Chris Dodd for President

The Des Moines Register has a great write up on Senator Dodd's discussions of foreign policy and the situation in Pakistan at an event in Logan today. It goes on to talk about the Caucus for Results bus tour and how Senator Dodd is reaching out to voters in the closing days before the Iowa caucus.

Walter Shapiro of Salon has a great write up of yesterday's NPR debate. In it he highlights how different a radio debate is from the TV debates we've had. Unlike debates where there are tight time limits and dozens of subjects touched on only briefly, the NPR debate only covered three substantive issues in two hours.

But for two hours Tuesday afternoon, Biden and Dodd made the case that traditional political experience matters in choosing a president. From the subtleties of Iranian policy (where Biden excelled) to the nuances of academic studies on illegal immigration (where everyone deferred to Dodd), the two senators sounded knowledgeable in answering questions rather than as if they were reciting "Canned Debate Answer No. 623."
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NPR's gift to Iowa voters may have been creating the setting for the campaign's first "Experience Counts" debate. Tuesday's broadcast served as a reminder that the leading Democratic candidates all boast unconventional political résumés -- Clinton's eight dramatic years as first lady; Obama's three-year skyrocket from obscure Illinois state senator to top-tier presidential candidate; and Edwards' own rapid transition from trial lawyer to 2004 vice-presidential nominee. But as Biden and Dodd demonstrated -- during an afternoon that probably will be no more than a political blip -- there are benefits to a long apprenticeship on Capitol Hill for the presidency.

Dodd's experience as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is yet another aspect of how his tenure in Congress has prepared him to be President. He's prepared to lead from Day One, just as much on the Constitution and the economy as he is on foreign affairs and national security.

Our country faces profound challenges. We need a President who can confront them from the start and not waste time with on the job training. Chris Dodd is that candidate. He's gotten results as a Senator and he'll bring the change America needs as President.

There's one more piece that I want to share with you from this morning's Cuba policy speech and press conference. Dodd was introduced by Alfredo Duran - a lawyer, former chairman of the Florida Democratic Party, and a veteran of the Bay of Pigs. I'm printing his speech below in full - it was a great account of Senator Dodd's tenure of leadership towards reversing the failed policy towards Cuba.

Thank you all for coming out for what I believe is a historic moment for our country and truly for all those in our hemisphere.

Today it is my privilege to introduce one of the true champions of democracy here at home and abroad – someone who has spent many years fighting to open doors around the world, through diplomacy, dialog and strength, from Latin America to Northern Ireland to the Middle East.

He comes to Miami today to change the debate regarding a policy that for nearly a half-century has failed – failed to loosen Castro’s hold over the Cuba and bring democracy to that country, failed the Cuban people, and failed the American people.

Only one Presidential candidate has the courage to not run away from this issue – but to take it head on. That candidate is none other than Connecticut’s senior Senator, Chris Dodd.

Having spent many of his 26 years in the Senate fighting to end this failed policy, Chris Dodd does not come to this issue because it is politically expedient. Indeed, 15 years ago, Chris Dodd led the fight in the Senate against the expansion and tightening of the Cuba embargo. He led the opposition to Helms-Burton which codified the embargo in U.S. law. And he spearheaded efforts to ease restrictions on the sale of food and medicine to Cuba so that the Cuban people could benefit from American ingenuity and hard work.

I just posted the text Senator Dodd's Cuba policy speech from this morning. You can read the whole thing here. Here's a small piece of it:

Today, United States policy toward Cuba has been essentially the same for almost fifty years.

I believe the time has come to say publicly what many Americans believe including many Cuban-Americans – our Cuba policy has neither served America’s interests nor brought democracy to Cuba. It has been an abject failure.

I have the deepest respect for the Cuban American community and the pain, hardship and suffering the entire community has been through. I harbor no illusion about the current state of affairs in Cuba and the extreme difficulties Cubans live under.

But, today I believe that we are at a critical moment in Cuba’s changing political landscape, with Fidel Castro having recently turned over day-to-day authority of running Cuba to Raoul Castro and a small number of loyalists.

I believe we must make a choice – the United States can either be players in helping to shape the Cuba landscape for the next fifty years, or remain on the sidelines while the future of Cuba is determined by others.

Read the whole thing, it's a great speech conveying Dodd's bold vision for changing America's Cuba policy.

Senator Dodd will hold a press conference to announce his comprehensive Cuba policy today in Miami, FL at 11 AM Eastern. Dodd, who has led the fight to reform our approach to Cuba to better serve the cause of democracy and American interests, will call for bold, sweeping changes to America's Cuba policy.

UPDATE:

The video of the press conference is embedded above. Dodd was very strong, fluidly answering questions on his Cuba policy in both English and Spanish.

The full Dodd Cuba policy is now online. Read it here.