Biden: Dodd Needs Help He's Getting "Living Bejesus Beat Out of Him"

In another moment of candor with the Vice President, he said opined about Senator Dodd's trouble in his 2010 re-election bid:

ABC News' Karen Travers and David Chalian report:

The always-loquacious Vice President Biden today gave an assessment of his good friend Chris Dodd's Senate race in Connecticut – and he didn't mince words.

"Chris is getting the living hell beat out of him, the living bejesus beat out of him," Biden said at a fundraiser Hartford, Conn.  "Why? Because he's being a leader."

"This is going to be a hell of a race and it's an uphill race,'' Biden said, "but Chris Dodd will prevail.''

Apparently, Biden has forgotten about his healthcare reform scandals, Senate ethics investigation, or his gift to AIG.

Biden doubled down on his praise for the endangered senator:

Biden was effusive in his praise today for Dodd, calling him "the single most gifted legislator in Congress, now that Teddy Kennedy's gone."

Dodd wasn't there to hear the compliments or the stark assessment of his re-election campaign. The Connecticut senator stayed in Washington to handle Senate business. His wife, Jackie Clegg Dodd, attended in his place.

Biden credited Dodd with having "the guts" to stand up to the banking industry and for his work as a leader on health care reform in the Senate.

"Chris Dodd is the first United States senator that has simultaneously chaired two major committees in a moment of genuine national crisis,'' Biden said. And had he got either of those jobs wrong, the consequences for America would be dire. That is not hyperbole, that is a fact."

Dodd is, more than likely, on his way out. No amount of praise from Biden will change that fact. It's not just hyperbole on my part.

What Conflict of Interest? Dodd's Wife Is on Medical Company Boards While Dodd Pushes Healthcare Reform

There is no chance of collusion here.

The wife of a senator playing a lead role on a national health care overhaul sits on the boards of three health care companies, one of several examples of lawmakers with ties to the medical industry.

Jackie Clegg Dodd, wife of Sen. Chris Dodd, serves on the boards of Javelin Pharmaceuticals Inc., Cardiome Pharma Corp., and Brookdale Senior Living, their Securities and Exchange Commission filings and Web sites show.

Sen. Dodd, D-Conn., is filling in for ailing Sen. Edward Kennedy, chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which will soon start work on a health care bill.

If his work with the mortgage industry is any indication, we should expect the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics and other watchdog groups are to be very busy over the next few months:

A complaint filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a government watchdog group, led the Senate Ethics Committee to begin looking at mortgages that Dodd and Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., received from Countrywide Financial Corp.

The controversy involved a Countrywide "VIP" program for "friends of Angelo," Countrywide's then-chief executive Angelo Mozilo. The SEC filed a lawsuit this month accusing Mozilo of civil fraud and illegal insider trading.

Let's also not forget about his relationship with AIG.

While there are other committee members as well, shouldn't they have chosen someone that doesn't have such a long history of corruption? It is just inviting scandals into the healthcare reform process.

Does Chris Dodd Buying First 2010 Election Campaign Ad Show His Desperation?

Dodd must be desperate. Not only is he getting started with the 2010 elections pretty early, but he is also bringing in the biggest dog of them all into his Senate battle right off the bat:

Christopher Dodd hopes to get a boost from President Obama as he airs the first TV ad in his 2010 re-election bid.

The 30-second spot set to air statewide in Connecticut on Friday features Obama praising the Democrat for his work crafting the new credit card reform bill that the president signed into law last week. Dodd chairs the Senate Banking Committee.

After all of the trouble that Dodd has had with his scandals, especially regarding AIG and Countrywide, he is way behind his Republican counterpart in the latest polls:

He faces the toughest re-election fight of his five terms in the Senate. A Quinnipiac University Poll released this week showed Dodd trailing former Republican congressman Rob Simmons 45-39 percent. Dodd is one of the most vulnerable Senate Democrats facing re-election next year.

This will definately be one to watch over the next year and a half.

Dodd Receives Almost Non-Existant Monetary Re-Election Campaign Support From His Constituents

Dodd is having a little trouble finding anyone in his home state that actually wants him in the Senate after 2010.

