Democratic presidential candidate Christopher Dodd today declared that he would win Iowa’s 2008 Caucuses. The Connecticut Senator also lobbed criticism at Democratic rival John Edwards, as well as Republican presidential candidate John McCain.
Dodd was the speaker at a luncheon in Des Moines hosted by a group of young Democrats. "I appreciate immensely there’s a place called Iowa, that you give someone like me a chance to be heard, to make my case. I believe the door is still open in this state," Dodd said. "I don’t believe this race is decided in April or May…and so I intend to be your nominee. I plan on winning the Caucuses in Iowa."
Former North Carolina Senator John Edwards is the leader in most polls of likely Iowa Caucus-goers, but Dodd said Edwards is offering "a lot of rhetoric" rather than "solutions" when it comes to Iraq.
Specifically, Dodd argues all Democrats should back a bill that would establish March 31, 2008 as the date for ending the war in Iraq. "I can’t tell you how far along and further along the American public is on this issue than the political leadership in the country," Dodd said. "I realize it’s not easy to meld disparate elements of a party or a congress on this, but I think the clearer the voice on this the better."
Edwards has said congress should vote to cut off funding for the war now. "He has a right to talk about the issues, but I think talking about what the Senate ought to be doing, in a sense, and not embracing a particular point of view on it — seems to me you’ve got to fill that gap in," Dodd told reporters.
Dodd also criticized Arizona Senator John McCain for "backing away" from being a lead Republican cosponsor of immigration reform because of "demagogues" who are railing against amnesty for illegal immigrants. "If you ask me who’s on the other side today, I couldn’t name anybody at this point. Maybe there is, but not of the stature that McCain brought to the debate, so it’s been dealt a blow in that regard," Dodd said. "While the issue I think is going to be brought up in the Senate in the next couple of weeks, there’s some real concern about whether or not you can actually get it done."
Dodd also said as president, he would seek to require that all cars sold in the U.S. get at least 50 miles per gallon and he would impose a new "carbon tax" on businesses, based on the amount of carbon the business consumes.