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Dodd Enters Presidential Race
For Immediate Release
January 11, 2007
WASHINGTON – Today Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd officially entered the 2008 Presidential race as a candidate for the Democratic nomination. He will kick off his Presidential campaign with stops in Iowa and South Carolina this weekend.
The following is Senator Dodd’s statement –
“I am running for President of the United States of America because I believe that we have reached a defining moment in American history. America today is at grave risk of losing many things we’ve always taken for granted. Our leadership in the world, our role as innovator, our hopes for a better life – are all threatened.
“There is a sense of urgency. The country wants leadership. Iraq is the clearest example of the need for change. Today the American people are listening to their elected officials in Washington debate the President’s new plan for Iraq. In my view, the President’s new plan for Iraq is not simply a "surge" but rather an escalation of the Administration's current failed strategy that will needlessly place additional troops in harms way.
“We cannot afford to continue the current failed military option. The failure in Iraq has cost us in two ways. It has cost us the lives of three thousand brave men and women, which is tragic. But it has also diverted our attention away from trouble spots around the world, from the looming threat in Iran to N. Korea and most importantly, the greater war on terror.
“But my decision to run for President is not just about the war in Iraq but about the urgent need to get America back on track. On every issue important to the American people – from the loss of jobs overseas, to the security of our ports, to retirement, health care, our schools – there’s been no leadership. This Administration inherited a great deal of prosperity and goodwill six years ago, and they’ve squandered it.
“But it’s not too late to make the world right once again. We need to be optimistic and confident about our future. I believe America can lead again. We can be respected and admired in the world again. We can create the kind of jobs again here at home that allow people to buy a home, have decent health care, have decent retirement, send their kids to college.
“It’s going to take one fundamental thing we’ve been lacking: leadership.
“I believe I bring that kind of leadership to my candidacy for the Presidency. I know how to get things done. Let me give you just one example: long before children’s issues were a priority in Washington, I brought forward the simple idea that parents shouldn’t have to choose between the child they love, and the job they need. I fought for almost a decade to create the Family and Medical Leave Act, and today, over 50 million Americans have been able to make sure their family got the right start after the birth or adoption of a child. I was able to do that by being innovative about what the country needed, and then working with both Democrats and Republicans to get something done.
“I’m proud of the fact that the work I’ve done the past 25 years has made a real difference for America – getting resources and funding to our nations first responders; strengthening our military, supporting smart, pro-growth economic policies, reforming our nations broken election laws, and, as I said earlier, fighting for our children’s health, education, and well being.
“In 2008, I believe that this kind of experience is going to count. We can’t afford four more years of on the job training in the Oval Office. We need a President who’s ready to lead from day one, who has the ability to bring people together, and really work on these big issues at home and abroad.
“I say this not just as a public servant, but as a parent, the father of two young daughters – ages five and 22 months. At some point soon, they are going to be part of a jury coming along that will judge us all. They’re going to want to know what we did on our watch to address issues like global warming, to create a world with more friends than enemies – when we had the chance.
“Today, I have announced that I am running for President because I want to be able to say to them and all of our children that we did everything in our power to pass along a world where they can grow up to live as beautiful and meaningful a life as anyone can imagine. I believe I have the leadership, experience, vision and optimism this nation needs to create a better future and a better world.”
Welcome to ChrisDodd.com
Thanks for visiting my web site. I'd like this site to be an on-line gathering place for people who want to create a more secure, hopeful, and prosperous America -- and who would like to join with me and others to make that vision a reality.
This site is a place to learn more about the issues that are important to our nation's future -- issues like education, health care, national security, and the environment.
It's a place to discuss what's on your mind and what you believe are our nation's most important priorities.
It's a place to get involved in making a positive difference for our country. Civic participation is the hallmark of a democratic society, and I'd like this site to make it easier for you to participate in creating change for our common future.
Thank you again for taking the time to visit the site. I hope in the coming days and weeks you will check back often as we will be adding additional features like a blog, podcasts and videos.
Source: Chris Dodd for President
DODD FOR PRESIDENT RELAUNCHES WEBSITE, ANNOUNCES INNOVATIVE INTERNET STRATEGY
Senator Chris Dodd's Presidential campaign rolled out a new and improved website this morning and plans to continue its innovative internet strategy in the months to come.
The total revision of the site includes a clean look, easy navigation and digestible information about Senator Dodd and his plans for America.
"The Dodd for President campaign will continue to be on the cutting edge in its use of internet technology and outreach," said Dodd internet strategist Tim Tagaris. "Like his Kitchen Table Campaign, Chris Dodd's website reflects his belief in the importance of a direct conversation between voters and the campaign."
