Bill Curry writes: Dodd's A Profile In Resiliency



"No other senator in our state's history ever had a year like Dodd's having now. Hyperbole? Try searching, as I have, for a comparison. Meanwhile, one columnist has shown that newspapers can still lay siege to a good man's reputation and turn a modern state into a latter-day Salem. I've long studied and fought public corruption. I once spent a year proving a pandemic of it, but there wasn't much interest. Seeing the frenzy whipped up on such flimsy facts against such a good man, I wonder if we will ever get this issue right. Dodd has a long battle ahead, but he is a profile in resiliency. I'm betting he battles all the way back; that by next year people return to their senses and return Chris Dodd to the Senate, where he has lived an exemplary life and where he belongs." Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic in the 1960's.

Bill Curry writes: Dodd's A Profile In Resiliency

Dodd's A Profile In Resiliency

By BILL CURRY

June 21, 2009

You may have noticed your Congress making history — of a sort so rare that in a century, only the New Deal and Great Society compare to it. As New York Times columnist Gail Collins wryly noted, one senator seems to lead every fight: Chris Dodd. Watching TV, it's as if the others had all gone home.

On predatory credit card companies, collapsing banks, a broken health care system, Dodd makes headlines not because he controls the process but because he drives the debate. In a year meant for change, he's fighting for it; the acknowledged leader of the reform side in every battle.

No other senator in our state's history ever had a year like Dodd's having now. Hyperbole? Try searching, as I have, for a comparison.

Meanwhile, one columnist has shown that newspapers can still lay siege to a good man's reputation and turn a modern state into a latter-day Salem. I've long studied and fought public corruption. I once spent a year proving a pandemic of it, but there wasn't much interest. Seeing the frenzy whipped up on such flimsy facts against such a good man, I wonder if we will ever get this issue right.

Dodd has a long battle ahead, but he is a profile in resiliency. I'm betting he battles all the way back; that by next year people return to their senses and return Chris Dodd to the Senate, where he has lived an exemplary life and where he belongs.

• Bill Curry, former counselor to President Bill Clinton, was the Democratic nominee for governor twice.

Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: June, 2009; RPCV Chris Dodd (Dominican Republic); Figures; Peace Corps Dominican Republic; Directory of Dominican Republic RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Dominican Republic RPCVs; Politics; Congress; Connecticut

When this story was posted in June 2009, this was on the front page of PCOL:




Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers

---

Join Us Mr. President! "We will double the size of the Peace Corps by its 50th anniversary in 2011. And we'll reach out to other nations to engage their young people in similar programs, so that we work side by side to take on the common challenges that confront all humanity," said Barack Obama during his campaign. Read how RPCV's rallied and and marched to the White House to support a bold new Peace Corps for a new age.

---

May 30, 2009: Peace Corps' Roadmap Peace Corps' Roadmap for the Future 26 May Who are the Candidates for Peace Corps Director? 24 May Have French Atomic Tests put PCVs at Risk? 1 May Obama asks Congress for 10% increase in PC Budget 7 May Guy Consolmagno debunks "Angels & Demons" 22 May Obama praises Dodd at credit card signing 22 May John Garamendi front runner in California primary 22 May Al Kamen writes: New management structure at PC HQ? 22 May Damian Wampler's play Twin Towers opens in NYC 21 May Michael Volpe learns that DC is networking capital 21 May Dr. Mike Metke returns to Costa Rica 10 May Jesse Fleisher Lives well on less 14 May Al Kamen writes: PCVs peak at 11,000 under Obama Budget 11 May James W. Kostenblatt is making a difference in Mozambique 10 May Karen and Warren Master host Kyrgyzstan teen 9 May Alberto Ibargüen writes: The Future of Newspapers 9 May PC Monitor 2009 H1N1 Flu Virus in Mexico 1 May Paul Theroux writes: Obama and the Peace Corps 1 May Johnnie Carson to head State Department African Affairs 29 Apr Michael O'Hanlon writes: Grading Obama's First 100 Days 29 Apr Amy Potthast writes: The Peace Corps Lottery 23 Apr Read more stories from April and May 2009.

---

PCOL's Candidate for Peace Corps Director Honduras RPCV Jon Carson, 33, presided over thousands of workers as national field director for the Obama campaign and said the biggest challenge -- and surprise -- was the volume of volunteer help, including more than 15,000 "super volunteers," who were a big part of what made Obama's campaign so successful. PCOL endorses Jon Carson as the man who can revitalize the Peace Corps, bring it into the internet age, and meet Obama's goal of doubling the size of the Peace Corps by 2011.

---

Director Ron Tschetter: The PCOL Interview Peace Corps Director Ron Tschetter sat down for an in-depth interview to discuss the evacuation from Bolivia, political appointees at Peace Corps headquarters, the five year rule, the Peace Corps Foundation, the internet and the Peace Corps, how the transition is going, and what the prospects are for doubling the size of the Peace Corps by 2011. Read the interview and you are sure to learn something new about the Peace Corps. PCOL previously did an interview with Director Gaddi Vasquez.

Read the stories and leave your comments.