by The New York Times, which reported he told staffers of his exit early Wednesday. According to the newspaper, his CNN contract was not due to expire until 2011.

A smiling Dobbs signed off his last show with: "As they say, I'll see you next on the radio."