Senator Dodd spent the week, like many of his opponents, drumming up support in Iowa. The senator reaffirmed his policies, like an immediate withdrawal from Iraq, but also made sure to appeal to grassroots Iowa voters, talking about taking children to the state fair among other things. As the week started with the Veteran's Day holiday, Dodd, a former member of the National Guard and Army Reserve, took time throughout his tour of Iowa to speak about his veteran's policies, such expediting disability benefits and extending his Family and Medical Leave Act. At a Union Auto Worker's conference on Monday in Dubuque, Iowa, Dodd flaunted his impeccably pro-labor voting record. Despite these efforts, polls consistently show Dodd's support in Iowa at 1%, tied with Dennis Kucinich.
Like the other major Democratic candidates, the climax of Dodd's week was Thursday's debate in Las Vegas. Though the majority of questions were put to frontrunners Clinton, Obama, and Edwards, when the questions did come his way, Dodd came out swinging. He called out the three frontrunners for avoiding questions, and jumped on the bandwagon to attack Clinton and Obama for their muddled responses to immigration questions in this debate and the last debate.
Dodd also picked up an endorsement this week from former New Hampshire senator John Durkin. This is an important endorsement, as New Hampshire is one of the more volatile states. On Friday, Dodd voted against a bill to provide more funding for the Iraq war. Dodd was the only major candidate to vote against the bill, reiterating his pledge not to approve any further funding for the war unless it is tied to ending the war.
1 comment:
Great summary of the Doddfather's week! It really is a shame to see such an experienced and talented senator be pushed aside as he has been, but so much of politics is about timing. And with candidates like Clinton, Obama and Edwards in this election each garnering support of at least 15-20% of the Democratic interest, there just isn't a whole lot more to go around. Who knows--maybe the Doddfather will catch fire! (I doubt it, but anything's possible in politics....)
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