The five-term incumbent reported raising just $4,250 from five Connecticut residents during the first three months of the year while raking in $604,745 from nearly 400 individuals living outside the state.

While incumbents often turn to special interests for early campaign fundraising, Dodd's out-of-state total seems unusually high and comes at a time when he has been plagued by poor approval ratings among state voters.

Five? In a state with over 3.5 million people, only 5 actually like Dodd enough to say they want him back in office so bad that they're willing to contribute to his campaign. Pathetic doesn't begin to describe how this looks for the incument Democratic senator from Connecticut.

The difference in between the contrabutions from those actually voting and those who will not evrn be represented by those they're helping to get into office is startling. It makes me wonder if there should be some sort of regulations put in place to restrict the amount of money flows into campaign from out-of-district or state.

It is getting so ridiculous that people from Hollywood, New York, etc are having a huge impact on elections for people in Minnesota, for example.

The Franken/Coleman race in a perfect example of outside money influencing the election results. Democrat Al Franken received a substantial amount from outside Minnesota especially the Hollywood liberal elite like Ed Norton and Meg Ryan. If Franken had not been able to outspend Coleman by a significant margin because of that out-of-state money, could Franken have been so close with a good chance of winning?

Probably not.

Let's get back to Dodd. His $4,000 and change he received from Connecticut citizens pales in comparison of the money that he received from elseswhere:

He took in $90,795 from Massachusetts residents, $81,550 from Texas, $56,150 from Maryland, and $53,400 from New York.

These are just some examples of the out-of-state contributions Dodd has received from outside sources. Should people in Maryland and Texas be able to influence the race in such a way?

I realize that many outside the state know that Dodd is very vulnerable in the upcoming election. His chances get slimmer every day it seems.

Even in the heavily Democratic state, the liklihood of Dodd getting beaten by a Republican is high. Liberals across the country don't want the GOP to gain any ground in Congress. So, they are willing to pour money into anyone with a "D" after their name to keep the GOP out. Even someone with a record as tarnished as Dodd will receive support from the liberal rich fat cat elites over any conservative.

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Recent Blunders Has Made Chris Dodd Vulnerable in 2010

Dodd's political stock tumbles in Connecticut
By ANDREW MIGA Associated Press Writer
Mar 20, 7:59 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democrats may want to start thinking about a bailout for Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, whose political stock has slipped amid the financial meltdown.

As a five-term Democrat who blew out his last two opponents by 2-1 margins in a blue state that President Barack Obama won handily, Dodd, D-Conn., should be cruising to re-election in 2010. Instead, he's feeling heat from a Republican challenger eager to make him a poster boy for the tumult in the housing and financial markets.

A recent poll showed former Rep. Rob Simmons running about even with Dodd, a former national Democratic Party chairman.
As head of the banking panel, Dodd, 64, has become a convenient target for voter anger over the economic crisis.

"The fact that we have been beaten up, beaten around the head for the last eight or nine months on a regular basis has contributed to it as well," Dodd said.

Some of the worst blows came amid the furor over $165 million in bonuses American International Group Inc. paid some of its employees while receiving billions of dollars in federal bailout money. After first denying it, Dodd admitted he agreed to a request by Treasury Department officials to dilute an executive bonus restriction in the big economic stimulus bill that Congress passed last month. The change to Dodd's amendment allowed AIG to hand out the bonuses and sparked a blame game between Dodd and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

Dodd was guarded Thursday when asked about Geithner.

"This is obviously a matter that obviously should have been dealt with differently, but we are where we are," he said.

Republicans branded Dodd's reversal "astonishing and alarming" and fingered Dodd as the top recipient of campaign cash from AIG employees over the years.

The GOP is slamming Dodd, claiming he is cozying up to Wall Street insiders, raking in bundles of their campaign cash, shirking his banking panel duties and running for president as the economic crisis erupted in 2007.

He's also under investigation by a Senate ethics panel for mortgages he got from Countrywide Financial Corp., the big lending company at the center of the mortgage crisis.

A takedown of a national party figure like Dodd would be a coup for Republicans eager to rebound from their recent congressional losses.

