Monday, December 03, 2007

Chris Dodd on Imus this morning

I just heard Dodd's interview on Imus, and I have only one thing to say about this:

Why?

Is Senator Dodd trying to appeal to a mythical "middle", which apparently consists of retired farmers and machinists and NASCAR dads and individuals who think it's absolutely OK to insult minorities?

Or is it a misplaced sense of "loyalty" to an old friend, where Dodd will stand by his wrong-headed buddy no matter what, just like Jimmy Amann "sticking with" lapsed Democrat Joe Lieberman during last year's senate race?

Whatever the reason, I can't see this helping Chris Dodd all that much. In fact, he's inadvertently given his political rivals some powerful ammunition to hurl back at him during the next debate, considering they themselves will probably decide to forgo appearing on his program.

I understand that the senator is desperate for national exposure, but it's obvious to the entire progressive/liberal/not-wacko segment of the Democratic Party that appealing to Imus's largely conservative/Republican audience will only serve to damage him among the Democrats in Iowa and New Hampshire.

It's a bad move at this time, when he needs to appeal to Democrats.
(If I got it wrong, someone PLEASE explain it to me!)

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11 comments:

Jonathan Kantrowitz said...

Why would any candidate bother attacking Dodd?

Anonymous said...

Could anybody be so desperate as to think appearing on a failed republican's radio show would help him?

CT Bob said...

Jon, I said "during the next debate".

Dodd stupidly opened himself up to criticism that he condones Don "Mr. Racial Sensitivity" Imus's behavior. During the debates, everyone is more or less a target of the other candidates, even a minor threat like Dodd, who by the way is never shy about taking a swipe at the others to make his point.

Jonathan Kantrowitz said...

Yes, I understood that - but why bother attacking Dodd - - how does this help any other candidate look better - picking on an obscure (let's face it) 1% factor?

To move all those voters away from Dodd? Or just to look like a hero for NOT going on Imus?

CT Bob said...

OK Jon, I'll grant you that right now, Dodd is that 1% candidate. But what if through some miracle Dodd pulls 10-15% in Iowa and becomes a solid 2nd tier candidate? Could it matter then? Will New Hampshire voters embrace the "Imus candidate"? I'm just asking here.

Otherwise, if all is already lost, then why continue campaigning at this point?

Jonathan Kantrowitz said...

You have a better chance of 10-15% than Dodd does in Iowa.

Dodd will be in a "3-way tie for 5th."

I have no idea why he is still campaigning or why he has contradicted his entire principled campaign by going on Imus.

CT Bob said...

"You have a better chance of 10-15% than Dodd does in Iowa."

Is it too late for me to get on the ballot? LOL!

I get the feeling he's going to stick with it until after Feb. 5th, because there's always a slight chance that he'll get enough delegates to be able to hammer out a deal with the front runner. VP, for instance, or more likely a nice Cabinet position. I learned that a lot of lower-tiered candidates make deals with their delegates.

The slow build through the primary process is pretty much a thing of past, which is why we need to adopt the regional rotating primary system. Right now, we'll see everything happen between Jan 3rd and Feb 5th. By Feb. 6th, it'll probably be close to over.

Anonymous said...

dodd needs to drop out and come back to ct

Anonymous said...

Dodd is ignored by most of the media. He needs to get any air-time he can, just to keep his name out there.
At least Imus validates that he is a presidential candidate.
For Dodd, there is no bad publicity.
oldswede

fuzzyturtle said...

The only people who listen to Imus are old white men... like Chris Dodd. I can honestly say there's NOTHING about his campaign that excites me.. but there's now something that repulses me.

CT Bob said...

I like the fact that Dodd has taken the lead in regard to restoring the Constitution (and that's HUGE) but his refusal to entertain even the discussion of an impeachment inquiry really bothers me.

Yes, I'll vote for him if he's still running in February. But I think he misses the point on what matters to Democrats by trying to be too much of a centrist, which these days means you're a conservative.