February 9, 2003 - Hartford Courant: RPCV Chris Dodd Keeps Lieberman, Democrats Guessing on Presidential Run

Peace Corps Online: Peace Corps News: Headlines: Peace Corps Headlines - 2003: 02 February 2003 Peace Corps Headlines: February 9, 2003 - Hartford Courant: RPCV Chris Dodd Keeps Lieberman, Democrats Guessing on Presidential Run

By Admin1 (admin) on Wednesday, February 12, 2003 - 9:41 am: Edit Post

RPCV Chris Dodd Keeps Lieberman, Democrats Guessing on Presidential Run





Read and comment on this story from the Hartford Courant on RPCV Chris Dodd who is keeping Democrats guessing on his Presidential run. Though few expect Dodd to seek the White House, he has been telling Connecticut Democrats in recent days that he is "genuinely undecided." "He's getting immense support from around the country," said Peter G. Kelly, the Hartford attorney and former national Democratic finance chairman. "People see him as a liberal guy with a practical streak, a guy who can fire up crowds." Read the story at:

Dodd Keeps Lieberman, Democrats Guessing*

* This link was active on the date it was posted. PCOL is not responsible for broken links which may have changed.



Dodd Keeps Lieberman, Democrats Guessing

February 9, 2003

By DAVID LIGHTMAN, Washington Bureau Chief

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Christopher Dodd is sitting on a decent pile of campaign cash. National fund-raisers and political hotshots are calling to encourage him to run for president.

But the Connecticut Democrat is still deciding, and as he deliberates, he risks playing a dangerous political game.

His indecision is making things awkward for Connecticut Democrats, notably Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, who can't really tap his natural home base for support. And the longer Dodd waits, the worse his chances of mounting a viable campaign become, as other candidates grab big donors and top operatives.

Though few expect Dodd to seek the White House, he has been telling Connecticut Democrats in recent days that he is "genuinely undecided."

In the meantime, he's getting lots of calls from prominent national fund-raisers, officeholders and former Clinton administration officials suggesting that he run.

"He's getting immense support from around the country," said Peter G. Kelly, the Hartford attorney and former national Democratic finance chairman. "People see him as a liberal guy with a practical streak, a guy who can fire up crowds."

Dodd ended 2002 with $1.6 million in campaign cash to spend for either a presidential or Senate run.

Lieberman first felt the thud from Dodd's indecision on Jan. 13, when the junior senator announced his own entry in the race. Because of Dodd's potential interest, Lieberman was denied the usual show of hometown strength.

"Bill Clinton sewed up Arkansas quickly, and Al Gore had Tennessee right away," said one political analyst close to both men. "Lieberman could not even go to New Haven and say, `Here's my Connecticut team.'"

Lieberman spokesman Jano Cabrera denied that Dodd's indecision is creating problems for Lieberman's campaign.

"We understand that one doesn't take lightly the decision to enter the presidential race," Cabrera said.

In Connecticut, state politicians are saying with a smile that they would be happy to back both men, but some worry that two candidates from Connecticut would badly split the party.

"This will come down to a fight for delegates [to the national convention] and that's going to get tough," said AFL-CIO president and former state party chairman John W. Olsen.

Dodd and Lieberman, he said, "are like two great generals. They always conduct themselves with dignity, but when they go out on the battlefield, it's body parts and blood."

Some state Democrats also express concern about whether Dodd can run for the Senate and president at the same time. While some believe Dodd is in a safe position, with no leading Democrat or Republican likely to challenge him, they worry that his state support would erode quickly if he were seen as devoting all his non-Washington time to wooing presidential donors and voters.

For the moment, Dodd has put himself in at least a good financial position to run for president or a fifth Senate term - or both.

His latest filing with the Federal Election Commission showed the "Friends of Chris Dodd 2004" committee raised $797,306 in the second half of 2002. About two-thirds of that money came from individuals and the rest came from the political arms of major corporations, interest groups and labor unions.

