Chris Dodd for President

Here's a report from the Dodd campaign's New Hampshire field staff on the Senator's appearances in Laconia, Barrington, and Portsmouth on May 26th. Another beautiful weekend in New Hampshire and another great visit to the Granite State by Chris Dodd. Despite the warm weather, clear skies, and no work on Monday people crammed into homes and backyards around New Hampshire to meet and spend some time with Senator Dodd on Saturday. At State Representative Beth Arsenault’s home in Laconia, the party-goers (and staff) came away energized by the Senator's connection with the crowd. A number of attendees told Senator Dodd that they appreciated his leadership in voting against the Iraq supplemental bill. Many of the people who came out, including state representatives, town chairs, and activists, hung around in the beautiful late spring weather to talk about the Senator’s talk, which included an unscheduled- but very humorous- interruption by one young Atticus Callahan, who decided to dash directly in front of Senator Dodd and the C-SPAN camera, thus making his first appearance on national television a truly memorable one. In Barrington, at the home of Mark and Gail Mitchell, not only was there an overflow crowd of interested Democratic activists in attendance, but you could sense how well Senator Dodd’s message was resonating with the people as they listened attentively. The Senator spoke at length about the War in Iraq, energy, health care, and the economy. The fact that Senator Dodd repeatedly insisted that his vote was not courageous, but as he told the crowd, it was the right thing to do impressed many people in attendance. Senator Dodd finished his day in Portsmouth, where he met with a group of over seventy people who had gathered at the home of former New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Michael King and JoAnn Actis-Grande. After Senator Dodd had spoken and answered questions, the staff asked the assembled activists for feedback on the talk. One man, a school teacher with a young child, remarked that it seemed to him that Chris Dodd was so knowledgeable on all the issues, from the two biggest of the day, the War in Iraq and Energy policy, right down to health care, education, and immigration. Another woman, who was retired, said that what impressed her the most was that even though she did not agree with Chris Dodd on every issue, she thoroughly appreciated his honesty and the sincerity of his positions. That, she said, was what made him truly presidential. It was easy to notice the interest and excitement that is building around Senator Dodd’s candidacy. Each visit brings more people out to the Senator’s events and these people like what they see: a man with the conviction to lead at a time when boldness is needed.