The Dodd campaign also announced the hiring of Matt Browner-Hamlin to serve as the campaign's chief blogger. Browner-Hamlin, an experienced blogger whose work has been posted at The Huffington Post, My Left Nutmeg and The Right's Field, will travel with Senator Dodd to offer updates from the field.
"Bringing an experienced blogger like Matt aboard gives us the exciting opportunity to provide Democratic primary voters with the kind of window into a campaign that hasn't been seen before in Presidential politics," said Tagaris. "With Matt's help, the campaign will be able to successfully reach out to the blogosphere and the netroots and engage them in Senator Dodd's bold and exciting run for the White House."
Dodd's campaign has already provided a window to the public, including near real-time behind-the-scenes video during the candidate's appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and a live two-way conversation between viewers and the campaign's policy staff during the first Presidential Primary Debate using technology that, at the time, was barely a month old. The new site will build off those successes, incorporating technology previously unexplored by Presidential campaigns, including:
Twitter, a real-time blogging tool that will enable live updates from the field, delivering real-time updates to anyone interested in the campaign via the website, SMS and instant messanger technology.
Ustream, a real-time streaming video and audio site that will allow anyone to join Senator Dodd on the campaign trail from the primary states.
Social networking platforms, continuing to engage users of MySpace, Facebook and other sites as a means of internet outreach.
"The Dodd campaign is innovating online politics," said Tagaris. "Instead of rehashing the same software and strategies from last cycle, we're inventing new ways to make the campaign available to anyone and to connect with everyone."
Dodd Blog Post
I wanted to tell you about what I'll be doing for the Dodd campaign. As you can tell, we've just launched a redesigned version of ChrisDodd.com. I've joined the campaign to help add content to the site so that Senator Dodd's supporters will know what he and his campaign staff are doing as it's happening. I'll be traveling with Senator Dodd on his campaign trips. My blog posts will aim to give readers a window into the Dodd campaign - what we're doing, where we're going, and what Senator Dodd is talking about.
But my job will go far beyond writing about the campaign. As I travel with Senator Dodd around America, I'll be posting videos from the trail. Lots of video. We're going to be doing exciting things with live streaming web video that will provide viewers an insiders look into what Senator Dodd is doing. This campaign is going to be transparent in real time because we believe that the more people get to know Senator Dodd, the more they will like him.
I'm also going to be posting Twitter updates that are fed directly into the front page of ChrisDodd.com.
Source: Chris Dodd for President
Remarks of Senator Christopher J. Dodd
Caucus Night Remarks
The Temple for Performing Arts, Des Moines
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Thank you, Iowa - thank you.
I want to congratulate the other candidates for running a spirited campaign representing the best of what we stand for as Democrats and Americans.
This evening Democrats sent a clear message that this party is united in our belief that our nation needs change to restore our security, our Middle Class and all that makes this country great.
Our campaign has been about results. And even though tonight we didn't get the result we all were hoping for, this experience has been one of the most rewarding in my life of public service.
It was 47 years ago this month that I was seated with my family on the East Front of the United States Capitol in the bright winter cold and heard President Kennedy ask all Americans to be a part of something larger than ourselves.
It was a moment every American took part in. A moment that changed us as individuals and as a country.
For a generation of us, that moment fueled a hunger to answer the call of our President.
A hunger to make a difference.
A year ago, announcing my campaign at the Old State House in Connecticut where the first written constitution guaranteeing the right to representative government was enacted, I spoke about the need for just such a moment again - for our next President to renew that call.
Despite the results this evening, I still believe that is true.
I always knew this endeavor would be an uphill battle against very tough odds.
But just as I have learned again and again in my life - from that day with my family…to my two years in the Peace Corps…to my 26 years in the United States Senate:
Only when you try can you truly make a difference.
And that, my friends, we did.
While we came up short in the race for caucus votes tonight, our campaign has more than kept pace in the race of ideas.
By raising ideas no other Presidential candidate has ever proposed, let there be no doubt that this campaign has set the standard.
When we began this race, every Democrat was for ending the war in Iraq - a war that has made us not more secure, but less so.
But it was only when we stood up and said this President wouldn't get another penny to fight that war that other candidates committed to doing what was necessary to actually end it.
When we began this race, every Democrat—every American—agreed that in America, we should never need a national crisis to bring the country together with national purpose.
But only when we proposed a universal national service plan to create the first generation in history that served our country did the national service debate begin in earnest - to create that renewed sense of community we all want.
