Courant smacks Dodd
Somebody put together this two minute clip on Sen. Dodd being a "Friend of Angelo."Obviously, the creator doesn't care for Dodd... but it does offer some relevant info on the VIP program that Dodd clearly should've understood better.
Regardless, I doubt the video will have as much impact as this Courant editorial:
The senator had an obligation to make sure his deal with Countrywide was in no way a perk of public office. The time to do that was when a loan officer informed him and his wife they were in the company's VIP program.
But Sen. Dodd didn't ask. He says he assumed it was because they'd had two mortgages with Countrywide since 1999 and were good customers. Nor did they ask what the designation meant.
But Sen. Dodd didn't ask.
Why?
I conclude there are two likely possibilities:
1) he lacks the critical faculties required to be the Chair of the Banking Committee
or
2) plausible deniability
I lean toward #2... the same sad story that got offered by LBJ and GWB as they moved toward war.
Now I don't mean to suggest that the result of Dodd's actions are the same as those of Johnson and Bush... but I'm sick and tired of seeing the "plausible deniability" card get played over and over again by politicians.
Furthermore, if you read the full Courant editorial, you'll see they also highlighted that his initial reaction was something quite typical of politicians. Basically, they said Dodd told the truth... but perhaps not the whole truth. (Something that seems to be happening here in Cheshire with increasing frequency.)
Anyway... an ethics investigation has begun. But of course, it's a Democratic Congress investigating a Democratic Senator. I hope as the investigation proceeds, Harry Reid proves he's a man of integrity and doesn't allow it to become one of the non-investigations that were undertaken by the GOP Congress of the Bush Administration.
The Senate needs to get to the bottom of this and mete out justice... which certainly could include Dodd being relieved of any leadership roles in which he currently serves.
Tim White
p.s. Maybe Lamont will run against Dodd in '10, instead of waiting for Lieberman in '12?
3 comments:
I can't believe you're attacking Dodd for the vip thing. There's nothing there to sink ones teeth into. Would you be coming to the same conclusions/questions if this were a republican in good standing? What if this was Ron Paul? Would you dismiss it as a careless mistake made by a very busy man concerned with more important things?
If this were Ron Paul, would you still posit that he was either unsuitable for office or falling back on plausible deniability?
I understand that at a certain point in time, Dodd was told (in person) that he was a "VIP."
If my understanding is correct, I don't see how he could be told that and not immediately follow up with
What do you mean "VIP?"
It just makes no sense to me why you wouldn't ask that question. Perhaps he learned of the VIP status through a junk mail letter? If that's the case, I wouldn't expect him to pick up the phone and call his mortgage broker.
Ron Paul isn't proposing that the taxpayers give $300 Billion to the same people who gave him VIP treatment
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/laland/2008/06/did-bank-of-ame.html
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