Christopher Dodd - 2008 Democratic Presidential Candidate

Senator Christopher Dodd is one of the Democratic candidates in the 2008 Presidential election. He was born in Willimantic, Connecticut in 1944. His parents, Senator Thomas Joseph Dodd and Mary Murphy Dodd were Irish-Americans. All of Senator Dodd's great-grandparents were born in Ireland. Dodd graduated from Providence College in 1966 with a Bachelor's Degree in English Literature.

Crediting the impact of President John Kennedy's inaugural adress, Dodd joined the Peace Corps in 1968 and served for two years in a small town in the Dominican Republic, where he became fluent in Spanish. Chris Dodd served in the Army National Guard upon returning home from his Peace Corps commitment and later served in the U.S. Army Reserves. Dodd earned a Juris Doctor athte University of Louisville in 1972.

Senator Dodd is a recipient of the Edmund S. Muskie Distinguished Public Service Award recognizing leadership in foreign policy. Dodd served in the House of Representatives from 1975 to 1981. He was elected to the Senate in 1980, where he is the senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Dodd is Chair of the Senate Banking Committee which gives him ties to the banking, insurance and financial services industries. Dodd is the co-author, with Robert F. Bennett, of The Senate Special Report on Y2K, published in 1999 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

According to wikipedia.com, "Dodd, along with Senators Patrick Leahy, Russ Feingold, and Robert Menendez introduced the "Restoring the Constitution Act of 2007", which he claims "restores Habeas Corpus rights, bars evidence gained through torture or coercion and reinstates U.S. adherence to the Geneva Conventions in order to protect the nation's military personnel abroad." The bill is supported by the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Human Rights First."

Senator Dodd did vote for the war in 2002, but voted to advance a nonbinding resolution disapproving of President Bush's troop surge in Iraq in February 2007. Dodd would cap US forces at about 130,000 unless Congress approves more, and would begin withdrawing troops now from the worst parts of Baghdad. The site boston.com states that Dodd believes the administration should reposition troops to areas of the Middle East where they can "serve other pressing national security priorities"

Senator Dodd is well-known for bringing attention to children's issues. According to wikipedia.com, he formed the first children's caucus in the Senate and spent almost a decade fighting to enact the Family and Medical Leave Act. He also authored legislation aimed at providing better access to safe and affordable child care. Senator Dodd has received a 100% rating from the Children's Defense Fund each year since 2000.

The Dodd Pod is the official name of Chris Dodd's AppleiPod. His homepage, www.chrisdodd.com, quotes Dodd, "I love to use my iPod to listen to music, books on tape, and podcasts. As a Senator, I travel a fair amount and my family, friends, and staff came up with the idea of creating a "song or message of the day" for my iPod. I've listed the play list from the last few weeks below.

Now I'm asking you to be part of the fun and the conversation. I hope you'll take a moment to suggest a song, a podcast, or submit your own testimonial. Beginning soon, we'll start posting supporters' comments and suggestions on the home page. Please take a moment and join the fun -- I look forward to seeing and hearing your comments and suggestions!"

Chris Dodd is a Latin Rite Catholic. His second wife, Jackie Marie Clegg held high posts at the Export-Import Bank of the United States. They have two young daughters, Grace and Christina Dodd, ages 5 and 2 years old.

Senator Dodd does not have the national recognition of many of the other presidential candidates. He does have a great deal of experience and a long family and personal history of public service. Some might shy away from a Catholic, Kennedy-esque, New Englander, though, probably making him a true long-shot.