And after 7 years of insecurity and watching this President have to go into hiding when he traveled abroad, we were all for stopping this President's assault on the Constitution.
But it was only when I stood up and you stood with me—it was only when tens of thousands of Americans stood together and said we would do whatever it took to stop this President from shredding the rule of law—that we actually did stop him.
And that fight goes on.
Tonight I am withdrawing from the Presidential race. But let me assure you, we do not exit this race with our heads hanging - rather, we do so with our heads held high.
Whether it is restoring the Constitution to the American people, standing up to this President to end this war, or starting the discussion about what it will really take to tackle global warming and bring the country together, we stand confident that the difference we made in this race will endure longer than any speech, any election or any political campaign.
And none of it would have been possible without the friendship and support of so many along the way.
In the last few months, Iowans have learned what Connecticut has known for years:
That Jackie Clegg Dodd is something else.
Elegant, eloquent, relentlessly on message - a Presidential candidate could learn a thing or two from a gal like her.
And our girls, Grace and Christina - honorary Iowans these last few months. I keep telling them that Connecticut audiences will appreciate their ice skating and Irish dancing just as much as Iowans have.
My brother and sisters, Martha, Bernie, Tom, Carolyn, Gina, Chris, and Kelly and our nieces and nephews - no one could ask for a more supportive, loving family.
And all the members of the Connecticut delegation. All of them came out and campaigned their hearts out in the Iowa cold.
Jackie and I want to thank the caucus-goers in Iowa and voters around the country stood with me in this race.
Your support allowed us to energize this race with new ideas rooted in our strongest, most enduring Democratic principles.
Tonight we thank all Iowans for welcoming us into their homes and hearts.
Jackie and I agree - the sincerity and generosity Iowa families have offered us in this campaign has been overwhelming. Your warmth and hospitality.
One thing I've learned these last few months is that this process starts here in Iowa for a reason.
You understand that you aren't just making a choice - you're making history.
And you are making it on behalf of a nation.
You dig and prod and poke - and you demand direct answers to direct questions.
Candidates, the process and most importantly the country are better served for it.
I want to thank my friends and staff - the motley crew known collectively as "The Dodd Squad."
They say that you can measure how people feel about you by how hard they are willing to work for you.
If that's the case, then as blessed as I have been in my life, tonight I am more fortunate than I ever realized.
Each of these men and women—and I wish I could name them all—has worked their hearts out for this campaign.
I want to say a special thank you to the friends we made in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada - but most of all, my friends and constituents in Connecticut.
Thank you for allowing me to share our common concerns and confidence in a bright future with the rest of the country.
My friends at the International Association of Fire Fighters who have been out there day after day for me, especially Harold Schaitberger.
Harold, you've always said that fire fighters stand by those who stand by you. Well, in this campaign, you proved it.
You didn't follow the polls - you followed a higher power.
You followed your heart.
As I said when the fire fighters endorsed me back in August, for them it was never about who was in the lead, but who ought to lead.
It always has been.
I'll never forget the trust you put in me, Harold.
And lastly, the hundreds of thousands of citizens online who stood up time and again with us - the NetRoots.
In this campaign, you helped us show just what is possible when we stand up on principle, like when we stopped that terrible FISA bill in the Senate just a few weeks ago.
Tonight, I am infused with a renewed sense of purpose and energy, having learned so much from the hopes and dreams of the good people of Iowa, New Hampshire and others around the country.
I will carry the determination and courage of this campaign, as well as the result-oriented leadership I offered, back to the important battles that need to be won for the future of our country.
As I have for 26 years, I intend to serve by building broad, bipartisan support for bold ideas rooted in Democratic principles, turning them into national policies.
I commit that the fights we've waged in this campaign will not end tonight, from our Constitution to reversing global warming.
Whether it is the dozens that worked the field…the hundreds that worked the phones…or the tens of thousands that took to the blogs, I will make sure that the voices that spoke with us in this campaign are not forgotten but amplified.
Not ignored - but championed.
Nearly 40 years ago, my father said, "There's no other calling in life where you can do as much for as many people as you can through public service."
"Lawyers only have so many clients.
"Doctors only so many patients."
"But a well-intentioned public servant can make a difference in the lives of millions."
Tonight, I commit to work my heart out for the eventual nominee our Party chooses from this very talented field of candidates.
That remains our calling, our vocation, yours and mine.
Thank you, friends and family.
Thank you all for the gifts you have given Jackie and me - for your generosity.
Thank you, Iowa.
Tonight's Results (Thank you e-Mail to supporters)
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
Source: Chris Dodd for President