Letters to the Editor
casual_observer
Published Letters: 1249 Editor's Choice: 1
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bebop @ Dodd
[Read the article: Chris Dodd's leadership vs. Clinton and Obama's game playing]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I agree, and agree with anonymous as well, in that Dodd is both candidate and tugboat (in that as long as he remains a candidate, anything is possible).
Not sure about Dodd's "failing legs" and all that bit though. If you've seen Dodd with his wife and very young kids, one gets the sense that there's still quite a bit of sap left in the limbs.
Dodd's just an interesting character isn't he. The course he's taking brings two things to mind. First, that the old, hoary, bygone-age rules of the senate provide senators with real power (holds, filibusters, etc.). But only if they chose to use it. Most don't. Ask any retired senator, of either party. The senate has changed (for the worse) from what it used to be.
Second, Dodd illustrates something to me about the definition of what a public servant is. Public servants can be defined simply by how they position themselves in regard to power. Some elected officials view themselves as reservoirs of power--a person in which power is accumulated and stored. Tom DeLay.
Public servants, in contrast, might view themselves more as conduits. Power is not retained, it just passes through on its way to achieving some public benefit. The public--the democratic process--uses the servant. That is of course why we rever Washington so much. Because he just up and walked away from power.
How does one tell if a candidate is more likely to be a servant, rather than a power-accumulator? Those who specify where the power should flow--who point to the specific places where work is needed--who clearly lay out their ideas for your consideration and approval--those are your servants.
But those who run for election while saying as little as humanly possible about anything; who are consistently opaque, indicipherable, secretive, or just hopelessly bland and ambiguous; those who are consistently last to any issue, rather than the first--these are not likely to be your servants, imo.
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Karen @ Dodd as threat
[Read the article: Chris Dodd's leadership vs. Clinton and Obama's game playing]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]That should not stop us from giving him every bit of support we can muster. At a minimum, I would like Clinton, Edwards and Obama to consider him a threat.
Anything is possible, but it looks like it would literally take a miracle for Dodd to threaten anyone in the top tier:
http://www.pollster.com/08-US-Dem-Pres-Primary.php
That said, I'll bet he is enjoying the campaign, even moreso since he's moving to Iowa. For me, just to have his continued voice out there on constitutional issues is a positive, useful and admirable thing.
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The Dodd Contributions
[Read the article: More positive steps from Democratic candidates on the rule of law, amnesty]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Is there anything out yet on how many contributors were involved in the $150K?
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WT
[Read the article: The growing link between the U.S. military and right-wing media and blogs]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I remember long ago and perhaps at the old (and dearly missed, due to its lack of paginated comments) site, a discussion on this very topic. It was back when revelations at Justice were becoming known, as well as Rove's "what can we do to help the '06 election effort along" powerpoints that were being given in every corner of federal agency-dom.
Even back then, there was speculation regarding politicization into the military.
And of course, it has. The ultimate evil.
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wt
[Read the article: The growing link between the U.S. military and right-wing media and blogs]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]once again I'm reminded of Paul's recent model regarding how creative and good GOP is in morphing or twisting govt. as a instrument for political ends. The roots go back in time, but as many are saying, this current edition of politicization is particularly "good".
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Giuliani
[Read the article: Anonymous Liberal for Glenn Greenwald: Giuliani on torture]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]He dresses like a wannabe American Margaret Thatcher.
But with this piece, let's think of him as Torquemada Giuliani.