Christopher Dodd - Democrat

 

Christopher Dodd was born May 27, 1944, in Willimantic, Connecticut. He graduated Georgetown Preparatory School in Bethesda, Maryland, and from Providence College with a bachelor's degree in English Literature in 1966. Following this, he served two years in the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic. He then served in the U.S. Army Reserve until 1975. During his service, he also earned a Juris Doctor degree at the University of Louisville. In 1973, he was admitted to the Connecticut bar, and became a practicing lawyer.

His career turned to politics when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1975, and he served as Connecticut's second congressional district Representative until 1981, being re-elected twice in the process. Christopher Dodd was one of the group which the media referred to as "Watergate Babies"; Democratic Senators and Representatives who were voted in in the post-Watergate aftermath of Nixon's impeachment. Amongst his accomplishments in the House, he served on the House Select Committee on Assassinations.

Christopher Dodd was then elected from the House to the Senate in 1980 as the Senator from Connecticut, which made him the youngest ever Connecticut Senator. He was subsequently re-elected in 1986, 1992, 1998, and 2004, making him the first Connecticut Senator to serve five consecutive terms. He was also nominated to be the Senate Minority Leader in the 109th session of Congress, but declined the position and has also announced that he will not seek a sixth term as Senator.

The reason for turning down these opportunities became clear when he announced his run for the Presidency in January of 2007.

During his time as Senator, Christopher Dodd has chaired the Committee on Rules and Administration and the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. He also served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee in 1994. He has also maintained an active link to the Peace Corps, and has lent his support to the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, the No Child Left Behind bill, and the national Head Start program. He received the Edmund S. Muskie Distinguished Public Service Award for his foreign affairs work.

During his Senate career, he has also spoken out from time to time on various issues. These include the need to investigate civil-rights violations, the future of the Peace Corps, concern over torture, war crimes, and terrorism. Like many contenders for the Presidency in 2008, he opposes the Iraq war.

Christopher Dodd has formed a position as a highly moderate Democrat. While he has put in the expected performance of a political career, he has done little to attract sharp attention to himself and has not gone out of his way to attach himself to any particular issue nor has he done anything too controversial. He might be seen as a modern-day Calvin Coolidge, being somewhat taciturn. When interviewed about his consideration of running for President, he responded "It's an itch. Could grow. Could disappear." His pace is described as "carefully measured".

In spite of this, he has been a frequent fixture on television shows. Since 2000, he has appeared on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien", "The Daily Show", "Face the Nation", "Hardball with Chris Matthews", "Larry King Live", "The Al Franken Show", "Meet the Press", "NBC Nightly News", "The Colbert Report", and several other news shows. he has received endorsements from the Kennedy family and the International Association of Fire Fighters.

Christopher Dodd has in fact admitted that he has allowed his bid for President to lapse behind the front-runners, but expressed some optimism that he will draw support anyway due his stance on issues.