Chris Dodd for President

Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd pitched his plan to expand public service programs and lower college tuition costs Monday during his turn atop The Des Moines Register's soapbox at the Iowa State Fair.

THE RACE: Dodd, a Democrat overshadowed by the larger and better-financed campaigns of Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, insisted that he could still win the race. Dodd said his campaign planned to have eight offices open and 60 staff members in Iowa by Sept. 5.

ISSUES: A key theme of Dodd's 20-minute speech was education. He pledged to expand the federal government's Pell Grant program, make community college tuition free through a federal matching grant with states, and get rid of subsidies for private banks that charge high interest rates on loans.

KEY MESSAGE: Dodd painted his would-be administration as a chance to restore respect for the United States abroad and promote involvement in public service programs, such as AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps. He repeatedly mentioned the middle class as a group that needed help paying for college and health care. . . .

Eight presidential candidates have stops at the Iowa State Fair on their schedules this week.

On Monday, Democrat Chris Dodd made a trek to the fairgrounds. During a speech at the Des Moines Register's Soapbox, Dodd vowed to make education his number one priority if he's elected president.

"We're going to make community colleges, public community colleges, tuition free. You've got 15 of 'em in Iowa. They've got hundreds of 'em all across the country," Dodd said.

Dodd would have states match a federal grant to bankroll the costs of a community college education for all students.

Dodd, a former Peace Corps member, also stressed his call for an expansion of public service programs for all ages.

"Every generation, in my view, bears a responsibility to give something back to this country. It's very little to ask when you consider how much we've been given," Dodd said. "And so I'm going to provide an opportunity by expanding AmeriCorps, the Peace Corps, a Hero's program for seniors."

It was Dodd's health care plan, however, that resonated with fair-goer Marcus Schulze of Norwalk, one of a small group who stopped and listened to Dodd's speech.

"It was nice to see how forceful he was," Schulze says. "He was very insistent about getting a health care plan in his first four years (as president)." . . .