As another day of the Chris Dodd “I didn’t realize VIP meant Special” tour rolls on, Connecticut’s news media continues to prove itself as a rather incurious bunch for the most part (thank you Jesse Hamilton).  Yes, there have been blips here and there, but as many Republicans have said to one another, “if this were a Republican Senator instead of a Democrat, there would be a lynch mob forming.”

It isn’t suppose to be this way.  Out on the high plains of North Dakota, the other Democrat Senator involved, Sen. Kent Conrad, woke up to a fireball of an editorial in Bismarck’s big paper, the Bismarck Tribune.  The headline pretty much says it all: “Conrad: Get loans like anyone else does“.  Not a lot of ‘gray area’ in that one - but the paper’s editors aren’t any nicer in the text of the piece.

Someone with the financial smarts of Kent Conrad should have known what the prevailing interest rate was for an ordinary borrower and that he was getting a deal. It’s on Countrywide that it seems to have bent its own rules to finance the commercial unit buyout, but still it’s connected with Conrad’s name.

He should be forthcoming, now and throughout the lifespan of this mess.

The people of Connecticut are doing their part and writing letters to the editor about VIP-gate, and now it’s time for the “Fourth Estate” to show a little inquisitiveness.

Today in a conference call with reporters in defense of his good name, Connecticut’s fearless senior Senator, Chris Dodd, gave this quote to the media (per Roll Call):

Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) said Tuesday that he has known since 2003 that his mortgage with Countrywide Financial was designated a “VIP” account, but continued to deny allegations he received any discounts when he refinanced two loans.

“There was no red flag to me [that] we were getting special treatment,” Dodd told reporters at a news conference.

The Connecticut Senator said he never asked what VIP status meant, but said he assumed it was bestowed on him because he held an existing mortgage with Countrywide.

So, in Senator Dodd’s world, being designated a “VIP” had no other ramification - and certainly wasn’t indicative of “special treatment”.  The senior United States Senator did not assume - shockingly - that the designation was bestowed upon him because he was a senior United States Senator.

The always pertinent Wall Street Journal opened up an eastern front in the Battle for the White House this morning, reporting that Barack Obama is cranking up a Vice Presidential search committee.  And whom, you might ask, is under consideration?  The WSJ list, though it seems much more like a “Roster of American Democrats” rather than VP shortlist, includes none other than our own United States Senator, Chris Dodd.

Having scratched his Presidential “itch”, Dodd has returned to life as a Senator, presiding over his fiefdom that is the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and otherwise enjoying his time in the House of Lords.  But according to the WSJ, Dodd could be quite a match for Obama.  Unfortunately, the WSJ also puts the ‘kiss of death’ on Dodd by equating him with Vice President Dick Cheney:

Sen. Dodd, who endorsed Sen. Obama shortly after withdrawing his own bid for the presidency in January, would bring experience to the ticket, similar to the way Washington stalwart Dick Cheney helped Texas Gov. George W. Bush in 2000.

The paper goes on to include the crass political angle, courtesy of the always-willing John Zogby: “If Obama is looking for the gravitas and the over-65 crowd, which he needs to cut into, then I think Chris Dodd is at the top of the list,” says pollster John Zogby.”  What an endorsement.

It’s still early in the Obama VP search committee - and its highly probable that all of this speculation, while fun, is simple drivel for politicos to chew over the long weekend.  But with Camp McCain assembling possible VPs for barbeque in Sedona, maybe Obama’s trip to the Wesleyan graduation will be followed by a swing over to East Haddam for some beer and grilled chicken.

It is rare in this space for us to offer praise for Connecticut’s two Democrat U.S. Senators - Joe Lieberman and Chris Dodd.  They are Democrats who very often espouse views that are contrary to ours and we often criticize them for it.  But today we break new ground with praise for both gentlemen.

Senator Joe Lieberman, a tireless advocate for his causes and a statesman in the true sense of the word, has an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal today bemoaning the path that Democrats have taken in recent years in relation to foreign policy.  The entire piece is well worth a read as an analysis of recent American history and the policies that emerge from the synthesis of different world views.

