Dodd (D-Conn) calls '02 vote on Iraq a mistake

[Omaha Steve]

To late to post in breaking.

Published Tuesday | March 6, 2007
Dodd calls '02 vote on Iraq a mistake
BY ROBYNN TYSVER
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

COUNCIL BLUFFS - U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, a Democratic presidential contender, said Monday that he has no problem admitting that he made a mistake on Iraq.

The Connecticut lawmaker told an evening gathering of about 25 at Tish's Restaurant that he regretted his 2002 vote in support of the Iraq war.

"I'd love to have that vote back. It was a mistake," said Dodd, 62, who also attended a fundraiser earlier in the evening in neighboring Omaha.

Dodd was one of two presidential candidates who stumped in Iowa on Monday. Earlier in the day, U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke to about 400 employees of Pioneer Hi-Bred International in Johnston.

Clinton touted her energy policy. She said Congress needs to offer more incentives to encourage energy conservation, such as giving tax incentives to people who purchase fuel-efficient vehicles.


Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn.

With 11 months left before the Iowa caucuses, the two presidential contenders' visits underscore the early intensity of the race. They also are a good indication that Iowans can expect to be deluged by candidates - both Republican and Democrat - in the coming months.

Later this week, former U.S. Sen. John Edwards is planning a two-day tour in Iowa to discuss his universal health care proposal. One of his stops will be at the Council Bluffs Senior Center, 714 Main St., on Friday at 12:15 p.m.

Dodd promised those who attended his informal gathering in Council Bluffs that he planned to return often to western Iowa.

FULL story at link.

[gratuitous]

1. Great

Now DO something about it.

[Leilani]

2. Look to Dodd's donations

& you'll know where his interests are.

Hint: Not you or me.

[FrenchieCat]

3. Thanks!

NEXT!

[SCDem]

4. Dodd came to my town in SC this past week

and I was really impressed. He talked about working for core ideals - a better America by addressing healthcare, poverty, education (for everyone). Then he talked about leadership - and I really was moved by what he said. He was very accessible and I liked that as well.

The next Sunday our County Party held a straw poll and Dodd won with 28%.
http://newsblogs. chicagotribune. com/news_ theswamp/ 2007/03/chris_ dodd_wins. html#more

Posted by David Lightman at 12: 27 p.m. CST
WASHINGTON-- Two days after he visited South Carolina, York County Democrats took a straw poll Sunday and Dodd won 28 percent of the approximately 100 people voting. Runnerup was Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois at 24 percent, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York at 18 percent; 2004 vice presidential nominee John Edwards at 11 percent and Delaware Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. at 5.5 percent. Former Vice President Al Gore, running as a write-in, got 8 percent.

Jim Watkins, York County chairman, had a simple explanation for Dodd's success: "He visited here," Watkins said.
But the chairman quickly added that the triumph should not be dismissed. Dodd campaigned in the county Friday, and Watkins thought it significant that activists returned for a meeting Sunday and gave Dodd their votes.
"As people got to know him, they liked him. That goes a long way," the chairman said. "He's a good storyteller with a good sense of humor, and people related to that."
The poll was conducted in Rock Hill, a Charlotte, N.C., suburb, as activists watched videos submitted by each candidate.
For Dodd, the win was a rare bit of good news in a campaign that has seen him at the bottom of poll after poll. Sunday, for instance, a Los Angeles Times survey of Democratic National Committee members found Dodd the first choice of 1 percent--and second choice of 1 percent, even though 78 percent of DNC members had a favorable impression of Dodd. Dodd was the party's general chairman in 1995 and 1996.
Dodd's staff and backers, though, have long maintained he is running a campaign far different from the hihg-octane efforts of Obama, Clinton and Edwards. "This is the tortoise versus the hare," said spokeswoman Beneva Schulte.
Dodd's strategy has been to campaign the old-fashioned way, meeting with small groups in the key early primary and caucus states of Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada, while at the same time keeping up his fundraising.
The York County result is evidence the strategy is working, said Michelle Macrina, a Greenville, S.C. consultant serving as Dodd's state spokeswoman.
"This tells you that when Chris Dodd meets people," she said, "they're drawn to him."
in White House 2008