Will Joe L's support actually help Chris D? Or is it the kiss of death?

> "Americans didn't vote for a Rush to failure."

Huh?

I wasn't really worried about Dodd until now. jen anticipated my comment. Thank frumf Connecticut's a small state -- if he starts now, maybe he can doorknock the whole thing.

This new guy McKay's duties will apparently be those traditionally assigned to the head of the RNC. That being the case, remind me why they need Michael Steele, exactly?

Oh, yeah, because he's soooo good at media stuff. Right.

If McKay turns out to be even remotely telegenic, he can kiss that goodbye, too.

Okay, calmed down now. Dodd is one of the most experienced, capable, intelligent members of the Senate and a leader of the liberal wing, which is part of his problem. His homestaters see his Presidential run (Best Platform award, sort of like Miss Congeniality with teeth) as presumptuous at a time when the state and the country was entering economic freefall, and getting caught up in the Countrywide homeloan scandal when this New York-bedroom-suburb of a state, the part, that is, that's not flatout impoverished, was facing mass McMansion foreclosure hurt him seriously.

In his defense, Dodd is, for better and worse, a career politician and politicians don't make much by New York/Connecticut standards, especially if they're honest. A good mortgage on a new home for his new family must have seemed attractive, and was unlikely, given his character, to have influenced his work.
And, I hope it's apparent by now, he would have made a far better President than the nominee.

Whether you agree with the last or not, he's terribly needed in the Senate as a bulwark against the Lieberman/Rockefeller/Bayh Blue Dogs, or whatever they call them there which makes any good conspiracy theorist wonder where his real opposition is coming from. Can any Republican who treads the Rush/Dawson line (Steele's unlikely to be a factor a week from now) be a threat to him in this purple-to-blue state? You wouldn't think so, which is why he can pull it off with his usual ten per cent or better margin if he rededicates himself to local economic issues, spends a lot of time in the state and politely accepts Lieberman's endorsement and then flees. All of which, of course, will make him less of a factor on the national scene. The wheels turn, turning the wheels....

Despite their recent differences, Joe Lieberman will support Chris Dodd's re-election campaign.

Great. Lieberman's about as popular as herpes in Connecticut right now, so I can't see how this helps Dodd in ths short run. In the long run, though, Lieberman does have pretty sweet fundraising connections that could help Dodd out in a pinch, particularly if he just lies low and keeps his mouth shut and doesn't remind voters too often that he's helping Dodd out.

Old Clinton Hands Line Up Behind Gillibrand

And while Mrs. Clinton seems likely to shy away from electoral politics now that she is secretary of state, there is little doubt about where the Clintons’ loyalty lies: On Wednesday, Bill Clinton himself will headline an Upper East Side fund-raiser for Ms. Gillibrand.

Why is an ex-President rooting around in NY politics?
Then deeper in the article there is this:

One member of Ms. Gillibrand’s kitchen cabinet, for example, is Ann Lewis, a longtime Clinton confidante and a senior adviser on the presidential campaign. Ms. Lewis recently launched NoLimits.org, a Web site and blog, to allow Mrs. Clinton’s supporters to network and stay in touch.

“Hard-core Hillary supporters are fully expecting her to run again in 2016,� said one New York official with deep Clinton ties who demanded anonymity so as not to be seen as speaking for Mrs. Clinton. “That is one reality. Kirsten is a more local reality. But for folks in New York, she gives them a focus.�

Run again in 2016? Believe it.

Former Rep. Virgil Goode (R-Va.), a loathsome figure who was narrowly defeated last year, is seeking a rematch in 2010.

I guess he's figuring that by then people will realize how much they missed having quality, batshit insane, xenophobic, racist wingnut representation in Congress.

In case anyone missed it, in Today's column Garrison Keillor pokes another hole in Rush's stuffed shirt.

"For similar delusional megalomania, you have to go back to the rock stars of yesteryear, but they were 30 or so, and Rush is somewhat north of there. You have to wonder if the man doesn't need to get out of the compound more and converse with real people and not just talk to his cat. Has he ever sat at a bar and talked to other men over a beer?

"One of the problems with OxyContin is that it's such a lonely drug: Guys don't get together to toss back a few pills and tell jokes, so an Oxhead like Rush is missing the social skills that one might develop over beer and bourbon. At the bar, a man can rant and rave about Obama and hope he will fail, but when he stops for breath, he has to listen to someone else point out that we are in an economic crisis and the country seems to want a change of course."

rush to failure . . .

Please make it stop. Lame beyond words.

sometime could you please let us know how Goode's replacement in Congrress, Tom Periello, is doing. Best way to keep Goode out of Congress is if constituency loves replacement.

jeez do the Democrats have to be so lame? "Rush to failure" har dee har. look, Limbaugh is a joke and an idiot, but can people get off it already? the law of diminishing returns has already kicked in on this one. who wants to hear about that fat bastard for one more second? not I.

and if Chris Dodd wants to get re-elected, he would do best to throw Lieberman has hard as possible under as big a bus as he can find. Dodd's numbers are tanking fast, he's vulnerable, and his state HATES Lieberman and will not be re-electing him again. Dodd can suffer the same fate two years early if he plays his cards exactly wrong, as he seems determined to do...

Holy Joe with his finger up in the wind again. Or up somewhere.

Still trying to get the kool kidz to like him.

Dork.

Is Joe making nice because he doesn't want Dodd as his Democratic challenger next time his term is up?

Dodd might not win, but would he split the vote enough to hand things to the Republicans?