Is there anything unacceptable to you about Biden or Dodd?

[Sparkly]

They may not be the most exciting of candidates, but I'm wondering if there's anything about them that DUers just can't stand -- and I'm not talking about picking at their looks or mannerisms or a single past indiscretion of some sort just to look for something.

Are they solid candidates, just not getting the limelight?

Or are they fundamentally unacceptable to you, and if so, why?

Are they fundamentally unacceptable (or unexciting) to Democratic voters in general?

Could either of them surprise us in Iowa and/or New Hampshire?

[rinsd]

1. Both voted for IWR. Dodd wants the troops out.. Biden does not.

Biden is perceived as close to the credit card industry and Dodd as close to the insurance industry.

The reason I put out are what I though DUers may have trouble with not necessarily myself.

[rateyes]

3. Biden said last night that if the political solution isn't

adopted, he would pull the troops out because they would be fodder. If a political situation is agreed upon, then he would set up a situation like we have in Bosnia--where no troops are dying.

I think he's got a point.

[Lautremont]

2. That their names don't rhyme.

[indypaul]

4. Evidently the Firefighters agree with you on

Dodd. They will be hitting it heavy in Iowa just as they
did in 2004 for Kerry. Have to agree with them with respect
to Dodd's positions and his responses during these recent
"debates" Nothing wrong with Joe Biden either think any of
the candidates thus far are far superior to what is in there
now or the other team is offering.

[rosesaylavee]

5. I think they would make good presidents.

Not sure who I would vote for yet but they are not ruled out as far as I am concerned. I didn't like Biden's work on the Judiciary Committee when Clarence Thomas was approved. But I am willing to hear his side of why he voted for that creep before I discard his run this time.

NONE of the candidates. NONE of them are taking on the climate crisis as a true crisis. Not sure what they are waiting for - Dodd has the start of a good plan but needs to take it a lot further.

[demommom]

8. He did not vote for Thomas.

[rosesaylavee]

10. Are you sure?

He voted in the Senate vote or against him when the committee sent his nomination to the senate. I am trying to find a link for this - but my memory is that he voted FOR him at the judiciary committee level.

Would love to know that I am wrong. I truly hated everything about that hearing. It was a travesty.

[Milo_Bloom]

6. They voted for the war and against the Levin Amendment (NT)

[Bucky]

7. I'm kinda going with Biden out of default.

Dodd creeps me out for some reason. But my vote in November isn't going to be in doubt. Other than for Diebold reasons.

[mcscajun]

9. I have a long-standing problem with Biden, going back to the Bankruptcy bill

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=3229091

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=90905&mesg_id=105320

I said at the beginning of this year that "his candidacy was stillborn in my eyes", and I've not yet seen anything worth its resurrection.

[TheCowsCameHome]

11. Yes. Neither of them is President. Instead, we've got a monkey.

[dmallind]

12. 2% support

Honestly I have no major policy disputes with either, and would be happy to vote for either too. Biden has a bit of a foot-in-mouth habit but heck if Bush managed to get into the WH that's not a major bar any more.

However if they can't garner more than a couple or three percent of the people in their own party as supporters, chances are they are not going to be able to win the enthusiastic backing of the general populace either. Tin foil hattery notwithstanding, the reason that well known, well connected well funded politicians like these, and even Kucinich et al, cannot get traction is not because of some vast media conspiracy, but because more people have decided they prefer other candidates and are not excited enough by these guys to switch. My boy Bill Richardson is in the same boat. I don't like it, but it's asinine to pretend it is not true for him as well as for those guys (not quite as much - but in reality 2-3% and 5-10% doesn't make that much of a difference).

[DemocratSinceBirth]

13. All Our Candidates Are Acceptable To Me

I was happy to learn Chris Dodd opposes the death penalty...

I like Biden too... I think he's authentic...

His vote against bankruptcy prorection, not so much...

[saltpoint]

14. Either would make a terrific chief executive.

I'd likely be very happy with their SCOTUS picks also.

Good question.

[PatSeg]

15. The same mainstream media that brings us

OJ and Britney nonstop, like to focus on the "stars" and often discount the stronger, more experienced candidates. Both Dodd and Biden have a lot of history, but most of the country is just now discovering them. A large percentage of voters are still undecided and are a bit apprehensive after almost seven years of the presidency from hell.

The frontrunners have gotten a lot of exposure in the press the past few months, but that can turn against them. If your every word and action is scrutinized 24/7, you are bound to make mistakes. In addition, the rhetoric starts to sound redundant and tired. That is when a lower tier candidate can pull forward and it has happened many times in the past. At this time in previous elections, who knew who Bill Clinton or John Kerry were? It was like they pulled out from nowhere.

It is still early and there are unforeseen events in the future that will shape opinions, as well as irreversible mistakes. The media will jump on anything good or bad, if it gets a reaction and boosts ratings.

[antigop]

16. I lost interest in Dodd a long time ago when I read about his involvement in passage of the PSLRA

Private Securities Litigation Reform Act -- passed over Clinton's veto.

[antigop]

17. I also think Dodd is too close to the hedge funds and private equity firms

because of his position on the Senate Banking Committee


http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aZC9eSeHtdpI&refer=home

>>
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd said he has reservations about the potential impact of legislation that would change the tax treatment for publicly traded private-equity firms and hedge funds.

While he's begun to hear analysis and arguments, Dodd said he's ``not prepared to support any legislation'' before reviewing the effect new laws will have on markets and investors.

``I am concerned about the potential adverse effects that these proposals would have on capital formation, on job creation and on institutional investors like pension funds and college endowments,'' Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat who is running for president, said today before a banking panel hearing.

Legislation has been introduced in the House and the Senate that would increase taxes on private-equity firms, hedge funds and their managers. The proposals have been criticized by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and other Bush administration officials who say it may have unintended consequences.
>>

http://online.wsj.com/public/article_print/SB118463122029268294.html
>>
Mr. Dodd has received a large share of his donations from both private-equity firms and hedge funds. Mr. Dodd has enjoyed two advantages in fund raising in the sector: Many of the funds are based in his home state of Connecticut and he is the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, the panel that has the power to regulate the industry.

The leading source of campaign donations to Mr. Dodd's campaign is SAC Capital Advisors LLC, a Greenwich-based hedge fund run by Steven A. Cohen. Employees of SAC Capital have donated $268,000 to his campaign war chest. Mr. Dodd has also received large contributions from employees of Taconic Capital Advisors LP and AQR Capital Management.
>>

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/CompanyFocus/PrivateEquityPowersTheCandidates.aspx

>>
Next up, private equity and hedge funds are shoveling a lot of money at Dodd, a Democratic senator from Connecticut. He's received $726,950 so far. It's easy to see why: He chairs the Senate Banking Committee, which has a lot of say about what happens on Wall Street.

The hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors is his biggest single contributor, at $349,700. SAC Capital is a Stamford, Conn., fund whose chief executive, Steven Cohen, ranked among the five highest-paid hedge-fund CEOs last year at $900 million, according to Alpha magazine. Cohen has personally given Dodd $4,600.

But like many the hedge funds, SAC Capital takes care to diversify its portfolio of presidential candidates. The fund's employees have also given to Clinton, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, Edwards and Rudolph Giuliani. Financial-services giant Citigroup (C, news, msgs) and brokerage firm Bear Stearns (BSC, news, msgs), which run hedge funds, also place among the top five Dodd donors.
>>