Posted on 12/23/2007 6:22:48 PM PST by Graybeard58
Presidential hopeful Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., expressed confidence Iowa voters will choose the next Democratic Party nominee based on who they believe has the experience to bring about real change, rather than on celebrity endorsements.
Iowans, he added, have the job of weeding the candidate pool.
"I've been impressed over the years here, that you've not been diverted by money, or glitter or celebrities," Dodd said, "that you've cut through all that."
Dodd asked a crowd of about 40 in the Old Town Hall, 406 Second Ave., on Saturday to give him the chance to continue making his case. "In the next 11 days, I hope you'll give me a good look."
He garnered applause from the crowd after joking his talk Saturday would be much shorter than his 11-hour speech on the Senate floor last Monday. "I'm not going to engage in a filibuster here," he said, referring to his effort last week to block a bill that would have shielded from lawsuits telecommunications companies that helped the government tap American communications after Sept. 11.
Dodd cited the proposed legislation as an example of how President Bush has sacrificed rights in the name of safety. "That is a dangerous, dangerous notion," Dodd said. "We are more secure because we fight and defend those rights."
The senator was in town on a "12 Days of Results Tour," during which — as a play on the 12 Days of Christmas — he highlighted his record of results on a particular issue each day. On Saturday, it was democracy and the right to vote.
Dodd pointed to his work on the Help America Vote Act of 2002, which flooded additional resources into communities to improve voting procedures and authorized statewide registration and provisional ballots. The 26-year senator also drew on life experiences to prove he's most qualified for the job. "I didn't cram for this meeting here today," he said.
Instead, he talked of an upbringing that anchored his belief in the Constitution, his time in the military and Peace Corps, and his work passing landmark child care legislation and the Family and Medical Leave Act — proof he can reach across party lines to make a difference, he said.
"He understands how you have to compromise to make progress," John McNamara, 56, of Coralville said after the event. McNamara said he was impressed with Dodd's passion and knowledge, but added he's still unsure who he'll caucus for. "He's deserving of the White House, whether he gets there or not."
Dodd, who is scheduled to remain in Iowa with his family through the holidays, said he posted a sign reading, "Dear Santa, we're in Iowa," outside his Connecticut home to put his daughter, Grace, 6, at ease.
He has scheduled stops Sunday in Clinton, Muscatine, Burlington and Fairfield. He'll finish his "12 days" tour Monday in Carroll.
Dodd should just be thankful he is not in prison. His campaign is only an attempt to give him credibility for a potential shot at a future ambassadorship or SCOTUS nominee.
Christopher Dud, another elitist, aggrandizing politician who worries not about his mortgage, health insurance, retirement or next meal.
Why?
Because I and you have guaranteed his luxury through taxes rendered.
Oh, that is a thing of beauty.
Hopeful? Does anybody outside his immediate family even know Dodd's even trying?
Snow ball - Chance - Hell.
I give Dodd two chances...
Slim and None.
As already noted Dodd should be in jail.
Most of his campaign contributions are coming from banking interests and guess who is the Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee?
Rotten to the core. Like father, like son.
Wonder if it mentioned the way he and Ted Kennedy made a sandwich?
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