Chris Dodd for President

Dave Johnson of Seeing The Forest writes about a conversation he had with Senator Dodd and other bloggers at Yearly Kos:

A few bloggers had a meeting with Senator Dodd on Saturday. This is a serious candidate for President who should be receiving much more attention. We had a great, honest and open conversation. Unlike some of the conversations I have had with candidates he listens and hears and responds. This is a thinking man, with a great deal of experience and a lot to offer this country. (Note this on his website: "Support the Netroots") One subject we talked extensively about was impeachment. He said something that will shape my views and helped me understand how a politician at his level has to think about serving the public. I'll characterize it here. He said that when he considers how he should be spending his time a key question that he has to ask is how is the average person understanding this. The average person might not be paying very much attention to the news, might not consider him or herself to be "on the" left or right. That person is trying to get by and deal with life's problems, like paying the mortgage, getting health care, etc. So when THAT person looks at what the Congress and Senate are doing, the question is, "How does this help ME?" And if the Democrats spend time on impeachment they are open to the Republican lie and spin machine telling the public they are not serving THEM. So Dodd says that unless the average person understands what HE OR SHE GETS out of Congress spending time on impeachment instead of all the other important things, he doesn't think we should aim for that. (Yes, I know that the other important things can't happen with Bush in office but the public does not)

It's important to note that Senator Dodd's way of thinking about what Americans want and what they ask politicians when they ask them questions on any subject is "Do you know who I am? Are you listening to me?" This isn't just about what Johnson is writing about above, but about how politicians are able to hear questions about the struggles of the American middle class, about education, about our economy and caring for elderly parents. Senator Dodd understands this and I think is able to connect to voters in a profoundly personal way because of it. I'm glad to see that Johnson was taken to Dodd's way of thinking, because it's an incredibly important way of understanding how people want to relate to government that I've been able to learn myself through traveling with Senator Dodd and hearing him talk to voters around the country.