If Obama and Clinton were responding to any candidate, they were responding to their chief competitor, Edwards, who called on them to support Reid-Feingold.

Still, I appreciate Dodd's leadership on restoring Habeas Corpus. He's my third choice after Edwards and Obama.

Tim, how do you acccount for Dodd's failure to get traction in the netroots? He got like one percent in the latest Kos straw poll, less than Gravel and Clinton, and tied with Biden?

I like Dodd and his positions on the issues and it is good that he is in the race.

I think the disadvantage he faces is that he is running in an election cycle that is dominated by the superstar candidates. I would not rule out movement for him at some point. Richardson   came out of nowhere in NH to be nearly within MOE for third place with Edwards so a lot can happen.

Tim,

Have Dodd do some liveblogging and buy up some blogads. They will help him a lot in the netroots. IMO. Also he should respond to DFA.

IF Gore doesn't throw his hat into the race, Dodd and Edwards are, as of right now, the only two I'd consider supporting.

Dodd is, regrettably, a very experienced and engaging candidate in search of a signature issue.

I certainly think he's a credit to the party, but it's hard to see him making any impact if he doesn't do more to distinguish himself from the pack.

What is wrong with just being a really good Senator?  Clearly there are other candidates who are more interesting to the general public.  It is blatantly ridiculous that his candidacy has any effect on Obama and Clinton doing the right thing.  Frankly, to suggest so is pretty egotistical and insulting.  Obama & Clinton don't need him to be their moral compass, and if they did, staying in the race only clouds that from our eyes.  I wish all the vanity candidates would get out so we can have meaningful debates instead of a collection of sound-bites.

I like Dodd.  I think he is level headed on many fronts.  But I'm a pragmatist.  Dodd is a NE'ner. He needs to compete in NH to stay alive in the race, otherwise, he cannot do it without the NE.   I think he needs to distance himself more from Clinton and illustrate why he is a better, more experienced candidate who can lead our country.

Tim,

Dodd is the only candidate in the single digits in his home state polls.  I like him, I like his views, I just don't think he's the candidate that "clicks" for me this time.

Good question. Dodd is NE liberal senator so the chances he win the GE election (should he get the nod) are around NILL.

But Dems are geographically challenged and cannot comprehend the electoral map of the past decades nor the following facts: a sitting senator has not won the presidency since JFK (Dodd is no JFK), the only Dems to win since had executive experience and were from Red and Swing states.

Honestly, I have no idea why Dodd is in the race. His campaign seems focused on money more than anything else, which is sad. CT is the wealthiest state in the country, but all I read from the Dodd campaign is their pride at all the money their raking in from CT richest. The longer Dodd stays in, the less I respect him.