Some things you may not know:
- The powerful Firefighters' Union gave Senator Dodd their endorsement this week.
- Many online groups, including MoveOn.org are supporting Senator Dodd's Katrina legislation as being the most likely to end the government's failure to help that region.
- Senator Dodd is chairman of the powerful Banking Committee, is considered business-savvy, and is therefore a candidate that would be taken seriously by moderate Republicans.
- Senator Dodd has led the fight to restore the civil rights and liberties destroyed by this administration including Habeus Corpus.
- Senator Dodd has served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for 25 years and therefore, unlike several candidates, has credible foreign policy experience.
- Dodd served three terms in the House of Representatives before being elected to the Senate in 1980.
- As a young man Dodd joined the Peace Corps where he served for two years in the Dominican Republic, became fluent in Spanish, and built a school and a maternity ward.
Obama and Edwards both have no experience. In the end, I don't think any of the threee so-called "top tier" candidates are really electable or that desirable.
Take a look at Dodd as a person and on the issues and decide for yourself.
5 comments:
I'm one of those people who refuse to vote for a Democratic candidate who authorized sending our troops into Iraq. I value good judgment over years of experience.
Chris Dodd does have years more experience than Clinton, Edwards, and Obama.
However, it's incorrect to say Obama has "no experience." He has *sufficient* experience.
He spent 8 years in the Illinois state legislature and 3 years in the U.S. Senate. He's held elected office longer than Clinton (8 years) and Edwards (6 years). While he hasn't been in Washington as long, other great Presidents didn't spend much time in Washington either such as Abraham Lincoln who only had two years in Washington before assuming the Presidency.
I respectfully disagree with the previous post. I believe Senator Obama's experience to be insufficient. Experience must be examined in context. When Abraham Lincoln assumed the Presidency the United States was in an introspective mood, dealing with domestic issues like slavery and succession. Abraham Lincoln's experiences in state government were *sufficient* at the time to prepare him to tackle the domestic issues of the day since the states were dealing with largely the same issues. In today's America, the focus is outward on complex foreign policy issues. I believe that Senator Obama's experience is insufficient to deal with these issues. 8 years in the Illinois Senate cannot match 30+ years in Congress, with significant portions of that time dedicated to examining and dealing with complex foreign policy issues like those affecting America today. Perhaps no experience will prepare someone to lead us in the environment George Bush has left us but I would rather take my chance with Chris Dodd's experience. Now is not the time to learn where you stand, learn on the job, or make rookie mistakes. This is a unique election in that, "Washington experience" should be welcomed, especially in someone as confident, level-headed, clear minded, and with the convictions of Senator Chris Dodd. Therefore, I believe the real question is not sufficieny but quality of experience and in that regard Chris Dodd is the candidate who stands out.
While it is true that Sen. Dodd did authorize the use of force in Iraq, he has apologized time and time again for that vote. Like most of Congress and the American people at the time, he was being misled with false information from the White House on Saddam's WMD capabilities.
The "experience" that you tout for Barack is great if he were running for Governor of Illinois - just not enough to be President of the United States.
This country has paid an enormous price for choosing a President that lacked leadership and experience on a national level. It's time to choose a President that can lead on day one; we don't want a President who fills his lack of foreign policy experience by hiring an experienced cabinet to make the decisions for him.
I've met Dodd, and unlike many of the other candidates I've met, he's a genuine person not just saying what it takes to get people's votes. The great thing with him is that he has the record to show what he believes - and it goes back a long time to before he was even thinking about running for President. That's the true test for what the person believes, and what they will do when elected.
Finally, it's clear that the Democratic Party wants to not only nominate a good candidate for President, but they also want to win the Presidency in '08. If that's true, then the party must look at who will be best not only to carry the torch of our party, but also who can win the general election. Does anyone seriously think that Clinton, Obama, or Edwards could win in the general? If so, I would love to hear how they would do so.
CHRIS DODDD IS AN EXTRAORDINARY INDIVIDUAL. I HAVE KNOWN HIM FOR OVER 40 YEARS. MY FIRST MEMORY OF CHRIS IS TEACHING CATECHISM AT THE D.C. VILLAGE ORPHANAGE, ONE OF THE POOREST AND DESTITUTE ORPHANAGES IN THE COUNTRY, LOCATED IN ANACOSTIA,A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY NEXT TO THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. HE HAD NO NEED TO TEACH THERE. HIS FATHER WAS A SENATOR AND THERE WAS NO SCHOOL REQUIREMENT TO TEACH AT THE ORPHANAGE. HE GENUINELY CARED ABOUT THE CHILDREN HE WAS REACHING OUT TO.TO THIS DAY HE HAS CONTINUED TO BE ONE OF THE STRONGEST PROPONENTS OF EDUCATION AND BRINGING EDUCATION TO ALL OF THOSE WHO NEED IT, INCLUDING THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN DEPRIVED OF THE SAME BY POVERTY. HE CONTINUES TO DEEPLY CARE ABOUT PEOPLE AND THE NEEDS OF THE COUNTRY. HE HAS EXTRAORDIANRY WIT AND CHARM AND UN;LIKE SO MANY OF TH CANDIDATES IS CAPABLE OF BRINGING BOTH DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS TOGETHER TO WORK NOT IN TEIR INTERESTS BUT THE INTERSTS OF THE COUNTRY
Happy to see this post, which gives good airtime to the old timers.
Dodd also champions issues that are near and dear to my heart - and I believe the core of quality American governance. These include media ownership reform and election reform, where his heart appears to be in the right place, though I do have to admit, he missed a golden opportunity to include auditing during his primary sponsorship of the Help America Vote Act.
Too bad the media is hell-bent on returning to the Hillama Blinton story over & over. Folks like Dodd and Biden have a great deal to offer, and could have better appeal with more balanced media given the hidden power of its story selection dynamics.
Regarding Obama, by the way, I appreciate the 'judgement' argument, and sense that he may indeed be pretty honest about himself right now (an important question) and have good judgement. However, history is rife with examples of Presidents simply not having the background to bring their own discernment of important international dynamics, and having that severely hamper policy. I'll spare you, but folks like Wilson and even FDR had glaring blind spots that advisors couldn't help them with, and had vast historical repercussions.
Now is the time for Democrats to muster some broadly appreciated, visceral foreign policy mythology. I don't see that happening with any of the three front-runners.
Thanks again for the post.
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