From The Hotline for Thursday, July 23, 2009

In Dodd We Trust?

Thursday, July 23, 2009


The good news for Chris Dodd : His approval rating has jumped 9 pts. since 4/09. The bad news: He's still losing to Rob Simmons. Does this mean his "rebranding" efforts have fallen short? Or just that it's going to take longer than a couple months for Dodd to move the needle?

-- There are signs that Dodd's decision to attach himself at the hip to Pres. Obama has helped him. Since 3/09, Dodd's share of the Dem vote in a match-up w/Simmons has gone from 58% to 74%. Even so, his efforts haven't moved indies. He's getting just 27% of them today, not much different from his March showing.

-- Even success on health care may not improve his image. While 62% say he has strong leadership skills, just 35% believe he's honest and trustworthy. This also means it'll be hard for Dodd to simply run an anti-Simmons or anti-GOP campaign in the fall. After all, if voters don't trust the messenger, they aren't going to trust the message.

-- It also suggests that Dodd's attacks on lobbyists is a risky strategy. Trying to convince an already skeptical electorate that the ultimate insider is suddenly an outsider crusading may only help cement the view that he's trying to pull the wool over their eyes. If he's going to win their votes, he first needs to win back their trust.

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