Tim Ryan:Why I Support Chris Dodd for President

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The things I say and the things I do reflect not just on me, but the 650,000 people who live between Akron and Youngstown and sent me to Washington. These are strong people who witnessed the greatest comforts of industrial age America, had that life stripped away and only just now are starting to see the seeds of economic revival start to sprout. We are people who don’t respond to talk, because we’ve heard it all, we respond to results. Because of this, I don’t take endorsements lightly.

When I vote for a President I WANT certain qualities. I want passion, I want conviction and I want Clarity. Today I endorse Chris Dodd because he has all three. You know, it would have been easy for me to endorse Senator Clinton, after all, a 33 point national lead is daunting. It would have been easy for me to endorse Senator Obama. He is an amazing candidate. But this isn’t about poll numbers, and dare I say, this isn’t about who can raise the most money. This is about who has the leadership to end the war in Iraq and take care of the mess that the Bush Administration has left us.

Lately, I have found myself unsatisfied with the stance that the top three contenders for President have taken on Iraq. While I believe wholeheartedly that all three mean very well and that we’d be MUCH better off with any one of them as President than anyone the Republicans put up I can’t help but feel there is a lack of clarity in their plans for a timely and responsible troop withdrawal from Iraq. Telling me you are committed to a troop withdrawal and then not committing to have all our troops out of there by 2013 just isn’t good enough for me. This is the biggest issue of our time, of my generation and its effects will be felt by our children and at $9 billion a month, our GRANDCHILDREN. I need to know that our next President is serious about ending this once and for all. We can’t make any bold domestic advances without ending this war.

I read DailyKos, TPM, BuckeyeStateBlog and MyDD regularly, I know that you all feel the same way I do about this war but also about what we want for this country. It is time that we stop just electing the first person to reach some money threshold or pay too close attention to national level poll numbers that don’t accurately reflect who is going to be voting in Iowa and New Hampshire. I AM ASKING YOU FOR YOUR HELP. THIS time, lets take a long hard look in the mirror BEFORE we have a nominee, not after. Lets be sure the person we put up against Giuliani, or Mitt, or Thompson or whomever the Republicans finally decide can not only win, but best represents our views. Lets not go through another presidential election where buyers remorse sets in. The stakes are too high. I am asking you to make this a competitive primary.

Chris Dodd is committed to withdrawing all our troops from Iraq. Watching him talk, watching him work, you feel that conviction that great leaders possess. He understands that SAYING you want to end the war and taking actions that prolong it do a tremendous disservice to the efforts of those who are doing everything they can to bring the war to a close. Dodd actually has a record of this in the past. In the 1980’s Senator Dodd led the fight against President Reagan and his funding for Contras in Nicaragua. Most pundits said it would be impossible to stop Reagan, but Dodd did it.

Dodd is a do’er and comes from a family of do’ers. I’ve started the book Chris compiled of letters his father wrote home to his mother when his father was a prosecutor during the Nuremberg trials of high ranking Nazi officials (Those of you who have read the book will understand when I say I was inclined to endorse Dodd just because he carries his fathers DNA). But Chris Dodd clearly has a long record of personal accomplishment. Dodd authored the Family and Medical Leave Act which allows people to take off work when a family member is sick. Chris Dodd was the named by Head Start as their Senator of the DECADE. He served 26 years on the Foreign Relations Committee and understands what we need to do to rebuild our standing in the world. Chris Dodd, the current chairman of the Senate Banking Committee was one of the authors of the Sarbanes-Oxley act which mandated greater protections for investors after Enron. Right now, he is leading the fight in the Senate to protect homeowners from the foreclosure crisis which is currently affecting thousands of my constituents. This is a man who has dedicated his life to making America a better place, through action. Isn’t that what we need right now?

Finally, Chris Dodd can win. I would be excited to bring him to my district and campaign with him in Ohio, he can connect with people in Ohio. He understands what families in my district are going through and has an exciting agenda to help them help themselves. Please help me, help Chris get elected as the next President of the United States.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/10/4/14428/4277