Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd, a Democratic presidential hopeful, says he wants to vote on a measure that has more "teeth" when it comes to Iraq. Dodd was in Des Moines Monday, fresh from Saturday’s procedural vote in the U.S. Senate on a nonbinding resolution against the president’s plan to increase the number of troops in Iraq.
"I regret we didn’t try and do something that would have capped the number of troops there. There were things we could have done," Dodd says. "…Actually, there are more people against the surge than were recorded in that vote, so you might as well try and do something to stop it, in my view, rather than just talking about it." Dodd says he regrets the vote he cast five years ago in support of the war in Iraq, but he’s now concentrating on getting the troops home.
"I wish I could have the vote back. I made a mistake. I can’t get it back, so the best thing I can do is make sure we don’t compound that mistake," Dodd says. Dodd was one of four presidential hopefuls appearing Monday around the state. On the Republican side, former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney were both in northwest Iowa. Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack, a Democratic presidential candidate, appeared with his wife Christie in Winterset.