Dodd, said officials at the FEC, can roll the money into a presidential campaign, as long as he deemed it "excess campaign funds," which would be no problem.

Dodd already has one person in Connecticut and two in Washington drawing salaries, working on raising money and managing his political efforts. He pays $1,300 a month rent for space on Capitol Hill, where the operation is housed. And his Senate chief of staff, Sheryl V. Cohen, was for years his chief fund-raiser.

The report suggests Dodd would have little trouble quickly patching together a network of donors. His 483-page FEC report reads like a who's who of the campaign finance world.

Among the donors are television producer Bud Yorkin, Washington power broker Vernon Jordan, New York real estate magnate Donald Trump, former Colorado Rep. Pat Schroeder, financial mogul Charles Schwab, Host Marriott executive Richard Marriott, former Connecticut Rep. Toby Moffett, Sony Corp. CEO Howard Stringer, former Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti and a long list of corporate executives.

Dodd's corporate money came from a wide array of givers: MassMutual, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Paine Webber, General Electric, New York Life, United Technologies Corp., Credit Suisse/First Boston, Prudential, American Express, Northeast Utilities, Walt Disney Co., AOL/Time Warner, Kemper Insurance, Southwest Airlines, Chicago Stock Exchange, Johnson & Johnson, General Dynamics and more.

Dodd benefits not only from his seniority and his high-ranking position on the Senate Banking Committee, but from contacts he made in 1995 and 1996, when he was general chairman of the Democratic Party.

He visited 23 states in 2002, and among the political events listed in his filing were one at Manchester's Phoenix Restaurant in New Hampshire and another at Des Moines' 801 Restaurant & Steak House in Iowa. Both are well-known political hangouts in those early primary and caucus states.

At the same time, there are hints in the FEC report, as well as comments from political observers, that Dodd will not run.

Lieberman, as well as his likely rivals, spent tens of thousands of dollars helping candidates in the key early states of Iowa, South Carolina and New Hampshire last year. Dodd stumped in all three, and campaigned for eight candidates in Iowa.

But he did not come bearing the mother's milk of politics - cash. Dodd gave $1,000 to Iowa House hopeful Julie Thomas, and that was it. The rest of his contributions went to Connecticut candidates and a smattering of others around the country.

Dodd strategists saythat because he did not have a separate political committee like Lieberman, it was more difficult for Dodd to give money to other candidates.

He did, though, help them considerably, raising at least $15,000 for the Iowa Democratic party, $10,000 for Gov. Tom Vilsack and $40,000 for Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, at events in that state. The pattern repeated itself in other states.

Dodd is telling people he will run if he has something fresh and unique to offer. Lieberman's candidacy will "not necessarily" affect his decision, Dodd has said.

The reasons he might say yes include a realization that this could be his last reasonable shot at the presidency. Dodd will be 60 in 2004, and if a Democrat wins, he is blocked for at least eight years, and probably 12, if the party's vice president then seeks the office.

But, according to one person close to Dodd, he is hesitant for a number of reasons. One is his family; his daughter, Grace, is 16 months old. Another is that he has spent 28 years building stature and respect as a member of Congress, and does not want to suffer public humiliation should his presidential run falter.

On a more practical level, he might be getting too late a start. A posse of Democrats is already organized, has sewn up many of the best-known political operatives and been fiercely raising money, and Dodd will have to build a team from scratch.

In addition, his first test would come quickly. While $1.6 million gets Dodd into the game, it's little more than an ante.

The next major round of presidential campaign spending and fundraising reports are released April 15.

Should Dodd be far behind, said one fund-raising veteran, "the media would say he's already out of the race."
More about Senator Dodd and his service with the Peace Corps



Read more about Senator Dodd and his service with the Peace Corps and the Peace Corps legislation he has sponsored at:


Click on a link below for more stories on PCOL

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This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Dominican Republic; Special Inteests - Politics; Peace Corps Congress

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