"This is a state we will be actively participating in," said Amber Wilkerson, a spokeswoman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Republicans are also turning a spotlight on Dodd's longtime friendship with Edward Downe Jr., a former director of the Bear Stearns investment firm who was snared in an insider trading scandal. Dodd owned a condo with Downe in a fashionable Washington neighborhood but bought out Downe's share in 1990 after learning Downe was under investigation. Downe eventually pleaded guilty to trading inside information.

During the final days of the Clinton administration, Dodd wrote a letter supporting a pardon for Downe. "Mr. President, Ed Downe is a good person, who is truly sorry for the hurt he caused others," Dodd wrote. The pardon was granted.

Dodd complained that the GOP is repackaging old stories.

"They're trying to weave things together that have been reported on widely over the years," Dodd said. "They are taking some items that are frankly, old news, routine transactions, and trying to make more out of it."

Dodd has acknowledged participating in a Countrywide VIP program, which he said he thought referred to upgraded customer service. He denied asking for or receiving any special treatment when he refinanced his homes in Washington and East Haddam, Conn., in 2003.

"There was no sweetheart deal," Dodd said.
He faced criticism in his home state for not releasing details of his mortgages until several months after the controversy surfaced last summer. He concedes his sluggish response was a mistake.

The Countrywide controversy came after a failed presidential bid by Dodd that soured many Connecticut voters because he was out of state campaigning so much.

Dodd moved his family to Iowa for several weeks before the caucuses, adding to the home-state backlash.

Simmons is a former CIA officer who served three terms in Congress representing a Democratic-leaning district. He's a fiscal conservative who split with his Republican Party on issues such as abortion rights and raising the minimum wage. He lost by 83 votes to Democrat Joe Courtney in 2006.

In a hypothetical 2010 matchup, a recent Quinnipiac University poll showed Simmons with 43 percent of the vote and Dodd with 42 percent, a statistical dead heat.

Democrats said they're confident Dodd will rebound in the coming months. They note he has strong support among party activists in the state as well as nationally. Simmons could face a tough primary fight if other Republicans jump in, Democrats add.

"Senator Dodd will be fine when all the dust settles," said Nancy DiNardo, chairwoman of the Connecticut Democrats. "People are just really upset with everything that's happening" with the economic crisis.

© 2009 The Associated Press.

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My Thoughts

Dodd's home state is very blue, but his missteps have let a GOP win within reach in the liberal New England area. It's a long way until then, but Dodd's Senate seat along with Harry Reid and Roland Burris are prime targets for the GOP to turn red in two years.

AIG Bonuses: Topic of Shakespearian Drama Unfolding in DC

The White House Seeks to Block Bonuses at A.I.G.

By EDMUND L. ANDREWS and JACKIE CALMESPublished: March 17, 2009

WASHINGTON - President Obama and his top economic advisers scrambled to calm a nationwide furor on Monday over bonuses paid at the American International Group, even as administration officials acknowledged they had known about the issue for months.

One day after the economic advisers insisted that their hands had been tied by contracts requiring the payments, Mr. Obama ordered the Treasury Department to "pursue every single legal avenue to block these bonuses" and make the American taxpayers whole.

"In the last six months, A.I.G. has received substantial sums from the U.S. Treasury," Mr. Obama said. "How do they justify this outrage to the taxpayers who are keeping the company afloat?

"But as anger from lawmakers escalated and criticism of the retention bonuses overshadowed other news for a second consecutive day, White House and Treasury officials offered only a general sense of how they would carry out Mr. Obama's order and few explanations for why they had not acted earlier.

White House officials said the Treasury would recapture the bonus money by writing new requirements into a $30 billion installment of government aid scheduled to go soon to the ailing insurance conglomerate. The government has already provided $170 billion in taxpayer assistance to keep A.I.G from failing and now owns nearly 80 percent of the company.

But administration officials conceded that almost all of the most recent round of bonuses, totaling $165 million, had been paid last Friday, one day before the Treasury publicly acknowledged that it had reluctantly approved the payouts. The officials said that people who received the bonuses would probably be able to keep them.

Bonuses at A.I.G.

By seeking to link repayment of the bonus money to the coming $30 billion in assistance, the administration seemed to leave open the possibility that the company would effectively be repaying taxpayers with taxpayer money. A Treasury official disputed that taxpayers would be repaying themselves, but could not specify how else the company would give back the money.

