STAMFORD — -
If there were ever any doubts about whether President Barack Obama would support embattled U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, they were banished Friday night.
Obama was the featured speaker at a $1,000-a plate fundraiser for Dodd, and he lavished praise on the man he referred to as "my great friend."
The president spoke warmly of his relationship with the Democratic senator, citing his sense of humor, his big heart and his belief in "the nobility of public service." Presidents aren't supposed to pick favorites, Obama said, "but I have a confession to make: From the moment I arrived in the United States Senate, Chris Dodd was one of my favorites."
Dodd is one of the president's key lieutenants in Congress, where he is helping to oversee several administration initiatives, including Obama's plan to overhaul the health care system and a set of financial industry reforms.
"Chris knows how to get things done in Washington," Obama said.
Appearing in Connecticut for the first time as president, Obama began his 22-minute speech at the Stamford Hilton to the roughly 700 in attendance, including much of the state's Democratic Party establishment, with a thumbnail recap of Dodd's legislative achievements: family and medical leave, early childhood education, bills to aid police and firefighters.
And, said Obama, Dodd hasn't been content to coast on his accomplishments. He cited Dodd's work this year on tough new tobacco regulations, financial regulations and congressional efforts to overhaul the health care system.
"He's got some Energizer Bunny battery in him or something," Obama said, drawing laughter from the audience. "This year he's kind of gone crazy."
But it has also been a politically trying year for Dodd, who is up for re-election in 2010 and faces five GOP opponents, one other Democrat and an independent. A Quinnipiac University survey in September found that 49 percent of those surveyed disapproved of his job performance while 43 percent approved. While those numbers have gone up since earlier polls, Dodd is still seen as one of the Senate's most vulnerable Democrats, despite being a five-term incumbent in a blue state.
Obama, however, remains popular here, even as his public approval rating has slipped elsewhere in the nation. That same Q-poll showed a 57 percent approval rating for the president in Connecticut.
Obama used part of his speech to pitch Dodd's proposals for new regulations on the financial industry. He noted that Fairfield County is home to many hedge funds and to enormous wealth — he drew a laugh when he noted that his helicopter flew over some of the "housing" that sprawls over the southern Connecticut landscape.
"If there are folks from the industry here tonight, join us, don't fight us," Obama said. " … It is important for our country … to have a level playing field where everybody knows the rules and everybody is competing fairly for the business of American consumers."
Rob Simmons, one of Dodd's Republican foes, dismissed the president's call and said Democrats are "hitting the panic button" by relying on Obama to raise money.
Outside the Hilton Hotel, protesters shouted, some for Dodd and Obama and others against them. There were "Dump Dodd" signs and one group brought a white coffin to protest Obama's health care proposals. One protester, Art McNally, 69, of Woodbury, said he's concerned about the cost of Obama's proposals, which he said Dodd is helping push through Congress. "It's my children and grandchildren, their future, that they're mortgaging," he told an Associated Press reporter.
In his speech, Obama made a plea for civil engagement. Protesters have every right to challenge him and question his agenda, he said.
"And I want all the non-Democrats who may be watching tonight … I want folks to know that I believe in a strong and loyal opposition. I believe in the two-party system where ideas are tested and assumptions are challenged, and I am not always right and Chris is not always right."
But Obama added, "what I do reject is when folks just sit on the sidelines and they're rooting for failure whether it's on health care or energy or the economy — or the Olympics."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Obama was the featured speaker at a $1,000-a plate fundraiser for Dodd, and he lavished praise on the man he referred to as "my great friend."
The president spoke warmly of his relationship with the Democratic senator, citing his sense of humor, his big heart and his belief in "the nobility of public service." Presidents aren't supposed to pick favorites, Obama said, "but I have a confession to make: From the moment I arrived in the United States Senate, Chris Dodd was one of my favorites."
Dodd is one of the president's key lieutenants in Congress, where he is helping to oversee several administration initiatives, including Obama's plan to overhaul the health care system and a set of financial industry reforms.
"Chris knows how to get things done in Washington," Obama said.
Appearing in Connecticut for the first time as president, Obama began his 22-minute speech at the Stamford Hilton to the roughly 700 in attendance, including much of the state's Democratic Party establishment, with a thumbnail recap of Dodd's legislative achievements: family and medical leave, early childhood education, bills to aid police and firefighters.
And, said Obama, Dodd hasn't been content to coast on his accomplishments. He cited Dodd's work this year on tough new tobacco regulations, financial regulations and congressional efforts to overhaul the health care system.
"He's got some Energizer Bunny battery in him or something," Obama said, drawing laughter from the audience. "This year he's kind of gone crazy."
But it has also been a politically trying year for Dodd, who is up for re-election in 2010 and faces five GOP opponents, one other Democrat and an independent. A Quinnipiac University survey in September found that 49 percent of those surveyed disapproved of his job performance while 43 percent approved. While those numbers have gone up since earlier polls, Dodd is still seen as one of the Senate's most vulnerable Democrats, despite being a five-term incumbent in a blue state.
Obama, however, remains popular here, even as his public approval rating has slipped elsewhere in the nation. That same Q-poll showed a 57 percent approval rating for the president in Connecticut.
Obama used part of his speech to pitch Dodd's proposals for new regulations on the financial industry. He noted that Fairfield County is home to many hedge funds and to enormous wealth — he drew a laugh when he noted that his helicopter flew over some of the "housing" that sprawls over the southern Connecticut landscape.
"If there are folks from the industry here tonight, join us, don't fight us," Obama said. " … It is important for our country … to have a level playing field where everybody knows the rules and everybody is competing fairly for the business of American consumers."
Rob Simmons, one of Dodd's Republican foes, dismissed the president's call and said Democrats are "hitting the panic button" by relying on Obama to raise money.
Outside the Hilton Hotel, protesters shouted, some for Dodd and Obama and others against them. There were "Dump Dodd" signs and one group brought a white coffin to protest Obama's health care proposals. One protester, Art McNally, 69, of Woodbury, said he's concerned about the cost of Obama's proposals, which he said Dodd is helping push through Congress. "It's my children and grandchildren, their future, that they're mortgaging," he told an Associated Press reporter.
In his speech, Obama made a plea for civil engagement. Protesters have every right to challenge him and question his agenda, he said.
"And I want all the non-Democrats who may be watching tonight … I want folks to know that I believe in a strong and loyal opposition. I believe in the two-party system where ideas are tested and assumptions are challenged, and I am not always right and Chris is not always right."
But Obama added, "what I do reject is when folks just sit on the sidelines and they're rooting for failure whether it's on health care or energy or the economy — or the Olympics."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
