The Hotline - Is Dodd Done?

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Is Dodd Done?

One of the toughest things any cong. veteran can face is being accused of "going Washington." Dodd was already vulnerable to that charge, given his WH'08 bid and ties to mortgage bad-boy Countrywide. But getting caught on TV admitting that he, well, wasn't exactly truthful when he said he didn't help draft legislation that let AIG off the hook is bad stuff. Can he recover?

-- It's not simply that he failed to acknowledge his role (at first), but his explanation for how this legislation originated marks exactly what folks dislike about DC. He tells CNN's Bash, "I apologize if I had some confusion about whether or not we wrote it exactly." But, he said, he was being pressured from WH officials "to modify this, with the alternative quite candidly being losing the amendment."

-- Also notable is how quiet Dodd's likely GOP rival, ex-Rep. Simmons, has been this week. Is this a sign of a disciplined candidate who's letting the press do his work for him? Jumping out front now only distracts from their single-minded focus on Dodd. Above the fold in the Hartford Courant: "Dodd's Flip-Flop." That image is certain to end up in a GOP ad next fall.

-- All of this leads us back to a more fundamental question: Will Dodd ultimately run in '10? If he doesn't, is it safe to assume Lamont will? If he does, who does Lieberman support?