Increasing the pressure on the company, Andrew M. Cuomo, the New York attorney general, said he would subpoena A.I.G. for the names, job descriptions and performance evaluations of the employees receiving the bonuses.

"You could argue that if taxpayers hadn't bailed out A.I.G., the contracts wouldn't be worth the paper they were signed on," Mr. Cuomo said.

For all of the furor since details of the bonuses became public over the last several days, the issue of retention payments to A.I.G. employees globally has been percolating publicly since A.I.G. was bailed out in mid-September. About $1 billion in retention payments for 2008 and 2009 are in question, but the controversy involves about half of that, about $450 million over two years, that was intended for employees of A.I.G.'s financial products unit. That unit was the source of the financial derivatives blamed for the near-collapse at the heart of the economy's downturn.

The Treasury and Federal Reserve officials said they had known about the bonus program as far back as last fall. The program has provoked public protests from a handful of critics and at least one Democratic lawmaker in Congress - Representative Elijah E. Cummings of Maryland, a member of the House Committee on Government Oversight, who demanded without success in December that A.I.G. provide information about the bonuses.

Mr. Cummings said he had been communicating regularly with A.I.G.'s chief executive, Edward M. Liddy, about the bonuses ever since December. Mr. Cummings said he was particularly concerned that the bonuses were supposed to be paid by March 15, adding that he assumed Treasury officials had the same worries.

"I assumed that they were well aware of it and would take appropriate action" before the March 15 deadline, Mr. Cummings said. "In light of the biggest quarterly loss in history, you would think that A.I.G. and Mr. Liddy would have been able to convince folks who were supposed to be getting these retention payments, based at least in part on performance, that they might want to voluntarily not take all or part of them."

Treasury and Fed officials said they knew that A.I.G. paid $55 million in bonuses in December.

But administration officials said that the Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, did not personally become aware until last week that an even bigger round of payments was due on March 15. Administration officials said Mr. Geithner learned of the deadline early last week, when the Federal Reserve Bank of New York alerted him that the bonus payments were coming due.

Mr. Geithner, according to Treasury officials, insisted that the bonus plan was "unacceptable" and called Mr. Liddy on Wednesday to demand changes.

A.I.G. executives said they would never have proceeded with the bonus payments before getting approval from the Treasury and the Federal Reserve.

"We would never make any important business decisions without discussing them with our government managers and owners," said one executive, who did not want to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.

A.I.G. has so far declined to identify the employees receiving the bonuses, some of whom are thought to be foreigners who worked out of offices in London.

The White House Seeks to Block Bonuses at A.I.G.

The tangle over bonuses highlighted a broader confusion over who actually controls the insurance conglomerate. The Treasury and the Federal Reserve have both pumped vast amounts of money into the company, but the two agencies have never made it clear which of them is in charge. Both agencies have insisted that neither of them "owns" A.I.G., or controls its management decisions, even though the federal government owns almost 80 percent of the company. As a result, the Treasury and Fed officials have repeatedly resisted forcing the company to disclose more about how A.I.G. was spending taxpayer money.

It was only on Sunday, after Democratic lawmakers had criticized the Fed and Treasury for weeks for being too protective of the company, that A.I.G. released the names of the companies that it had repaid with money it received from the government.

Since November, A.I.G.'s financial products unit has been led by Gerry Pasciucco, a former vice chairman of Morgan Stanley who was brought in by Mr. Liddy with instructions to wind down the unit. Company executives said they faced a need to keep skilled professionals in the business unit, which traded trillions of dollars worth of financial derivatives, because it would take great expertise to shut down the business in an orderly manner and without causing more turmoil.

Christina Pretto, a spokeswoman for A.I.G., said Mr. Pasciucco was traveling on Monday and was unavailable. But she said that since his arrival, the company had reduced the volume of its financial positions by more than 25 percent, starting with the "complex and difficult-to-manage positions."

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My Thoughts


"The Treasury and Federal Reserve officials said they had known about the bonus program as far back as last fall."

That sentence is what jumped out at me the most. They knew about this for months. How can they feign shock and outrage when they didn't do one thing to stop it before it happened? Sen. Dodd (D) even was the one responsible for the amendment in the bill that allowed them to keep their bonuses. they feignback as last fall.