Chris Dodd leaves the presidential race with an important message for us, and his campaign folks also have a message for everyone out there

I expect I'm in the same position as a lot of readers with regard to the now-compacting Democratic presidential field. I didn't hate any of them, and quite liked a few. And the one who stood head and shoulders above the others always came with the qualifier: "Of course he could never get the nomination."

Until last night, some little voice inside me kept whispering, "Well, with that large a field, just maybe, you know, he could."

Of course the Iowa tallies don't reflect actual support for the second-tier candidates, since the process so heavily pressed voters to go with their second choice (among the top-tier candidates) in order to have some actual influence on the race.

I certainly give Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel credit for speaking their consciences. I just couldn't and can't see either of them as president of the United States, and not just--or even principally--because they couldn't get elected.

Chris Dodd, however . . .

President Dodd? My goodness, to be able actually to watch presidential speeches, appearances, and press conferences without having to worry about an eruption of TV-set-destroying shame and rage. Oh yeah, I could see that.

Last night on DailyKos Markos himself posted the e-mail the senator sent to his e-mail list, under the simple head "Dodd!" I want to post it too:

I count the past year of campaigning for the presidency as one of the most rewarding in a career of public service.

Unfortunately, I am withdrawing from that campaign tonight.

But there is no reason to hang our heads this evening -- only the opportunity to look towards a continuation of the work we started last January: ending the Iraq War, restoring the Constitution, and putting a Democrat in the White House.

I know a lot of you came to this email list through a shared desire to return our nation to one that respects the rule of law, and I want to make one thing clear to all of you:

The fight to restore the Constitution and stop retroactive immunity does not end with my Presidential campaign. FISA will come back in a few weeks and my pledge to filibuster ANY bill that includes retroactive immunity remains operative.

You've been an invaluable ally in the battle, and I'll need you to stick by my side despite tonight's caucus results.

So, one more time, thank you for all of your efforts throughout the course of this entire Presidential campaign.

We made a real difference in shaping the debate, and we'll continue to do so in the coming days, weeks and years.

I'll never forget you, and what we've fought for, together, over the past year.

Chris Dodd

The boldfacing of the paragraph about fighting to restore the Constitution and about the FISA-bill fight, by the way, is in the original. And wasn't that one heady moment, when Senator Dodd put his campaigning on hold to return to Washington to lead the fight against the bill with retroactive telecom immunity being steamrolled through Congress?

One thing you may not know about the Dodd campaign, unless you had occasion to interface with its online component, is how good that online operation was. Operatives Tim Tagaris and Matt Browner-Hamlin never tried to manipulate the netroots but--with the aid of an able team--made themselves available to engage and service everyone out here. They provided no-bullshit information, and took actual questions and got actual answers.

No doubt this was in good part because they had actual access to the senator. It's hard not to notice that almost all of official Washington treats the progressive netroots like irksome children. Oh, they'll pat us on the heads sometimes, when it suits some immediate purpose. Otherwise they ignore us if we're lucky--it's not hard to see the evidences of active antipathy and contempt. Imagine, thinking the people should have something to say about our government!

Not the Dodd campaign. And now, at the end, Tim Tagaris has a message he would like us to pass on to you:

If any of your readers want to thank Dodd for the run, or his leadership during it, we've set up a page where they can do that.

http://action.chrisdodd.com/t/59/signUp.jsp?key=1655

I'm going to make sure all of the comments go to his wife (especially if we get a critical mass), and she can share them with him. I know it'd make him feel pretty good.

DODD FOR MAJORITY LEADER?

There was talk during the campaign that Senator Dodd might challenge Harry Reid for the Senate majority leadership. Naturally the senator stayed out of any such talk, since he had to make it clear that he was focused on his presidential run.

I'm sure there will be questions as to whether he isn't "too liberal" for the Republican Lite and Nervous Nellie types among the Senate Democratic caucus. But if there are any substantial number of Democrats who wonder why the country holds the Democratic Congress in just as much contempt as it did the late Republican one, and why the Democrats as majority party in both houses seem to have hardly more influence on government than they did as the minority party, I encourage them to try this experiment:

* Close your eyes.

* As hard as you can, visualize poor Harry Reid doing his fumbling scared-of-his-shadow best as Senate majority leader.

* Now move that image to one side, and try to visualize Chris Dodd as Senate majority leader.

Any more questions?

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