Democratic Sen. Christopher Dodd to endorse Obama

Source: Xinhua | 02-27-2008 08:08

BEIJING, Feb. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- Once a presidential candidate rival, Democratic Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut intends to endorse Barack Obama in Cleveland on Tuesday, according to an anonymous Democratic official close to Dodd.

U.S. Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama (D-IL) gives his foreign policy speech during a campaign stop at the Coralville Marriott  Hotel & Conference in Coralville, Iowa, Oct. 2, 2007. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Dodd's support could provide a boost for Obama as major contests near in big states such as Ohio and Texas on March 4. Obama has won some key Democratic endorsements in recent weeks, including Dodd's close friend Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy.

Obama and rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton had been vying for Dodd's support since he exited the presidential race after a poor showing in the Iowa caucus last month. Dodd, who won his Senate seat in 1980 and chaired the Democratic National Committee from 1995-1996, has long-standing ties to the Clintons.

Dodd is a "superdelegate," one of nearly 800 Democratic officeholders and party officials who automatically attend the national convention and can vote for whomever they choose. They have become an important force in the close race between Clinton and Obama, and both candidates are lobbying hard for their support.

Dodd's popularity with liberal voters could benefit Obama on both domestic and foreign policy issues.

Dodd voted in 2002 to authorize military intervention in Iraq, but has become an outspoken critic of the war and now calls his vote a mistake. He has said he would oppose an escalation of U.S. forces in Iraq and has said Congress should consider withholding funding for such a troop increase.

U.S. Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) gestures as he speaks at the CNN/Nevada Democratic Party debate at the University of Nevada  Las Vegas (UNLV) in Las Vegas, Nevada  November 15, 2007.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Dodd also could help Obama with Hispanic voters. A fluent Spanish speaker, Dodd served in the Peace Corps in a rural village in Dominican Republic from 1966-68 and has had a strong interest in Latin American affairs throughout his career.

Since his election to the House in 1974, Dodd has forged strong ties with labor unions, tried impose fiscal accountability on corporations and championed family and children’s issues. He chairs the powerful Senate Banking Committee.

(Agencies)

Editor:Zhang Pengfei