Dodd caught in middle of Senate race

For Democrats there are few places where more is on the line than in Connecticut. The state is home to three of the most contested House races this year, where Democrats could pick up a fifth of the seats they need to win back the majority.

The races are all considered tossups and the Democratic challengers — Diane Farrell in the 4th, Chris Murphy in the 5th and Joe Courtney in the 2nd — could use as much support as possible.

Although Dodd has helped each of them, he could certainly do more.

Instead, he has ratcheted up his presidential ambitions with visits to early primary and caucus states. He was in New Hampshire and Iowa last week.

No one should begrudge him the chance to seek higher office. He thought about making a run in 2004 but did not want to harm Sen. Joe Lieberman's chances. Lieberman, who was the party's 2000 vice presidential nominee, was considered an early favorite in 2004 before poor showings in the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary put a barb through his heart.

Dodd is a long shot to win the Democratic nomination for president and needs to make his way to these bell wether states to gain standing in an already crowded field of contenders. That said, you've got to wonder if Dodd's efforts aren't more about finding a distraction to Connecticut politics — and, in particular, avoiding campaign appearances with

There is no question that Dodd was not thrilled by the result, which caused his Senate colleague of 18 years to run as an independent. It came up earlier this month during an interview with CNN reporter Wolf Blitzer.

"Who's going to win, Lieberman or Ned Lamont, in your home state of Connecticut?" Blitzer asked.

"Well, it's going to be close," Dodd said.

"Who do you want?" Blitzer followed up.

"Well, I'm supporting Ned Lamont," Dodd said.

"That must be so painful for you," Blitzer sympathized.

"Of course, it is. Thank you for asking me, though," Dodd said.

Radio commentator Don Imus asked about the situation in an earlier interview and Dodd explained that he was in an awkward position.

Dodd worked hard for Lieberman during the primary but felt "as the titular head of a party in my state, a former national chairman, a guy who's seeking possibly to run for the presidency" that he could not "walk away from a decision made by 143,000 people in my state."

Dodd said it would be uncomfortable to drop his support for an 18-year colleague but that Lamont was not "a bad guy" and had a good message.

Dodd did attend a campaign event a week ago with Lamont but has largely steered clear of him and concentrated on his out-of-Connecticut presidential campaign.

The effort has meant less face time for Dodd with Connecticut's congressional candidates. He did appear with Farrell a week ago at a Westport senior center.

At the event, Dodd defended Farrell against a National Republican Campaign Committee mailing that linked her to an organization the GOP claimed favored appeasing the deposed Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

He called it outrageous.

Farrell has drawn national attention as she battles Rep. Chris Shays, R-4, in a rematch that appears up for grabs. The same is true in the contests between Murphy and Rep. Nancy Johnson and Courtney and Rep. Rob Simmons.

New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina voters aren't going to support a presidential candidate that doesn't spend time there but it would seem that Dodd should gamble on the Connecticut trio now.

Should they win with his full support, Dodd would have strong bragging rights around the nation for helping Democrats retake the House. That strategy, while maybe making for a few awkward moments, beats the current "cut and run" strategy by miles.

Peter Urban, who covers Washington, can be reached by e-mail at purban@ctpost.com.