Dodd criticizes Hillary and Obama for funding war

By Contributor Archive

Filed Under Race for White House 2008 on May 15 

Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd released a new ad in Iowa in which he criticizes his fellow Democratic presidential rivals in the Senate for continuing to fund combat operations in Iraq. Dodd attacks Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden for not joining him in support of proposed legislation to cut off funding, which would forcefully stop the war.

This position actually makes sense: If you want to end the war ASAP, you shouldn’t just wave your arms and scream about how evil Bush is, you should do something, and as a senator you have the power to vote to cut off funding, which is the quickest way to end the war. Of course, though both the war and its handling are unpopular, voting to cut off funding is not necessarily a good idea. Such a vote may be perceived as not supporting the troops, or worse, as putting the troops in harm’s way.

So what’s a senator with presidential aspirations to do? Waving your hands and yelling about Bush – thereby appearing to take a stand while defiantly ignoring your ability (some would argue duty) to do anything about it – seems to be the popular choice. Senator Dodd is having none of it, and will likely draw some support from the far left. Overall however, his position (rightly or wrongly) is not a popular one, so it begs the question: Would Dodd be so bold as to take such an intellectually honest position, if he wasn’t getting clobbered in the polls, including in his home state?

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