This was the Democratic Party that I grew up in – a party that was unhesitatingly and proudly pro-American, a party that was unafraid to make moral judgments about the world beyond our borders. It was a party that understood that either the American people stood united with free nations and freedom fighters against the forces of totalitarianism, or that we would fall divided.

The slow evolution of the Democratic Party’s world view, from staunchly patriotic, anti-Communist, and intolerant of moral evil into the “blame America first”, relativist, and “American the Imperial Oppressor”, is perhaps one of the great transformations of 20th century political philosophy. Lieberman correctly invokes the name of Scoop Jackson as a sinking counterweight to this movement:

Democratic Cold Warriors like Scoop Jackson fought against the tide. But despite their principled efforts, the Democratic Party through the 1970s and 1980s became prisoner to a foreign policy philosophy that was, in most respects, the antithesis of what Democrats had stood for under Roosevelt, Truman and Kennedy.”

Sen. Lieberman sharply criticizes the harsh ideologues that have yanked the Democratic Party far to the left and the Purist views that excoriate those that do not fall in lockstep with them.

By considering centrism to be collaboration with the enemy – not bin Laden, but Mr. Bush – activists have successfully pulled the Democratic Party further to the left than it has been at any point in the last 20 years.

Lieberman’s analysis of the current political landscape is certainly that of a man largely scorned by his Party - or perhaps more appropriately put, that of a man whose Party has left him. But in a week in which recent American history has been largely rewritten (the audacity to rewrite history you don’t like?), Sen. Lieberman’s proper reminder should be well received.

High honors must today go to our other U.S. Senator, Chris Dodd, for his courage in the wake of announcement about Sen. Ted Kennedy’s malignant brain tumor. After lunch with Democratic Senators yesterday, Sen. Dodd was visibly shaken:

“He’s a strong guy, has great heart,” said Dodd, who is very close friends with Kennedy. But he quickly stepped away from the microphone, leaving it to John Kerry, the other Massachusetts senator. While Kerry told people to “remember that this guy is one unbelievable fighter,” Dodd’s head was down, his eyes brimming with tears and chin shaking. (On Background, Jesse Hamilton)

Dodd spent this morning making the rounds on the network morning shows, trying to change the overall tenor of the coverage. So said Dodd on FOXNEWS:

“talked to vickie and, you know, he is getting a little upset with this funereal — laughing and joked how he was getting poked and prodded by people at 2:00 a.m.”

We join with Sen. Dodd is looking forward to Sen. Kennedy’s speedy recovery and return to the U.S. Senate.

The End of Chris Dodd

Connecticut’s favorite Iowan, Senator Chris Dodd, failed to get his name on the ballot in New York.  Some are asking if this means that Senator Dodd’s campaign is effectively over, after Iowa and New Hampshire.  The good Senator’s campaign has struggled to catch on, as it continues to trail in the wake of the Clinton-Obama clash.  Sen. Dodd continues to play for a January 4th “Senator Chris Dodd finished a surprising third yesterday in the Iowa caucuses” headline.  Indeed, unless you are Hillary Clinton - Howard Dean redux anyone? - the battle for third in Iowa is the target for no less than three Democratic Presidential candidates - Richardson, Biden, and Dodd.

Democratic Presidential Debate

Don’t look now, but the Democratic Presidential candidates are debating in Iowa right now.  Carolyn Washburn, the colorless Nurse Ratched from yesterday’s Republican debate, is back today to preside over the Democrats.  And surprisingly - shockingly - Chris Dodd looks like he had an additional cup of coffee this morning because he’s got some pep in his rhetoric - thundering away on farming subsidies, China, and his proposed Corporate Carbon Tax.  He even offered a Walter Mondale-style promise to raise taxes on carbon.  Look for a Walter Mondale-style surge of support to soon follow.

cttaxed.com

The excellent cttaxed.com had a great post up earlier this week, “Tax Babies, Reduce Carbon“. The author/s have done an excellent job at the site, and post from a particularly interesting angle.  Check it out.