Chris Dodd for President

"Spend an hour with Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut, and you'll tour the world," opines the Des Moines Register. "In his meeting with the Register's editorial board on Thursday, he mentioned 22 nations - about half in the Middle East, a half dozen in Latin America, plus China, France and Iceland thrown in for good measure." Senator Dodd spent the weekend in Iowa, where he "used his appearance as an opportunity to distinguish himself from other contenders, specifically touting his experience," wrote the Register. In Ottumwa, "Dodd spent much of his time at Riverside Restaurant talking about engagement as a foreign policy. He said strong nations and confident leaders don’t need to resort to threats. They are secure enough to talk with nations who oppose them and use dialogue to secure peace," wrote the Courier. As Dodd stopped in Keokuk and the tri-cities, KHQA was there. And, despite other states moving their primaries up on the calendar, Senator Dodd told WHO TV that he still thinks Iowa and New Hampshire deserve the top spots. In West Liberty on Cinco de Mayo, Dodd gave a sizable crowd a bilingual welcome, writes John Deeth: "The Spanish remarks were not repeated in English. Yo comprende pequitito espanol, but I did pick up 'el presidente' and 'la Casa Blanca' in his conclusion." The Iowa City Press-Citizen also wrote up the event. Michael Millhollin posts photos and a review of Dodd's stop in Muscatine. Dodd also won press for his Corporate Carbon Tax. The Des Moines Register wrote up a stop Dodd made in West Des Moines to address the 21st Century Democrats Forum, quoting the Senator: "What we'd like to see (is) the Midwest become the center for energy production -- not the Mideast." The New Republic writes on Dodd's "low-carbon diet," concluding that while a cap-and-trade system might work, "it might not be a bad idea if more of [Dodd's] colleagues had his back" on a carbon tax. Other candidates are beginning to come around on Iraq, as Big Tent Democrat reports that former Senator Edwards "has joined my preferred candidate Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), and there can be no doubt that Dodd's co-sponsorship of Reid-Feingold has had an effect on the entire slate of candidates, in supporting Reid-Feingold." Meanwhile, Dodd wants a renewed focus on Afghanistan, he said during an interview on Fox News Sunday. The statement caught the eye of New York Daily News editorial writer James Gordon Meek. Some networks have refused to make video of Democratic primary debates public, and on Friday, Senator Dodd sent a letter to DNC Chairman Howard Dean urging the DNC's support for making those videos free and open to the public. "Giving the public easy access to debate video is a phenomenal idea," writes Connecticut Local Politics. "I’d like to see the other seven candidates join Dodd in calling for open access." The movement is growing, as CNN announced it would make its debate footage public.