With Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) facing an uphill battle to win reelection next year after a series of Washington scandals battered his popularity back home, President Obama and other national Democrats are sparing no effort to help him.
Despite the scandals which left his ethics called into question, the three-decade Senate veteran is not trying to shake his Beltway image. Instead, Dodd is working furiously to show the impact of his long service by racking up big legislative accomplishments - including, potentially, a health care reform bill - before the midterm elections. And some of the national Democratic Party's biggest names are coming in to back him up.
Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) has cut a television commercial for him. Connecticut's independent junior senator, Joe Lieberman, penned a column in the Hartford Courant calling Dodd "an agent of productive change." The White House has honored him at four bill signings and President Obama even sent an email to 100,000 Democrats in Dodd's home state praising him for his "outstanding work on behalf of families in Connecticut and across the country."
This offensive hasn't yet revived Dodd's flagging poll numbers, though there's been some improvement. But it has given the longtime incumbent an argument for reelection that Connecticut voters just might be willing to consider: Chris Dodd may be a Washington insider, but he's their Washington insider.
"I think most people know Chris at this point, and know how they feel about him, not to be particularly moved one way or another by the president's support," said state Rep. Steve Fontana, who serves as vice chair of the Connecticut Democratic Party.
- Politico Story
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