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Chris Dodd Drops Out

Senator Chris Dodd is making good on his promise to withdraw from the race if he did not finish fourth or better in the Iowa caucuses. It’s not for lack of trying, certainly, and I think that the results speak to the strength of the Democratic field this time around.

Major props are due to Senator Dodd, for running a campaign that Connecticut Democrats like me were proud to support. I’m especially impressed by the internet department helmed by Tim Tagaris. Tagaris and crew should be proud of their efforts, especially the talk clocks, the citizen whip counts, and the stripped-down campaign e-mails. You’ll see those innovations co-opted by other campaigns in the future as they play catch-up with whatever Tagaris is up to next.

CaffeinatedGeekGirl, who is days away from leaving the nutmeg state to start working for ActBlue, captured this screencap of MSNBC.com referring to Dodd as Todd, making our Senator the Rodney Dangerfield of the Democratic field. Click for full size.

Update: ClammyC has a diary at DailyKos thanking Chris Dodd:

Regardless of whether he had a shot of winning, the fact that some of the issues he stood for and the things that he brought to the debate – I am proud to have supported the too-short candidacy and campaign until the end.

At least we can look forward to Dodd continuing his strong leadership in his currently elected position in the Senate, and I look forward to continue having him represent my values and stand up for what’s best for this country.

Mark Pazniokas of The Hartford Courant reports:

DES MOINES, Iowa – Sen. Christopher J. Dodd intends to formally end his campaign tonight after finishing sixth place with less than 1 percent of the vote in the Iowa caucuses.

He plans to return Saturday to his home in East Haddam, Conn., campaign sources said. With the top three candidates capturing nearly 97 percent of the vote, there was no room tonight for Dodd or any other candidate in the second tier to become viable.